An Open Letter to President Obama on Afghanistan

March 29, 2009

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to you today in response to your recent policy white paper and public statements regarding the conflict in the Afghan-Pakistan region.

I am gravely concerned that you and your administration are heading down the wrong path in terms of solving the myriad of ethnic, political and religious troubles that have plagued the “cradle of civilization” for thousands of years.

We are stepping from the flames of Iraq into the fires of Afghanistan. While I am in full support of your plan to drawdown in Iraq, I am at odds with your decision to shift that military focus to Afghanistan.

While I agree that there needs to be a full joint diplomatic push in the region involving the U.S., U.N. and numerous other world powers to redirect the opium trade, establish stable local and national governments and foster equal rights, it is not in our best interest to increase our military presence that has already threatened to undermine the progress that has been made.
While we have seen that torture and occupation in Iraq have been a recruiting mechanism for insurgents and terrorists in Iraq and surrounding regions, the same can be said about our continued and escalating military presence in the Afghan territory.

If we are to win the “hearts and minds” of the Afghanis, the first thing we need to do is show them that we are serious about changing course in the Middle East. You have shown your seriousness by prescribing to withdrawal in Iraq. It would be a terrible mistake to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, so to speak, by simultaneously ramping up our military presence in the neighboring region.

I am in full agreement that the quickest way to peace and reconciliation is through improvements in education, infrastructure, employment and political freedom. It is our responsibility to help provide a roadmap to the Afghani people, and let them run their country they way they want to run it. We cannot install a puppet regime and expect things to go according to plan. It didn’t work in Vietnam. It didn’t work in Iraq. And it won’t work in Afghanistan.

Lyndon Johnson’s presidency could have been remembered for his “Great Society”. Instead, he will be remembered for a failed military policy and a protracted war in Vietnam.
I am worried that you and your Administration may be heading down that same path with regards to Afghanistan. You were elected on a sea of change. While I recognize that you have been handed a red herring when it comes to foreign policy, the economy and America’s standing in the world, I urge you and your administration to take careful consideration and deliberation when it comes to this issue.

Do you want to continue to see flag-draped coffins returning home for another false or lost cause? Or do you want to seize the opportunity that your predecessor squandered after 9/11 when he had the world on our side? I realize that your job is not easy. You will never be able to please all the people all the time. However this is one issue in which there are tens of thousands of lives at stake.

I was electrified by your campaign and you have given me and millions of others hope in the American political system again. I have deep respect for you and know that you are the best man for the job of restoring America. The American people are listening, watching and trusting that you will make the right decisions.

Respectfully yours,
Scott D. Stoddard