Why are we Still in Afghanistan?

Why are we still in Afghanistan? Supposedly, President Obama in his speech scheduled for next Tuesday, will tell us why, and why we need more troops deployed to the area. According to news reports the president is expected to ask for as much as a fifty percent increase over the already 68,000 troops in theater. There are other rumors floating around that Mr. Obama will tell us about his exit strategy as well. I suppose after eight years of no exit strategy this is an improvement, but I would rather we just get out.

One would think with all the history of Afghanistan telling us that no army ever does well in the country, and most end up leaving after a long time and still not accomplishing their goals we would learn from that history and pull out. 1American diplomat and former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger said on television that the Afghanistan experience is shaping up as startlingly similar to what happened to us in Vietnam; that it looks like a quagmire, yet he sees no way to avoid being mired yet again. Retired Army Col. Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor of international relations and history at Boston University, who has written widely on military power and its limitations, says it's a war we cannot win. So why are we still in Afghanistan?

1The Baltimore Sun November 27, 2009 article by Ron Smith In Afghanistan and at home, we're being driven off a cliff