The Iraq Distraction

Last month a resurgent Taliban sprung its members and/or supporters from an Afghanistan prison, and now this month the Taliban is launching attacks on US bases. What seems to be left out of the discussion is the role Iraq plays in these brazen attacks.

The events of September 11th, 2001 led to the military operation in Afghanistan with the purported mission of finding Osama Bin Laden and toppling the ruling Taliban regime. Soon after, however, the World Trade Center incident was used as justification to launch an invasion of Iraq to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. This maneuver took the focus off of Afghanistan, overextended the US military, and put military personnel on the ground in Afghanistan at greater risk.

Fast forward several years and the reasons why are more readily apparent. The Taliban are capable of launching brazen surprise attacks against US and Afghan positions, and apparently see both as weak enough to not be very fearful of reprisal. Osama Bin Laden remains uncaptured, and the situation on the ground appears to be getting not better; but worse.

At the same time the US economy is bordering on stagnation as gas prices continue to rise and the value of the US Dollar consistently degrades; primarily due to the hundreds of millions of dollars spent every day to sustain a hungry US war machine. While the practice of war for profit may enrich a few--and serve as the health of the state--it definitely results in the suffering of millions. The time to begin winding down these ill-conceived military misadventures passed years ago.

It's time to ignore the "richest nation in the world" mantra that's used to vilify the American public and make us second-class citizens in our own country; it's time to open our eyes to the problems, the poverty, and the precarious infrastructure that's all around us; it's time to return to building and strengthening our own nation before concerning ourselves with the needs of others; it's time to put our money back in our pockets; it's time for the investigations to begin; it's time to bring our soldiers home.