In light of recent events, President Trump has revealed to the public a new strategy on the War On Terror: increasing our numbers in Afghanistan. Ultimately, the increase in numbers would provide a more certain approach to our strategies, and focus more on directly obliterating terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS. “We are not nation-building again,” Trump had stated, “We are killing terrorists.”
After having taken office, Trump decided to give all authority over troops numbers to those working within the Pentagon; a concerning shift of power that shook the public completely. Over 2,000 of our troops were taken in Afghanistan during the last increase in numbers to the country. Now, Trump hopes to keep the number of the increase secret, and away from the public. With the exact numbers being unknown, fears of a higher casualty rate going forward are rising immensely.
By first connecting to former President Obama’s action of pulling troops from Iraq, Trump made it very clear to the public recently that he would not be considering the same actions when it comes to Afghanistan. According to him, pulling troops from the country to fast would cause, “consequences [that are] both predictable and unacceptable.”
His goal overall, apart from just raising our forces in Afghanistan, is to eliminate terror in all countries, especially Pakistan. Pakistan has been known to cater to, house, and protect terrorist organizations. President’s goal as of right now seems to be to weed
this issue out slowly, but not entirely.
Many question whether raising our troops really the best option?
Below are some pros and cons to consider:
Overall, it has been predicted by many people that raising troops in Afghanistan might
have some perks to it. First of all, a raise in forces might provide a sort of confidence boost
for the Afghanistan government, giving them the gusto they need to potentially become
successful when fighting against the Taliban. Secondly, it has been said that our country has
asked the others involved in NATO to also raise their troop numbers for the same effort. Though
it is unfortunately very uncertain that this raise would happen from simply asking, maybe an
overall raise in troops would give us the strength we need to make it further within the war
against terror. As it is said, there is strength in numbers.
However, the U.S. budget for this term never included extra funding for additional troops, and the move would cost us billions more than our original funding for the cause. That said, it would be extremely tough to alter the budget to make room for support that would provide these newly sent troops safety. Finally, the United States has held troops in Afghanistan since 2001, and some are beginning to worry, once again, that it is a war that will never end.
Sure, the issue regarding the unknown raise in troops to Afghanistan is alarming, and
hopefully, the increase will be done with correct funding, correct strategy, and enough attention
for our troops to remain as safe as possible within the War on Terror. The best we can do as a
country now is to hope for the best, and continue fighting for the information and rights that will
help us make a difference
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
