Thursday
Aug272009
Obama Needs More Domestic Support For War In Afghanistan Say Experts
Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 4:40PM
By Laura Woodhead - Talk Radio News Service
President Obama needs to raise support domestically for the war in Afghanistan in order to achieve success argued Afghan regional experts Thursday. Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow of South Asia at the Heritage Foundation, said that it was a disturbing trend that 51% of the American public believe that the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting for.
"U.S leaders need to do a better job of explaining why the war in Afghanistan is so fundamental to U.S national security interests," said Curtis during a discussion at The Heritage Foundation.
The lack of public support comes from the eight years that have passed since the September 11th attacks said retired Army Lieutenant Gen. David Barno.
"The 9/11 attacks occurred many years ago now they have receded from popular memory," said the General. "Many people have come around to the belief that something like that is simply not going to happen again."
Marvin Weinbaum, scholar in residence at the Middle East Institute, said that there "is not going to be a clear cut military victory, nor will there be a clear cut political victory" in Afghanistan.
However, "the implications regionally and globally should we have to walk away from Afghanistan, I think are catastrophic," said Weinbaum.
"The American public has to be told that becuase that is going to be neccessary for us to be able to sustain our effort there for the amount of time it is going to take."
President Obama needs to raise support domestically for the war in Afghanistan in order to achieve success argued Afghan regional experts Thursday. Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow of South Asia at the Heritage Foundation, said that it was a disturbing trend that 51% of the American public believe that the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting for.
"U.S leaders need to do a better job of explaining why the war in Afghanistan is so fundamental to U.S national security interests," said Curtis during a discussion at The Heritage Foundation.
The lack of public support comes from the eight years that have passed since the September 11th attacks said retired Army Lieutenant Gen. David Barno.
"The 9/11 attacks occurred many years ago now they have receded from popular memory," said the General. "Many people have come around to the belief that something like that is simply not going to happen again."
Marvin Weinbaum, scholar in residence at the Middle East Institute, said that there "is not going to be a clear cut military victory, nor will there be a clear cut political victory" in Afghanistan.
However, "the implications regionally and globally should we have to walk away from Afghanistan, I think are catastrophic," said Weinbaum.
"The American public has to be told that becuase that is going to be neccessary for us to be able to sustain our effort there for the amount of time it is going to take."
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