$(document).ready( function () { talk_rendercallback({"enabled":"0","islive":"0","eid":5524,"total":"19","discussion":[{"nm":"Tessa ","rs":"0","ms":"I think this war has lasted far too long. I don\'t really think it should have been started in the first place. I think that there was no real reason; it\'s frustrating that we\'ve been there that long. I understand that the war in Afghanistan has its reasons, which aren\'t that important. However, I think that the war that was going on in Iraq was without a doubt pointless. We lost so many soldiers over, what I think is nothing to start a war over. I\'m glad that Obama started to end it over in Iraq and I can only hope that he\'s planning on doing the same for the war in Afghanistan, soon.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 08:21"},{"nm":"Mary Adams","rs":"0","ms":"As a mother of a Marine currently deployed in Afghanistan I am very concerned about this war.  So far this year we have had over 240 American troops die in Afghanistan with 1,567 wounded.  America has taken on the heaviest burden so far in the coalition.\n\nWe need an immediate withdrawal of troops.  If a complete withdrawal is not going to be a reality then the least our government can do is comply with General McChrystal request for more troops. We need more troops be successful.\n\nThe simple fact is that there is safety in numbers.  If our country continues to avoid sending more troops and not pulling out completely we will have more and more casualties due to indifference from government leaders.\n","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:57"},{"nm":"alyssa","rs":"0","ms":"This war has been drug out for years, and as horrible as the attacks were on September 11th, I think it would be more effective to pull out of Afghanistan and focus mainly on counterterrorism. I also believe that we should focus mainly on the terrorist groups that are attacking our troops, and not endanger civilians with careless military tactics. I don’t fully understand the entire war, however this could be because I don’t understand the concept of war, but to waste money and energy in something that is so prolonged and seemingly unsuccessful just seems like a stupid idea on the part of the government. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 16:53"},{"nm":"Friedrich V","rs":"0","ms":"I cannot stand the fact that so many people are complaining about the war in Iraq. While they weren’t the people that attacked us, sooner or later someone was going to have to step in. So many human rights violations were occurring there that it is sickening to think nothing was done yet. Also, it’s over now. The attention is starting to be focused mainly on Afghanistan where it should be directed. But to say that we should never have gone to Iraq in the first place is both callous and ignorant.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 10:25"},{"nm":"Kristen","rs":"0","ms":"I think that it is so interesting that the second entry on this document includes the fact that Osama bin Laden was thought to have escaped to Pakistan. I understand that we may not have been able to just pick up and chase after him; however, we should have been more focused from right here, at the beginning. Maybe if we had stayed on task with our original goal, all of these troops would not have lost their lives. Now, I know that many of these deaths were caused by suicide bombers, things out of the soldier’s control, but if the soldiers weren’t there in the first place, it wouldn’t even matter. I agree with the strategy that Vice President Biden is suggesting that the “administration should narrow the mission\'s focus to counterterrorism -- using drones and Special Forces to go after Al Qaeda and its allies.” I think that is the solution that America needs right now. The time, money, and energy that is being wasted in this war is much needed in other places right now. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 00:05"},{"nm":"Val","rs":"0","ms":"The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan seem to be dragging on, with more and more casualties every day.  I think that the United States should slowly pull all troops from Iraq AND Afghanistan so that we can focus more on counterterrorism.  It is clear that our attempts at establishing a solid, well-respected government in Afghanistan is failing.  In my opinion, I think it would be best for us to pull out completely and focus our time on Pakistan and the Taliban/Al Qaeda extremist groups there.","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 23:45"},{"nm":"Chrissy ","rs":"0","ms":"It seems to me whenever we take one step forward in Afghanistan, the Taliban find a way to make us take two steps back. In 2004, Pakistan wasn’t doing as much to help the US troops until there were attacks on President Musarra. The whole issue is discouraging. It’s worse enough what the Taliban and Al Qaeda are doing without having the country and its allies not trusting us.  I’m not completely pessimistic about the war.  I know we’re making slow progress to rebuilding Afghanistan.  In November of 2004, Afghanistan had its first fair election. This shows promise. I just wish we could find a way to have the people there to trust our troops. ","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 23:40"},{"nm":"Chelsea","rs":"0","ms":"This war has evolved into something bigger than us. No one would have believed that the war would have lasted for over 8 years. I feel that we have put ourselves in a complicated situation, where we face a difficult decision. Many believe that pulling out troops and focusing on Al-Qaeda would be the smartest decision and the most efficient. I, too, agree with this option. However, this plan seems nearly impossible. Many wish to remain in Afghanistan until we are positive that they are left with a working, successful government. It may be additional years before we achieve this goal. We have put ourselves in the position where we are unable to be sure of when the best time to retreat is. We cannot pull troops at this time, because it is claimed we would be leaving “unfulfilled”. For eight years we have been unfulfilled and accomplishing our original goal seems like a far shot right now. We have lost sight of our original ambitions and have lost focus on what needs to be done. It is time to bring our troops home. ","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 23:22"},{"nm":"Jen N","rs":"0","ms":"\n\n\nI have mixed opinions about the war; even though it does not seem to make sense now, it was important that we took action against Al Qaeda eight years ago when the 9/11 attacks occurred. It was important we took a step to try and stop the attacks to keep Americans safe; however, now the war has become out of hand. We have been fighting for eight years, and it seems like there is no progress. More soldiers keep dying each day, and they are calling for more troops to try and rebuild the nations we destroyed. I think it would be very selfish of us to go into a country, completely destroy it, and then leave; we need to try and rebuild the country for the civilians that did not have a choice of any of actions that took place. The war has gone past its due date, and I think it is important we start to stop and move soldiers out every day. \n","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 22:45"},{"nm":"Emily","rs":"0","ms":"I don\'t know how we ever got ourselves into the mess in Iraq. Clearly there was never any reason for us to be there and I think its a main reason why we are still having so many problems after eight years in Afghanistan and shifting over to Pakistan. What we need to focus on is finding the leader of Al Qaeda, Bin Laden, because if we can rid the source of these terrorists then it might lead to the soloution for the entire country. Although we got ourselves into this mess and cannot pull out, its important for the people in Afghanistan to feel safe in their own country and under a new government, so our first priority must be counterterrorist.","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 22:18"},{"nm":"Jessica","rs":"0","ms":"Wow, I didn’t realize that the war in Afghanistan started in 2001.  I had always thought that the war in Iraq began first and then spread to Afghanistan.  The publicists focused on the war in Iraq, so as a child I just assumed that the United States had most armed forces in Iraq.  After reading the Chronology, it seems as though the military leaders didn’t really think through their plans.  For example a battle that was supposed to only take three days ended up taking longer than two weeks.  This shows that the military didn’t know how to effectively achieve their goals.  The United States has a reputation for being powerful, but why is it that the most powerful country can’t fight insurgents?  Also some of the citizens in Afghanistan hold riots in a hope to persuade U.S. military to leave the country.  It seems as though there is no end to this war and that staying in Afghanistan is not leaving any lasting positive effects; just adding to the already high deficit of America.     ","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 22:07"},{"nm":"Samantha","rs":"0","ms":"The war in Afghanistan is very complicated. I understand that there is no possibility of a complete withdrawal of troops. This is because we have occupied ourselves so far into this war that it has become too difficult to withdrawal. If we were to withdrawal right now we would leave Afghanistan with more damage than there was when we entered. However, I do not think that it is necessary to send the additional 40,000 troops that General McChrystal is requesting. Rather than sending an additional 40,000 troops, I believe that it would be a good idea for Obama to relocate Iraqi troops to Afghanistan. I think that it is important for Obama to thoroughly examine each possible option. I like the idea about deploying a thousand troops only to train the Afghanistan army. ","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 20:31"},{"nm":"Marlea","rs":"0","ms":"It seems as though the war in Afghanistan will never end. General McChrystal is calling for 400,000 more troops in Afghanistan and I think that it will help with the rebuilding of the nation, protecting the people of Afghanistan, and humanitarian aid but 400,000 MORE troops? I understand that Pakistan is no help to us at all and the Taliban is destroying what is left of Afghanistan but our troops have occupied Afghanistan for over 8 years now and it is becoming a vicious cycle. However I do like that Obama is taking troops out of Iraq because there is no reason for us to even be in Iraq. Those soldiers need to fight a much bigger battle in Afghanistan. ","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 19:43"},{"nm":"Moira","rs":"0","ms":"The war in Afghanistan is causing the United States more problems than we should be facing. Too many American soldiers are dying due to surprise attacks by the Taliban. I understand why this war was started but I feel we have been there too long and there is no way it is going to end. I don’t understand why the war is continuing in Iraq because it’s clear that Saddam Hussein was not involved with al-Qaeda and being in Iraq is causing deaths of soldiers that could be more useful in Afghanistan. I believe Obama is right in taking troops out of Iraq and sending them to Afghanistan. Although I strongly believe the war needs to come to an end soon I think the troops should remain in Afghanistan until they defeat al-Qaeda because by taking the troops out all at once we are risking being attack in the United States again and that is not a risk we should be taking. ","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 18:06"},{"nm":"Olivia","rs":"0","ms":"I find it interesting that in December 2001 Osama bin Laden was thought to have escaped to Pakistan. I understand that it is important to defeat the Taliban, but I feel it is even more important to defeat the leader and I find it difficult to understand why we are not looking for Osama bin Laden instead of helping the Afghan people. I think if we defeat Osama bin Laden the rest of the Taliban will weaken and will therefore be easier to defeat. May 1st, 2003 seems to be a rather ironic day, being that Bush thought the mission was accomplished. Clearly he was mistaken for the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan have clearly exalted. It is clear that this war has gone on way too long and has taken far too many lives. There needs to be a way to end this war, and I don’t think that increasing the troops is the way to do that.  ","pt":"Oct 19, 2009 10:18"},{"nm":"L. Watson","rs":"0","ms":"To send or not to send: that is Obama’s question.  While McChrystal wants 400,000 more troops, Obama remains hesitant, allowing more time for his administration to find a safe way for America to leave the Middle East.  Right now, our troops are focused on nation rebuilding, through providing military and humanitarian aid to protect civilians.  Yet some argue, like Vice President Joe Biden, that to win this war we must focus our troops solely on counterterrorism.  With the Taliban using guerilla tactics, and little help from Pakistan, Obama is facing one our history’s worst wars.  Yet the real joke is that essentially we are fighting our own allies: we are giving the Afghan government money, yet fighting the Taliban, who remain the local government.  So the same question still lingers, will or won’t he send more troops, and will this deepen our graves within the Middle East? ","pt":"Oct 18, 2009 21:29"},{"nm":"Mike C","rs":"0","ms":"The war with the middle east is taking a lot longer than expected and its beginning to seem like it’s never going to end because there is no real end in sight.  A lot of American soldiers are dying due to car bombs and as well as small surprise suicide attacks by Taliban insurgents.  Instead of taking troops out we need to put more in Afghanistan so we can take full control and not risk as many American soldiers lives as we did with the little troops that we had.  ","pt":"Oct 18, 2009 20:07"},{"nm":"Erica","rs":"0","ms":"I feel that 1) this war should never have been started in the first place (but now that we\'ve been occupied there so long, it\'s hard to get out) and 2) former President Bush was foolish for declaring combat over in 2003, when we continued to stay in Iraq until President Obama announced troops would be moved from there to Afghanistan. What I don\'t understand is why President Bush kept insisting Saddam Hussein was somehow involved with al-Qaeda, when, as it turned out, Hussein and bin Laden weren\'t even remotely friends. Had we not been nosing around in Iraq, maybe we\'d be further along in defeating al-Qaeda and we wouldn\'t have to keep spending money on the troops and equipment. ","pt":"Oct 18, 2009 18:32"},{"nm":"D.Basu","rs":"0","ms":"Until and unless USA can understand that by giving Billions to Pakistan it is digging its own graves( graves of the American soldiers in Afghanistan) there will not be any solution. \nIt is hard to undestand how all these \'Best and Brightests\' from Harvards and Stanfords can be so stupid not the understand what Pakistan is. \nThis is tragic.","pt":"Oct 14, 2009 06:59"}]}); });