I, on the other hand, do not support the 'war' in Afghanistan or Iraq, and haven't from the beginning. We have no right to be in either country. Both are in the midst of a CIVIL WAR. We should not be interfering in the internal matters of another country!
We are not the world's police force!
I do not believe that we have to worry about the Taliban interfering in the affairs of the United States. Al Quieda, perhaps. What we should be doing is having our troops reinforcing our own borders to prevent the infiltration of 'enemy' forces or other harmful individuals. We should strengthen our procedures to review and examine the credentials of anyone wishing to enter our country for whatever reason. In this way, we can assure that potential enemies of our state can be stopped at the borders / entry points to the U.S.
You thought Vietnam Veterans have 'problems.'
Those of us who were participants in the Vietnam War know the effect of combat on a person, both at the time of the action, and many years thereafter (PTSD). And, we only had a tour of 12 to 13 months, unless we volunteered for more tours.
Our current troops are mandated for many more tours than we had experienced, sometimes 2, 3, 4 or more tours in a combat zone. This takes a great toll on a human being!
The troops who have been 'at war' since 2003 are going to be affected even more than the vets of my generation with the effects of PTSD. You think my generation has 'problems,' just wait and see what comes from this 'war.'
We are already seeing what combat has done to some of our soldiers . . . . just look at the suicide rates. According to Congress.org more U.S. military personnel have taken their own lives so far in 2009 than have been killed in either the Afghanistan or Iraq wars so far this year.
And what about violence inflicted upon loved ones, family members or other persons as a result of our loyal, combat -stressed vets returning from a combat zone. It is horrific!
Enough is enough!
The people of Afghanistan and Iraq have their problems . . . let them resolve it on their own. If they want to war amongst themselves - let them do so. We don't need to send our tired and war-weary young people off to these countries just to be maimed or killed for people who don't care, either about their own country or killing or injuring our kids.
We need to leave.
I realize that we just can't stop today and leave; it takes time to organize and arrange the logistical nightmare to return our troops and their equipment (we paid for) to our country. We don;t want to leave this stuff there by any means.
So let's set an end date that we'll be gone, completely! How about by the end of 2010? It CAN be done, we just need to be firm and committed.
Let's tackle our problems, all of them, right here, in the U.S. We CAN do it.
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