Mother of fallen soldier pleads for President Obama to act now on Afghanistan

by Jason

The U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan have picked up the tempo in many parts of the country. They are fighting more, driving further, and mixing it up with the enemy more often. As this continues more soldiers will inevitably fall. Our military is carrying out these operations inspite of being short on men and equipment. And they are short on men and equipment inspite of the top commander requesting more troops.

The debate has raged over if President Obama is taking too long to make his decision. After all, the only experts he should be listening to are the guys on the ground, and their thoughts on the situation are unanimous: Send in more troops. Calls from the military, the Senate, the House, and pundits and outside experts alike have gone unanswered by the Obama administration. In fact, it has done little to even pry a revealing thought on what’s next in Afghanistan.

Boston TV | Paratrooper’s Mom Begs Obama: ‘End It’

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — As family and friends mourn a fallen U.S. paratrooper on Veteran’s Day, his mother made an emotional plea to President Barack Obama that it’s time to either bring home the troops or end the war in Afghanistan.

The body of Benjamin Sherman, 21, was recovered in Afghanistan Tuesday.
“It’s time we do something. This has gone on too long. They either need to come home or we need to end it,” a tearful Denise Sherman said.

Sherman was on his second tour of duty when he disappeared in Afghanistan last week during a mission to resupply troops in the western part of the country. He was a paratrooper with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C.

To think we are nearly a year into the Obama administration and the president has yet to make a decision as Commander in Chief in Afghanistan. A total reversal from his campaign rhetoric as he made Afghanistan the centerpiece of his foreign policy, and a piece of the campaign he used as proof that Democrats, too, could be tough on our nation’s enemies. Things have changed in a year.

In the part of the world I grew up in we would say, “it is time to pee or get off the pot.”

• LA Times | White House talks up need for exit strategy in Afghanistan
• Boston Globe | President sending message with war buildup hesitancy
• Canadian Press | Obama’s Afghanistan dilemma fuels comparisons with Johnson and Vietnam in ‘64