Kurt Becker: Time to leave Afghanistan
In response to the Oct. 6 news article “U.S. commander says Afghans requested airstrike”: We have been in Afghanistan for 14 years now. How much longer are we planning to stay? The Russians left after seven years. Are we planning to stay indefinitely?
After we leave, whoever gains the upper hand will have to govern and address the many problems the Afghans have. In time, fighting will decrease and the radicals will have to find another place to fight.
What happened to Vietnam after we left? Fighting decreased and stopped. The Communists found out that their economic plan did not work out as well as they had planned. Vietnam has re-joined international commerce, and the peoples’ lives are slowly improving, even without us.
What will happen to us after we leave? We will have more funds left to repair our roads and bridges. Our service members will stay in the United States and be with their families. The budget deficits will be lower. It seems to me this is a better road to take.
Kurt Becker
Durham
This story was originally published October 8, 2015 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Kurt Becker: Time to leave Afghanistan."