In defense of President Obama

This may be a bit late, but with the upcoming troop surge in Afghanistan, its important to remember something about the last eight years.

We've been fighting two wars. This seems to have slipped through the cracks in light of the controversy surrounding the war in Iraq, but we were in Afghanistan first and the more troops and the more discussion and the more controversy that went into Iraq, the more resources were diverted from Afghanistan. What is particularly interesting (read: terrifying) about this is that Al Qaeda, the group that attacked the US on its own soil, was in Afghanistan. NOT Iraq. So what exactly were we doing in Iraq?

No one is arguing that Saddam Hussein was a good guy or that the situation for Iraqi's was not dire. But given the rhetoric that President Bush and the Republican party relied on so heavily (national security, prevention of nuclear proliferation, safety of the American people) it is interesting to note that while Saddam was not a particular fan of the United States, it didn't seem that he had any immediate plans against us, whereas Al Qaeda seems to ALWAYS have plans against us. Al Qaeda, who in our absence, has moved in to Pakistan and seems perilously close to Pakistan's seat of government and nuclear weapons.

It seems as though the people who are currently arguing that the election of President Obama has made the United States less safe, mainly the previous administration and its ardent supporters, have missed the news for the past eight years. While we have been fighting in Iraq, the invasion of Afghanistan has regressed, Al Qaeda has gained new ground. The plight of the Afghani people has been ignored. That is our mire now. That is our unfinished business.

The troop surge that President Obama has planned for Afghanistan is necessary for this unfinished business, for the protection of Americans and Afghani citizens alike and for national security. Before we can move on to other concerns, we have to take care of the messes that had been left behind - the economy being only one.

So yes, President Obama is using the same methods that President Bush used in Iraq, the same methods that President Obama opposed in the context of Iraq. But let us please remember the key differences. Al Qaeda was definitely based in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda definitely wants to attack the US. It seems to me that President Obama is actually make up for the LAPSES in national security committed by the previous administration, who diverted resources from a war that was clearly in the interest of national security to one that we're still unclear as to the reasons of.

This is the war we have to finish. Not only in the interests of national security, which are immediate and pressing, but also in the interests of humanity. We can't leave the Afghani people wondering where we've gone an who they are left with anymore than we can leave in power a group that wants us dead.