Waiting for Obama

Well many of us are waiting for the president to speak in an hour. We will hear about where he wants to take out activities in Afghanistan.

I am curious to hear what the plan is.

Last year I was quite partial to continue on in the fight there. For a while I have held to a sense that this was all a fight we began, whether or not Bush was president at the onset. It was our responsibility. People would suffer if we were not there, people would be subjugated. And this was a all a matter of finishing up and not abandoning those people we flew in and made big promises to.

But my opinion has changed. I am more interested in what our choices mean for those people we put in uniforms, hand weapons, and send into harms way. Some want to chant and say we have to send them into likely mortal peril, for their sake. That is just screwed up. As well, we are just spending our way into debt for this cause. I am willing to spend a bit extra at times for the sake of the future, it can be a sound investment (like stimulus spending).

And that is the problem, what investment will we make? What cost? And what end result will be have? Presidency have the power, responsibility, and burden to send the nations kids in arms into harms way, and death. It should be done soundly. So when I have seen how open ended, how endless, and ceaseless this war is becoming. And you see how many more lives will be tossed into this cause, and then all these billions as well, it should just make us sick.

I want to do right by Afghanistan. But this should not be a case, and there should never be one, of winning and continuing on at any cost. That is just madness.

We need a result we can be satisfied with, an end that be seen on the horizon. Reps want a war that will just not end, belying and cursing our and that nation's history. They see the glory, honor, and thrill of war. If we kill, we are winning, It is madness.

We need a sound endpoint. We need a real road map to there. We need a real change in our actions. And as much as I hate to have to say it, we need to act for our interest first, and that is up out of this quagmire. We need to see our Commander and Chief stand up there and give his country and its armed forces a morale boost and real hope of this war's end.