Troops to Afghanistan

E-mail to Representative Neugebauer:


I have read your November 30 Newsletter.

I see that you are basically in support of sending additional troops to Afghanistan. I am not, although I retain an open mind to see what President Obama offers in the way of strategy in his talk this evening.

The tentative reason for my position is that we should not be "nation-building". We have tried this before at great cost and have always failed. We obviously can't afford it now, with all of the ridiculous expenditures that Congress and the President have approved to astronomically increase our government debt and fiscal deficit.

If it is not "nation-building", but more a matter of security for the American public, there are other ways to obtain that security without ground troops. If the CIA has any validity, we have covert capability to determine locations of potential threat. These could be handled by significant strikes through use of intercontinental ballistic missiles or traditional aerial bombardment. Keep in mind also that both Russia and China have a stake in avoiding the use of atomic weapons by maverick countries or groups.

Now that President Obama has decided to send more troops, I hope his evening presentation will clearly define why we are doing so.


I think you are right on target with respect to "Climate Gate