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A few days after 9-11, I was on my way to deposit my paycheck and saw a group of anti-war protesters. I remarked to someone else that the fact that they were allowed to was what separated us from those who had attacked us earlier in the week.
A few months later, having realized that Bush had seen 9-11 as an opportunity to build a new American Empire, I was standing with those same activists.
From what I have seen just from titles of threads here on DU, and the contents of my inboxes, I'm thinking I may be in the minority of the anti-war community in seeing the need to escalate as necessary.
As Obama mentioned in his speech, we were attacked by a group that had it's base in Afghanistan. I personally wish he would have made than a passing reference to how 9-11 may have been one of the most devastating examples of blowback from the Cold War that has been seen, and how our withdrawal from that country paved the way for the Taliban to take power in that country. The world stood with us in responding to the attacks. It was not until Bush decided to expand the war into Iraq that the world, and eventually a majority of the American people, turned against the US. I actually wonder if Bush had stuck to Afghanistan, if this anti-war/anti-imperialist movement that helped to defeat the GOP in 2006 and 2008 would have been as powerful.
Second, unlike Bush's surge, there's evidence of thought. Obama has set clear goals and a timetable, and sees that Pakistan needs to be included in this conflict. I do wish a greater call or emphasis would be put on the role that NGOs and existing organizations like RAWA, the Afghani woman's organization could play. Obama also sees that we can't go this alone, a far cry from Bush's "cowboy diplomacy".
Finally, though Obama says there is little evidence of an imminent collapse of the Afghani government, the potential always exists, and any rapid withdrawal of US or international troops might only increase that potential. If this were to happen, and the Taliban were to re-take control, we'd be back where we started. The Becks and Limbaughs of AM-Radio and FOX News nation would be able to once again scare the US people into backing a candidate like Palin. This is what we in the anti-war movement, that I still see myself as a part of, need to realize.
As I've read and listened to the run-up to this, I've wondered if we may have hamstrung Obama on this a bit. We can't afford to, as the cost of failure in Afghanistan, and a return to GOP power in the US that would likely result from it, would be too much to bear.
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