Military analysts seem genuinely surprised that the US build-up hadn't achieved the goal of reducing the influence and numbers of Taliban fighters and supporters within Afghanistan and Pakistan and by extension diminishing the threat of more terror attacks. Yet, there is a direct inverse correlation between the military ramp up in rural areas and the ramp up in support for the radicals. The obvious conclusion is that thousands more US troops will stir even greater resistance.
Obama declares that he will finish the job in Afghanistan. But thirty thousand more troops won't guarantee a finish, just a bigger bill, more lives at risk, and a potential political disaster. No matter, Obama's made it official, Afghanistan is now his baby.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book, How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge (Middle Passage Press) will be released in January 2010.
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