Afghanistan Letter

Below is my letter as it appeared in The State Journal of Frankfort, Kentucky on Sunday, September 13, 2009:

Afghanistan war is not the answer

To the Editor:

I was delighted to see George Will calling for a reduction instead of an escalation of our troops in Afghanistan in his Washington Post column republished in The State Journal on Wednesday, September 2. 

Our troops do need to leave that country. The insurgency is fighting against us as foreign invaders and more of our troops are dying and suffering.

However, I do disagree with him when he says "America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, air strikes and small, potent Special Forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan."

Our air strikes are killing civilians, including women and children. There is not much way to miss them. Our attacks also in and on Pakistan are destabilizing that fragile country. In fact, our involvement in both Pakistan and Afghanistan is destabilizing the whole region. We need to leave militarily altogether.

If we want to help, demilitarize that help and let the Afghan people take the lead. Instead of more war, they need jobs, agriculture, education, reconstruction, clean water, and health care. There is also need for political reconciliation and diplomacy.

Anne G. Woodhead

Frankfort