Does having troops in Afghanistan make us more secure?

(I apologize to Row in advance--or anyone else that is of a similar mindset, and advise them to read no further. actually, no one should read further. I am incredibly cynical and opinionated)

I don't think having troops in Afghanistan makes us more secure. If anything, I think it makes us less secure. Not that I think that, as an average American citizen, I need to worry about my security.

First of all, I don't think that having troops in Afghanistan makes us more secure because I don't think the U.S. has accomplished anything in Afghanistan (ok, maybe a little bit, but not enough for anyone to feel comfortable enough to hop on a plane and take a family vacation in Kabul). The United States is trying to build a strong democratic government in Afghanistan, but we really haven't made any progress. Instead of having "nice" democratic government OF AFGHANISTAN where the citizens aren't oppressed by the Taliban, the Afghanis have a "nice" democratic government OF THE UNITED STATES prodding the citizens with their guns. If I was them, I would hate the U.S. The U.S. hasn't accomplished its mission to make the Middle East more stable. Sure, if the democratic government in Afghanistan was to succeed, then further U.S. stabilization of the Middle East (countering terrorism, spreading nuclear non-proliferation) would run smoother.

Second, I think having troops in Afghanistan makes us (slightly) less secure because the U.S. is pushing democracy, where maybe democracy just won’t work out. Islam and democracy haven’t seen a good balance yet, even in Saudi Arabia. When democracy moves in, the hegemony of U.S. culture moves in and overpowers Islam. When Islam is around, the leaders fight the U.S. culture hegemony proactively and build up hate (spawning terrorism). Osama bin Laden snowballed his hate for the U.S. into terrorism because of the changes he saw in Saudi Arabia. IN NO WAY AM I JUSTIFYING TERRORISM, but the underlying motives were rational: the U.S.’s culture was a threat to the existence of Islam, and terrorism is a defense mechanism to prevent the youth from turning to the dark side. The U.S. is potentially fueling this fire by meddling where people don’t want us. Some do, but some crazy radicals called terrorists do not. Historically, we know that Afghanis don’t like people messing in their backyard. And they’re very good at keeping them out. How easy of an argument would it be for the terrorists to say, “hey, that U.S. is meddling with us, We can’t let them! Protect our sovereignty. They want to destroy our religion.”

Thirdly, I don’t think that, as an average citizen, we need to worry about security because I think that living with fear is the worst way to live. Other people (aka the military, DoD, State Department, CIA, and every other government agency) are working to keep me safe so that I don’t HAVE TO worry, and they’re doing a great job of it. I’m not taking them for granted, but nor do I think I need to worry about terrorism every time I step on a plane or question the possibility of asbestos in the dorm room vents (oooh now have I gotten you paranoid??). If you wanted to, you could notice that that person on the metro has a suitcase that would be perfect to put a bomb in. Do I want to live in fear? No.

At the rally this weekend this really really really really creepy guy pushed through the crowd near me with a grocery bag and a suitcase. He proceeded to put his belongings down and turn, facing the opposite direction of everyone else. He stood silently and unmoving for about 5 minutes. His eyes were glossy and he looked like he’d been living in a crypt. After awhile a person behind me said, “Hey, we should ask that creep what’s in his bag.”

All I could think was that that was a very stupid comment. For one second, the possibility that it was a bomb or other weapon went through my mind, but I decided I didn’t care enough to let it bother me. Other people in the crowd, however, shuffled him away and I later saw him escorted by a security guard. In eluding to terrorism, the commenter behind me had helped the terrorists by spreading fear.
It’s just like what our teachers taught us in elementary school: the bullies can’t bother you if you don’t let them.
Stop worrying about terrorism, and the terrorists won’t have anything left to feed on.