President Obama recently praised Afghan President Hamid Karzai for accepting fraud found in the August election between him and Abdullah Abdullah. Karzai has agreed to a runoff election set for November 7.   The President views this as an impressive step forward for Karzai. It is also an emergence of new hope for the Afghan government to one day partner with the U.S. and NATO to combat the rise of the Taliban rebellion and to block the return of al-Qa’ida. However, what most Americans are concerned with at this point is whether or not Obama will decide to bring troops home or send more into Afghanistan. This is a very crucial decision that the President is not taking lightly, and his final decision depends greatly on how effective the Afghan government will be.

Everyone seems to have an opinion, and the stakes are high. It is impossible to please everyone and reach absolute safety. There were exactly 30 funerals at Arlington National Cemetery on October 19. However, proponents of the war believe not increasing troops due to this causes ground soldiers in battle to be left to suffer without help. Obama must take both scenarios under consideration before he makes a final decision.

Junior Nicole Tardif said, "It’s not our country and it shouldn’t be our problem, stabilizing their government. If you look at it as if our country is meant to help others because we are a World Power, then yes we are doing some justice by helping to rid Afghanistan of Al-Qa’ida."  

51% of Americans in a Washington Post poll said the war is "not worth fighting," while 27% disagreed. At the same time, 77% of Afghans asked in the latest BBC poll say that the continuous U.S. air strikes are “unacceptable” and that U.S. troops should only stay if they are going to aid in reconstruction. General Stanley McChrystal is pushing for an additional 40,000 troops, saying he is confident it will help America "finally win."

London Independent columnist Johann Hari writes, "There is obviously a huge risk in sending an extra 40,000 machine-gun wielding troops into a country they don't understand to 'clear' huge areas of insurgent fighters who look exactly like the civilian population, and establish ‘control’ of places that have never been controlled by a central government at any point in their history."

It is still quite difficult to quickly bring soldiers home and leave Afghan civilians completely exposed to Al-Qa’ida’s potential plans. Many Americans believe troops are greatly improving human rights, especially for Afghan women.

Sophomore Priya Venkat says the first thing that comes to her mind when thinking of the war in Afghanistan is, "all the American troops who are fighting for our country away from their families. I think we need to bring them back and still assist by negotiating and providing supplies. I don’t believe it is necessary to endanger even more lives."

For every beneficial move the U.S. military makes, there is always a potential negative result to follow—this is what makes Obama’s decision so heavy. Hari says, "US aerial attacks on the Afghan-Pakistan border have killed 14 al-Qa'ida leaders, at the expense of more than 700 civilian lives." This leads to the question of whether or not U.S. troops are being as cautious as they possibly can, while still attacking the enemy.

The fate of American troops is still up in the air. Briar Woods history teacher, Mrs. Gross said, "I do think the President is trying to weigh all his options, but it has been almost two weeks since his commander in the area said he needed more troops, so I think he needs to make a decision to show support for his military commander."

A conclusion needs to be reached and a choice must be made. Obama is working hard to not let his decision to be persuaded by one person, but hopes to make the choice that comes closest to benefitting everyone.