There has been a lot of press about the rhetoric of whether or not President Obama should send more troops to beat back the insurgent Taliban. There has been reports that the American people are beginning to tire of the fight in Afghanistan and in fact are calling it a worthless war. I feel that it is necessary to explain to the American people that the attack on the World Trade Center in New York was launched from Afghanistan. However, that is not what I want to convey to you here, we all know that Osama Bin Laden and his band of blood thirsty thugs must and will be hunted to the ends of the earth.
I just want to share with you a story that I heard from one of my professors when I was in graduate school back in St. Louis. First of all my professor was a woman that was from eastern Iran and had relatives that lived in Afghanistan. My professor had such a unique perspective of what it was like to live in Iran during the Iranian Revolution and was close enough to her family in Afghanistan to vicariously share their stories with us back in the states. There was a discussion of the Taliban in our class as we were studying the region and its history after the Soviets were kicked out in the late eighties. Of course we being naive praising the Taliban and their fight against oppression summoned the wrath of our soft spoken professor.
She commenced to tell us a story about the Taliban and their rules outlawing the idea of sports and competition among other things as well. Her demeanor changed as she told us about the Taliban softening their position on sports and advertised a soccer match. As you may well imagine the citizens of Afghanistan were excited about the prospects of being able to see and cheer on their favorite team in a long awaited soccer match. As our professor came to a crescendo in her story we became even more excited about our Afghan brothers and sisters getting the chance to see a soccer match and in a way to become human again.
However, our story teller changed the tempo and our hopes just like those in the stadium awaiting the match were crushed in an iron fist of oppression as the Taliban commenced showing brutal executions of those that opposed them. They beheaded their enemies in public display for all to see and to send a message to those in the stadium and beyond that their power (the Taliban) was absolute.
I do not need to tell you that after that story I felt sick and I was emboldened to oppose any affront to freedom where-ever I see it. If there is an affront of freedom here at home or in Afghanistan we as Americans must oppose it no matter where it is. Mr. President I am a citizen of this country and as a citizen I fully support your decision to send more troops to oppose the Taliban. Just like Al Quida the Taliban is nothing more than blood thirsty criminals. I liken them to a gang of thugs that must be stamped out and deadly force is the only way to do it. I trust you will do the right thing President Obama and as far as I am concerned there should be no debate to send more troops at all, send them and I will support the Afghan people in their fight for freedom no matter how long it takes.
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