Afghanistan

I'm torn about what to support or oppose when it comes to the Afghanistan war.

One, I don't want Al Qaeda and the Taliban to win anything. If we're out of there, which we eventually have to be anyway, it'll give them an open field for whatever they want to do. The Taliban will definitely be back in full force, oppressing the people. But I don't know what's going on now. Maybe they already are.

Two, once we're gone, we're gone. It'll be too late to get anything accomplished for good. It's just too bad it seems like we haven't accomplished much. Maybe we have. What do I know? It seems like if we're there from 2001 to 2009 we ought to have accomplished a lot. That's longer than World War II.

It's hard for me to believe that we can't win if we set our mind to it, whatever "winning" actually means. Yes, it's a tough country, they say. But what about the other side? They're not Superman, are they? If we can't beat a few (however many) rebels in one little country, how in the world would we ever be able to handle the Nazis again?

President Obama's going to have a plan, which sounds like more troops. It's not a popular thing for those on the left. But it's a popular thing for those on the right. That right there, the fact that the Republicans are for it, might automatically mean it's the wrong thing to do. So that's a point against it. Leaving me in a quandary.

I guess at this point I'm going to trust that the president has weighed the options and is making the best decision based on the information he has. He has it, not me. He's in charge, not me. So, go for whatever he feels is best. That's where I'm going to end up.

Get a definite plan, a definite goal, do what we can to accomplish it, then get out. Just don't get us in so deep that we can never get out.