Despite Army Gen. General David Petraeus' indefatigable optimism, a growing number of Americans are turning against the mission in Afghanistan because they see no end to this fight, they see no light at the end of this tunnel. In the latest CNN poll, a record number of respondents - 62 percent - said they opposed this war, which has now dragged on for nine years.
Unbelievably, the Afghanistan conflict has become the longest war in American history. That's an almost impossibly bitter pill to swallow. But it's true.
Other polls reflect the same sentiment. Nearly six in 10 oppose the war in Afghanistan in a new Associated Press-GfK poll, and only 38 percent say they support President Obama's expanded war effort there ' a drop from 46 percent in March. Just 19 percent expect the situation to improve during the next year, while 29 percent think it will get worse. Some 49 percent think it will remain the same.
While some progress has been made, political and tribal stability isn't even close, the violence is increasing and the insurgents are now reportedly getting help from Pakistan, Iran, and others. June and July were the two worst months of the entire war in terms of American casualties, and it only promises to get worse as we approach that all-important July 2011 date when our troops begin pulling out.
Opposition to the war in Afghanistan is no longer a partisan campaign issue, either. Conservatives are joining liberals in questioning the viability of this seemingly endless mission and the reasons why we should continue with this conflict, which many see as unwinnable.
Our troops are doing remarkable things in Afghanistan under the worst of conditions. They are working tremendously hard to win hearts and minds and keep insurgency down. But the Taliban actually seems to be gaining strength in some regions and violence is increasing, and corruption in the Afghan government continues to read its ugly head.
I fully supported the original mission to go into Afghanistan and take out the Taliban, which provided safe harbor for Al Qaeda, the ones who attacked us on 9/11. And I still can't help but feel that if we leave, the Taliban will regain a stranglehold and it could once again be a haven for terrorists to train. It seems a no-win situation. The cruel irony is that the Afghanistan battle, which was a legitimate reaction to the 9/11 attack, has been less successful than the war in Iraq, whose purpose to this day remains questionable and which was promoted under a number of false assumptions.
But history has shown the near-impossibility of military success in Afghanistan. Just ask the Russians. Everyone knows that corruption permeates the Afghan government, and members of Congress ' on both sides of the aisle, significantly - are questioning whether our military effort can ever succeed without doing more to end bribery and graft that have all but destroyed the Afghan people's trust in their own government. It's a very tall order. If anyone can do it, our troops can. But that's the question: can ANYONE do it?
Still, I dread the thought of what might happen if and when we leave. The bloodhsed could commence on a massive scale, and the terrorists could take to the streets shaking their rifles as if they had won, and regain power. That's a visual that keeps me up at night.
