AFGHANISTAN WITH LESS?

Half measures are never good; they are never advisable, and therefore, many Americans will implore President Obama to agree to send the minimum recommendation of troops, as Gen. McChrystal has suggested, which is 40,000 (troops) to Afghanistan.

It is true that the decision to send any more troops is a very difficult one, but it must be made with a great measure of confidence on the part of the White House. We all know that the cabinet is split on this issue; however, so long as he has the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the side that is advocating on behalf of Gen. McChrystal, his decision will be acceptable to a great majority of people.

It is also obvious that he has a great deal of trust in the general; and that clearly showed, when he offered him the position to head the NATO forces in that war torn country. He has the experience and background of a well versed military commander; and he is held in high esteem by many senior officers at the Pentagon, as being a truly competent soldier, and therefore his recommendation must not be taken lightly by the administration.

There is always a sharp contrast between doing certain things, when the urge is lukewarm, on one hand, but hot with a strong conviction, on the other. We all hope that the president is in the mood for the latter; and although, he has to pacify some of the members of his cabinet, particularly Vice-President Joe Biden, who is for a "new strategy", which will or will not pay off. However, so long as he (Obama) has made up his mind to send additional forces, it has to conform with what the generals on the ground are asking for.

Anything else will be deemed as a half-baked proposition that will not be helpful to the war effort, since the Taliban is recruiting and adding more fighters to the insurgency each and every day. Nobody knows their exact numbers, but there are millions of men in Afghanistan and Pakistan from whom they can extract any number of militants who will always be on the ready to join in the war.

That is a fact that the government must take into consideration; and so, to send fewer men and women to the war zone will undermine the seriousness and determination, with which it (government) attaches to winning the Afghan war. It is, after all, a war of necessity and it must be won decisively; and Gen. McChrystal is ready, willing and able to achieve that end. He has the support of the nation; and now, all he needs is the backing of the Commander-in-Chief, President Obama, and the troops to accomplish it.

Therefore less troops will not suffice.