US troops coming home?

Hi!

With recent talks in the President’s “State of the Union” speech of how the U.S. is going to begin withdrawing troops as soon as this coming July, someone is going to have to step up to ensure the security of the civilians. This means that there needs to be a shift from the power of the U.S. troops to another sector. This other sector needs to be the Afghanistan National Army because the country needs to start relying on itself for self-protection.

To create the power shift it is crucial for some U.S. troops to be reassigned to the training of the Afghanistan Army. To make sure there are going to be enough troops in order to defend the government and civilians of Afghanistan there needs to be a mass training happening now. Although July is about 6 months away the date will be here in not time.

Although according to Lt. General David Rodriquez “the size and the pace” of the withdrawal remains unknown. This means very few troops and a slow rate may begin to be withdrawn come July; however in order to maximize the amount of potential troops to withdraw it is necessary to transfer as much power as possible to the Afghanistan National Army. This in turn will mean the country can rely less on the U.S., meaning more troops can be withdrawn.

Rodriquez goes on to claim, “The Taliban is not on the ropes yet. They are going to continue to fight back.” This is all the more reason the ANA (Afghanistan National Army) needs to be able to defend itself and be the protective force for the country. He also suggested that instead of sending troops straight home, there may be an interim period where they are used to train new recruits for the ANA, and come home after.

At the present point in time there are about 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan. For almost two years every military official has downplayed Obama’s goal to start the drawback in July, but as we approach the date it becomes necessity to know that it will be possible. According to Rodriquez, the key factor is going to be the effectiveness of the Afghan security forces.

The question that is being constantly asked now is “Can they do it with less of us?” And as we approach the month of July this question becomes more and more critical. For the world it is necessary for the answer to this question to be yes. By answering yes the world can begin to see Afghanistan returning from the ashes. It will be acknowledge as a country that is beginning to regain independence. And for the citizens of the U.S. it will be seen as a beacon of hope. Not only will the troops being brought home seen as a good sign, but there will be this idea that our time spent there has been worth it. And that is the number one thing that has to happen, we as citizens of the United States need to know that the time spent in Afghanistan was worthwhile and that what we did was for the best.

Nathan