An End To The Afghanistan War?

In the face of the mounting death and destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan and the U.S.'s rapidly sinking finances, in Congress on Wednesday (3/16) Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich offered a resolution to withdraw the U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

The resolution was meant to appeal to the numerous Republican fiscal conservatives whose mandate is to slash spending. But their reaction to slashing war spending was muted and their leadership seemed to oppose it.

The Iraq War is eight years old and the Afghan War is 10 years old, arguably the longest war in U.S. history. The U.S. has paid a heavy price in lives and in dollars and has little to show for it and no sign of progress as Iraq's and Afghanistan's governments are kept in power by the U.S. military and are highly unpopular with the people of those nations.

For the Afghan War, the U.S. has borrowed and spent $454.7 billion per Rep. Kucinich and President Obama has requested $113 billion more. But even among the "deficit hawks," there is little support for Rep. Kucinich's resolution, because I believe, no-one wants to look "soft on terrorism," and because the military and its contractors are big campaign contributors.

Meanwhile, we reduce educational spending, fire teachers and cut medical programs for the poor, including in-home care for the elderly and frail.

These are surely not the priorities of a compassionate nation nor reflective of a great nation that cares for the well-being of all humanity.

Dick