Afghanistan Action?

   In the commentary blog, "What are You Going to Do About Afghanistan, President Trump?", Brian Cloughley of The Smirking Chimp discusses the priorities of President Trump regarding his stance on Afghanistan. President Trump was not particularly specific on if the White House plans to take any action due to the recent terrorist type attacks. However, with President Trump's ideals on putting America first, any advances on the situation are questionable. 

   Mr. Cloughley has designed this piece to sound like an open letter to President Trump himself- asking him what he plans to do about Afghanistan multiple times. It is clear that Mr. Cloughley is a strong liberal, who appeals to the Democratic views in this article. However, his intended audience is not going to be those who agree with his views, but those who oppose him. Mr. Cloughley seeks to propose a question that is being overlooked, and yet can have a direct affect on not only Afghanistan, but also the United States.

   Among other things, Mr. Cloughley is a published writer who focuses on South Asian Affairs, and is actually a South Asia Defense Analyst who covers places such as Afghanistan, India and Pakistan regularly. Mr. Cloughley has over forty years of studying and research under his belt, so it is safe to say that in this specific topic, he is well versed-therefore quite credible. 

   In this specific blog, Mr. Cloughley argues that Afghanistan is on the verge of devastation and the White House is remaining silent on the topic. President Trump was at one point caught in an interview stating-

 “Look. I am the strongest military person, and if I have Iran in one, I would be the strongest military president ever. I believe in having — I would not be cutting the budget. I’d be coming out with the best weapons ever, all right? But with Afghanistan, I want to build our country. You know, in Afghanistan, they build a school. They blow up the school. They blow up the road. We then start all over again. And in New Orleans and in Alabama, we can’t build schools.”

Now, at first glance this response is seemingly unrelated, but Mr. Cloughley brings it all back to the idea of money. President Trump seems to believe that it is better to use the money close to home, which Mr. Cloughley highlights as being an understandable point. In one way, helping our states is not a bad thing, but then, what does this mean for the people of Afghanistan? With Afghanistan declining at a rapid pace, this can only mean that the United States will also start to see a significant impact on the economy and government as a whole.

   I am a strong believer in helping others, even on a national level. I believe that we were not created to put up borders and deny help to our neighbors, but to pick them up and assist them in being their best selves. While it is important to make a difference within our own country, I do believe that by helping others, we can also change our own situation. If the White House chooses to ignore what is going on in Afghanistan, it could be the start of a very sticky situation. While I know this is easier said then done, I hold hope that we can outstretch a hand to those in need and be a part of the solution in Afghanistan.