Afghanistan

I supported invading Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power. The Taliban was a terrorist government that supported the World Trade Center bombing, was a real threat to the security of the United States and the world, and grossly mistreated the Afghan people. The invasion was a blow to terrorism, liberated a country, and gave great pause to other governments who might sponsor terrorism. It was an action that was accepted and supported by most of the rest of the world, and the U.S. military performed bravely and admirably. However, I was extremely disappointed in the level of our financial support of rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan after we liberated the country from the Taliban. For example, in January 2002, President Bush pledged only $290 million in aid for Afghanistan in 2002. That’s less than we are still spending every two days in Iraq! Because we did not focus adequate attention on Afghanistan, especially during the critical time immediately after the invasion, we are now seeing a resurgence in Taliban and terrorist activities in Afghanistan. Our government needs to make the right decisions, but it also needs to execute them with intelligence, efficiency, and competence. The current administration has failed to do this time and time again. The bottom line: we must not allow Iraq to distract us from the still very important job of building security, economic stability, and a stable democracy in Afghanistan to counteract the Taliban’s attempts to gain support and power.