No One Wins in War
I still remember where I was the day that the WTC in NYC was attacked eight years ago -it’s a memory forever imprinted in the attic of my mind. I remember hearing my housemates chattering upstairs in a commotion. We sat on the sofa for hours that day -ultimately seeing the second plane hit and witnessing the fall of both towers. I was supposed to work in the afternoon only to find the city streets and store abandoned. I recall the start of the war and the way fear gnawed at my heart when my brother announced that he’d joined the army a couple of years later.
The entire country has waited over the last couple of weeks for President Obama’s decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan. One cousin finally came home just in time for the holidays from his third tour of duty. His younger brother will be shipped out sooner than later now -likely before the end of the year. Another is heading there in April, after having spent the last two years training with the Marines. I watched the President’s address last night with mixed feelings. How do we support our friends and family when we do not support this war? Fighting violence with violence does not equate to attaining peace -it does not work that way. I understand why the wars began and I understand why we cannot simply withdraw all of the troops all at once. I understand that we have to clean up the mess that we created. My problem lies in the continued statement about needing more troops to win the war.
No one wins in war. I’m so tired of hearing all of these politicians -including our President- go on and on about what it will take to win this and win the “war on terrorism and extremism”. So we ended the lives of several high-ranking politicians and/or terrorists -big deal. Ending those lives came at the cost of the lives of thousands of Americans, Britons, Iraqis, Afghanis, and countless others. Ending those lives came at the cost of the lives of those left behind -regardless of whether they live in the Middle East or in the west. I was disgusted by Obama’s remarks pertaining to the differences between the Vietnam War and this war. I was not alive during the Vietnam War, but his comments came across as defensive and avoidant. Regardless of the actual commonalities between the Vietnam War and this war, too many people feel this battle has become an act of futility. Does anyone remember the original objective? We were supposed to be going after Osama bin Laden and more than eight years later, we’re still running around chasing what seems to be a straw man. Why are we really still there? What denotes a winner in this war? If we magically locate and end the life of bin Laden, will that mean that the war is over? Will that fulfill the main objective or will we continue to occupy the country for X more years?
I want to support my friends and family serving this country and I do support them. I understand why they enlisted and why they are willing to give their lives for this country. However, I don’t feel like there is a productive reason for us to remain in this war. Fighting terrorism is too broad and too general a goal in this matter and equates to fighting for the sake of fighting because we somehow have nothing better to do with our resources and the priceless lives of our people.
