3rd Op-Ed

Thrid Op-Ed Assignment
“The States of Iraq and Afghanistan”
By: Jason Campbell, Michael O’Hanlon, Jeremy Shapiro, and Amy Unikewicz

In this article, these three contributors teamed up to show the public how complicated the situation is in Iraq and Afghanistan. In both situations, we have stationed troops in the country to stabilize the area and by doing so; make the world a safer place. But, there are many people out there that think this is a waste of time and money. They do not understand that if the Middle East would be allowed to continue to decline at the current rate, we could be facing another world war. So, these contributors tackle to sensitive issue of how many troops. This is difficult because there is a fine line when enough is enough for most Americans; and they will call for the withdrawal. With any war, it is important to have the support of the citizens back home, so President Obama must decide for both of these countries, what is the perfect number of troops for the job. The contributors talked about how although there is no perfect equation, by tracking some specific numbers, we can see if more or less troops are needed. Some of these factors are: US/Foreign Forces Deaths, Native Security Forces Deaths, Civilians Deaths, Telephone Subscribers, and Children in School. These numbers can show if these countries are closer or farther away from being a stable, self standing democratic nation. In this area, victory must be achieved, even if it takes time. We must not criticize and trust our leadership to make the best possible choice.

In this article, the four contributors had the goal of helping the public understand the many figures that goes in to consideration when troops are sent in. They started the article off by talking about the job that President Obama has to do in choosing the number of troops. Next they communicated that there is no easy way to find the perfect number of troops because even if the right number is achieved, other factors could play into it, causing a need for more troops. Then, the contributors (with help from a graph) showed some of the figures that are used to track progress in these hostile areas. In the end, the message was that everyone should be patient. It will take some time to find the right number of troops, and when we do, it might take even longer for them to achieve their goal. But, for the sake of our own safety, we must stay in these areas until they are stable enough to handle the enemy insurgents trying to hurt the cause of democracy.