World News Update

President Obama Has a Decision to Make

Here is a link for the article for additional reading and information regarding this topic:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/25/AR2009082501312.html


President Obama is being put between a rock and a hard place. The War on Terror has been going on in Afghanistan for many, many years and many Americans would like to see the troops pulled out of that country. There are currently 62,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan with a request for more probably coming soon. The problem is that President Obama based some of his campaign on the promise of removing troops from the Middle East. With many high-ranking generals requesting additional troops and Democratic members of Congress calling for the removal of troops it is creating a sticky situation.

Should President Obama try to finish the work that is being done in removing terrorists and radicals from Afghanistan like his generals are asking, or should he stick to what he said in his campaign and start the removal of the troops? Personally I would like to see whatever is best for Afghanistan. I know that our troops are over there fighting a war that may not seem like ours, but for decades the United States has been the country that has taken the responsibility of making the world a safer place. Although it may seem like a contradiction to make the world a safer place by the use of force and violence, sometimes that is the only way to achieve the necessary outcome that is best for everyone. It is better to do the job right and see it finished to the end then have all the men and women who lost their lives doing that work have their lives be lost in vain.

Cash Being Used to Help Heal in Afghanistan

Here is a link to the story for further reading:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082802352.html

With all of the destruction and distress that a war causes there are always going to be civilians that get the raw end of the deal. The U.S. Military and Congress have come up with a strategy to make it a little better for those civilians who have lost some of their material things or even family members. Its a program that has been in existence for a while, but it is new in a couple sections of Afghanistan where there had not been very much fighting in the past.

A surprising fact is that only $2,500 is the compensation for a slain civilian. Their family receives that money, but does that seem fair? That seems very ridiculous to me. That is almost the same amount that is given for a slain cow, and the reasoning is that cows are so hard to raise in that area of the world. Seems slightly ridiculous that a family receives close to the same amount for a dead family member as a dead cow.