The ‘Will’ to Power in Afghanistan

The hallways and tunnels of the federal government echo the clatter of everyday life very well.? When it comes to the Senate and House Office buildings, this is just the product of the acoustics of the hallways teaming with the hardened floors coupled with the soles of expensive shoes and the muffled talk of staffers and passers by.? When someone walks through the Capitol, there is something sacred about the forced penitence encumbered by everyone who graces the halls of that hollowed building.? When the mason guilds of Europe built the great cathedrals, they did so in a manner that amplified every minute sound that came to being.? One could not tread heavily or even speak softly without everyone else in the cathedral knowing, which served to promote silent reverence in the house of God.? There is a feeling that someone gets, an added burden of weight dropped upon the shoulders of someone who enters into such a room, be it a cathedral, hallway, or what have you.? There is something subliminally transcendent that one feels; we like this feeling because it is our connection with that which we respect on a separate plane.?

Within these halls, and outside as well, George Will?s column yesterday has encouraged an increase in muffled debate amongst conservatives.? Mr. Will has called for a pull-out in essence.? With his typical erudition, he lays out history and fact before making his prognostication:

So, instead, forces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters.

Conservatives have been regarded as the avant-gardefor the status-quo; we choose the ?devil we know? over ?the devil we do not know.?? These days, I believe it is safe to say that Conservatives are the ones more inclined to point out that strategy in Afghanistan needs to change.? Max Boot, not even a week prior to George Will?s bombshell, mentioned on Commentary?s website?that it is ?only by adding more resources can Obama offer the prospect of long-term victory in a war effort that he himself has deemed a ?war of necessity.??? It is no longer the conservative population harking ?stay the course,? especially following the success of ?the surge? in Iraq.? Iraq saw dwindling public support, increased violence, and looked to be a situation worth second-guessing: only second guessing does not act as a reset button.? Few people supported the surge at the beginning, even President Bush was skeptical.? In the end, he decided to do what should have been done since the beginning which was to populate the country with boots on the ground and create a catalyst for growth and development through security.? Should President Obama accompany the present troop surge in Afghanistan with the proper counter-insurgency plan with the help of Gen. McChrystal, he can orchestrate a turn-around for the better which deserves bipartisan support like nothing else could.?

Mr. Will?s column advocating that everyone see the glass for what it is to him, which is half-empty, does not help the war effort, the conservative movement, or his own image.? While the ashes in New York were still smoldering, and cheeks of loved ones who lost that September day were still damp; Mr. Will wrote at the beginning of the Afghan excursion: ?When advocates of merely minor objectives are praised as ?cooler heads,? the pertinent attribute may be cold feet.?? His support, along with some 80% of all Americans at the time, of the war in Afghanistan was supposed to stand the test of time.? The public support for Enduring Freedom has fallen precipitously since then; in July, 36% of respondents in a Gallup poll said that going to Afghanistan was a mistake.? It was not the highest we have had, but those in the mistake camp have multiplied their numbers from 6% in 2002 to what it is today.? Mr. Will may not be in the mistake camp, but his words give them fodder.? What?s more depressing, is the number of elected officials who are questioning the mission their.? Fortunately, many refrain from doing so publicly, but their venomous pessimism spreads covertly into the mainstream American consciousness.?

Mr. Will?s article calling for pulling out is scant in comparison to many of his verbose narratives; but like many other concise exercises of thought and word (the Gettysburg Address for example) his article packs a mighty punch to the establishment.? There was one reflection that struck me in particular; it was how he ended the article:

?Genius, said de Gaulle, recalling Bismarck’s decision to halt German forces short of Paris in 1870, sometimes consists of knowing when to stop. Genius is not required to recognize that in Afghanistan, when means now, before more American valor, such as Allen’s, is squandered.

The esoteric now in the word knowing was an interesting touch.? His final point regards squandering valor.? Now I am quick to admit, with great humility, that I do not serve and have not served in the armed forces, despite coming from a family that did and continues to.? I remember my Senior year in high school when my father served bravely in Afghanistan, and I watched news reports and dreaded word of fatalities.? I remember being in AP US History with Mr. Lube (shortened version of his very long, Polish name) and my cell phone had gone off in class on my birthday.? I looked down in embarrassment and saw the scrambled number or the word Private or something that made me realize that my dad was calling during one of the rare times he could grab a satellite phone.? I gave Mr. Lube a look and he told me I could leave the class to take the call outside.? Dad and I spoke briefly, he wished me happy birthday over the delayed line and then we hung up.? I stood in the locker bank for a minute and stared at my phone.? Tears welled up in my eyes, and in a shameless display of weakness and futility I cried.? Nobody with friends or family overseas wishes to have more people to share their worries with in the end, because that means more people feel the cocktail of uncontrollable emotions and living with a loved one overseas.? There is something that would feel worse to anyone with a family member or friend who is overseas; and that is thinking that their sacrifice, their blood, your tears or their life went in vain.? American valor cannot be squandered unless we take the route the Mr. Will prescribes.? American valor will not be squandered when we take the route that secures the freedoms of a people, the security of our country, and sanctifies the mission for which so many gave their lives.

-rj