Wars have always ignited controversy between people who do and don’t support them. Despite the numerous wars that have been waged between the United States and other nations, wars are still scary and bring fear to the masses as well our leaders in charge.

In front of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, there are always two groups of people. On one side of the highway there are the protesters of the war. They carry signs that criticize the war and the people who support the war. On the other side of the highway, to counteract these protesters, is not former Vice President Dick Cheney, but citizens who support our soldiers. They have a sign which I read every time "Honk if you support our troops!" To me, I support both of these "sides" which in my opinion do not clash. There is no reason that these two groups have to be against each other. Citizens can be against the reasons for the war and still support the soldiers.

Some adamantly state that the United States should leave Afghanistan immediately. These are the people that drive me crazy. Yes, the U.S. is involved in Middle Eastern controversy. Unfortunately, the entire world is involved as well. The U.S. is a key player in the situation, especially because a lot of anger in the Middle East is directed at the U.S. The war in Iraq is a war in which the U.S. should not have become involved in at that specific time, however, people tend to forget that we (the U.S. and the United Nations) went into Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 happened because of the direct links with the Taliban and their association with the terrorist acts. It is extremely unfortunate that the U.S. shifted their focus from Afghanistan to Iraq and therefore sentenced Afghanistan to a (possibly) doomed fate. However, even though the focus shifted, that is not a reason to stop helping the nation and people of Afghanistan.

We cannot throw ourselves into a nation, decimate it in hopes of finding our enemy, and then leave it war torn and ravaged while the innocent Afghani people suffer and are left to pick up the pieces themselves because of our interference. For people who suggest that, I am appalled. These same people will throw back in my face the amount of American soldiers that are being killed overseas in a war that seems like there will never be a peaceful ending. I understand that, and I wish that American soldiers did not have to suffer. But, we went into Afghanistan for a reason, and to leave it worse off than it was before we invaded would not only hurt the Afghani people but it could also lead to another attack on the United States or one of our allies.

People also forget that one of the reasons Afghanistan was and continues to be such a war torn country is partly the U.S.’s fault. Does Charlie Wilson’s war ring any bells for you? After we went into Afghanistan and helped them (help us) defeat the Russians from crossing their boarder during the Cold War, we left them with free weapons and continued destitution which bred bitter feelings. This, in conjunction with the already difficult Middle Eastern climate, allowed terrorists to find the nation as a home base and fanned the bitter and hatred flames even more. To leave Afghanistan now would be to repeat history (and we all know what happened last time).

President Obama addressed the nation on Tuesday evening in hopes to increase public support of his new Afghanistan plan, which in its most controversial part includes a surge of 30,000 troops. It is unfortunate that we have to send in an additional 30,000 troops and NATO an additional 7,000. However, this will total the amount of troops to over 150,000 soldiers in Afghanistan alone. President Obama stated that the reason for this surge is to establish enough peace, train the Afghanistan soldiers, and assist the Afghanistan government in gaining order in their nation to provide for a more stable future. There is so much instability, that with only the current amount of troops the U.S.’s stay in Afghanistan will be much longer to obtain the same goal or the U.S. would leave and leave a bigger mess than before.

The U.S. is also going into Afghanistan with a multi-national force. By showing our commitment to the Afghanistan people, we will be gaining their confidence, especially in the youth population. If we leave now, we will only increase the animosity and hate in the younger population and possibly increase the amount of terrorists.

Americans (and people from most dominant nations) tend to forget how great we have it. We live in a nation that is by no means perfect, but we are, for the most part: safe, protected, have running water, available food to eat, opportunity, a working government (I said for the most part), and other freedoms that we take for granted. A family in Afghanistan may have some of these things, but they are seen as a possibility rather than a right. Could you imagine going to pick up your paycheck and being fearful of being killed while standing in line? Or afraid to step out of your house at the wrong time because you might be killed for associating with American soldiers when they were the ones protecting your block last week?

It’s extremely upsetting that people don’t see the human rights issues at play here and are willing to forget that right now we have the opportunity to help these people start rebuilding their nation themselves. The most important part of that sentence is that we are helping them learn how to run their nation alone, without our help. This is what is different from the time of the Cold War and I hope this is what will change the opinions of the young minds about the U.S. and other nations who have risked their soldiers in this war.

So, let’s view this as a time for hope and action. Hope that the surge will be a success. Hope that our actions will affect the lives of the Afghani people and in the long run, become a stable nation and ally. Hope that our and other nations’ soldiers will return unharmed. And finally, hope that we will not repeat history, but set a course for positive actions in the future.