The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

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July 31, 2010

We want your views on the war

Dalton Daily Citizen

DALTON — The War in Afghanistan began Oct. 7, 2001. The operation was called Enduring Freedom. It began in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks on New York City. Our understanding of the stated goal of the war was to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and destroy the al-Qaida network. All this while disabling the Taliban regime that came to power as an Islamic fundamentalist movement around 1994.

Since the start of this operation there have been 1,215 U.S. deaths fighting with great honor for our country. These are facts that will never be forgotten and should always be treated with great dignity. Regardless of what our government’s goals are now, these men and women are the instruments that are doing everything they can to fulfill the goals of our politicians.

Based on the originally stated goals, can they be executed effectively now or have they morphed into something else not originally intended? It feels as if we are attempting to make this country some form of a democracy. Is that even possible for a country with its very tumultuous history?

There are reports by The New York Times and The London Telegraph talking of massive deposits of minerals found untapped, mainly lithium, that could become the foundation for an economy. Is that our issue and should it not be up to Afghani leadership to figure out? There are also reports of current or past plans for permanent military bases. All this in a country with little to no infrastructure and no history of centralized government, a country that is dominated by war lords, ever-changing corrupt governments and Islamic fundamentalists. So where are we now and where should we go from here? Is leaving as soon as possible just plain prudent or is it wrong? If we stay, how long and with what goal in mind.

Do the people of that country even care what our goals are?

These are just a few of the many tough questions to be answered. We seem to get a lot of political rhetoric from the talking heads 24/7 on television and radio. What matters most is what the voters of our country think. What do you think?

Here at home in Dalton, we want to know what you the citizens think about the current situation and should we still be there and why. We are looking for you to send us letters that meet our letter to the editor policy explaining where our government is right or wrong and why.

 We are your community newspaper and your opinion matters most.

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