On the Afghan War(submitted to Klamath Falls, Oregon's "Herald and News")

I'd like to make some points regarding the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. First, allow me to lay down some facts for anybody who might like to paint me as a war-monger. I was a student leader of the Ashland peace march on the first day of the 2nd Iraq War: my first book of poetry and essays "An Ode to Id" came out unequivocally against the same LONG before many American leaders flip-flopped, and opposition to the war became popular and P.C.

No, back then, as the Bush Administration(backed unquestioningly by a "liberal" media) established unprecedented control of the federal government, many anti-war activists feared for their future safety. Also, I campaigned door to door for John Kerry and had to vacate one or two properties rather quickly after revealing faults of the Bush Administration to those who weren't inclined to receive them. Lately, I've been more scholarly about expressing my views, but have never ceased to stand against the Iraq War and remind the public about the horrors of past wars such as Vietnam and even WWI. During the Obama campaign, I released my poem: "Zoom the Troops Home," calling essentially for the immediate evacuation of Iraq.

Now, to many Klamath residents, this paints me black the other way. But I don't blow with political winds and am just not into flag-waving(though I'm proud that my grandfather George Nelson served on a mine-sweeper in WW2.) When the Bush Administration was touting the threat of WMDs in Iraq, U.N. intelligence and other sources indicated that our intelligence was inaccurate. I remember how much jingoistic contempt for the U.N. there was at the time, but their numbers and intelligence proved to be accurate down to the details; They were studied carefully by now President Obama, and were the deciding factor in his decision to cast the then super-minority vote.

Many Americans, even in the face of the mounting costs and consequences, are reluctant to condemn the war because they want to support the troops. Well, I certainly don't support "baby-killer" peace politics, and I admire those like my friend Sutton Norris who kill and die under our flag; I even believe that those who cross the humanitarian line, stressed by dangerous conditions and combat fatigue, should be judged understandingly.
But invading Iraq was never, as McCain called it, "a tough decision" which left the world a better place or on the whole served American interests. It alienated a previously supportive Europe, gave Islamists and Al-Qaeda a "cause celebre" in the Arabic world, and leaves us in a position where Iran and other real WMD developing nations know we don't have the man-power to invade. More to many's interest, it's under-mined relations with China and world confidence in the U.S.A., causing the massive pull-out of foreign investment which is the number one cause of the current recession. I'm blessed to be able to study both the modern and historical world, and believe in sharing what I've learned with others who might not have the education... or time.

But my opposition to the war isn't based on pacifism, isolationism, or a lack of affection for my homeland. From her scholarly universities to her fertile farms and ranches to her resourceful entrepeuners and workers, there are many admirable things about the U.S.A. and we need to unite in their defense.

This is why I feel that Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan have it coming to them. The sentiment is strong among many Americans and Obama capitalized on it in his campaign: we all saw those buildings full of innocent men, women, and children go down in flames. The terrorists who planned it are safe in the mountains of Pakistan, where they since planned other ruthless attacks against nations like India.

But the truth is that there are many hindrances to actually following through and destroying Al-Qaeda in the region. The largest one(which has protected them so far) is that Pakistan is a nuclear power, in a precarious feud with nuclear India, and they resent our crossing their border. And yet they've been incredibly slow and ineffective in fighting Al-Qaeda themselves; For a long time now, that's been chalked up to how remote the territory is and how tribal powers govern there. But many observers now suspect that it's not a question of military effectiveness: Osama and Al-Qaeda have many sympathizers in Pakistan.

More and more, the political buzzword regarding the war in the region is that we need a "political solution." Have these people forgotten how people rained from the twin towers, or how so many died in Mumbai, India for the crime of being allied to us? It seems most bizzare to me that politicians unwilling to bargain with Cuba believe we should do so with the Taliban, who out-lawed kite-flying and other recreations and used former soccer fields for public executions; I'm quite disappointed that Obama, who's also failed to close Guantanamo Bay(or simply open it to journalists,), just held a press conference to say that we should compromise with "moderate elements of the Taliban."

I agree with the German leftist politician Andre Brie that "we need a new strategy," though not that "the conflict cannot be solved militarily." Our strategy should not be to actively support Karzai or his corrupt government, to impose democracy by force of arms, or even to empower Afghanistan's womens beyond a human rights standard. We need to ally ourselves with influential and willing Pakistanis and Afghanis, whether or not they live up to our political standards.

And we need to fight and destroy the region's Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorist organizations decisively and completely. It is said that they are very closely inter-married and tied to the Pashtun border tribes; Well, of course every effort should be made to win allies away from the terrorists, but at the end of the day an ally of Osama and Al Qaeda is a terrorist.

And if we don't execute the mission effectively and quickly(which we could do more easily if we re-deployed more troops from Iraq)... we won't be ready to fight against other threats in other parts of the world should they come up.