One only has to read the Pentagon’s progress report on the Afghanistan war effort released last Monday to understand how pointless it is to keep 68,000 American troops there any longer. The mounting evidence makes it clear that they should be pulled out as soon as it can be done safely, instead of waiting until the end of 2014, the date set by the United States and NATO.
We are not accomplishing anything worthy of note, and by maintaining a presence there, we are only prolonging the inevitable. There is nothing worthwhile that we can accomplish there in another year's time.
Besides, we cannot afford this war of dubious value; or any war that does not ACTUALLY defend our nation. We seem to be spending a huge amount of money to chase shadows, and we are continuing to alienate the world.