The President has decided to send more troops to Afghanistan. Like most Americans, I have been conflicted about what to do with Afghanistan. I have no doubt that our armed forces are doing good in that country. The question I have is, to what end? The Presidents speech didn’t help clarify that for me. Here are my concerns:

1. If your going to escalate the effort why not send the full 40K troops the generals requested? I don’t like doing war with a minimalist approach. That was Rumsfeld's doctrine and I don’t buy it.
2. If we are going to escalate, what is the mission? This was not clear from the speech. Hold off the Taliban. Till when? Prop up the corrupt government till they are stronger. With what assurances of civil rights (particularly for women)? To influence or stabilize or inspire Pakistan to fight it’s Al Qaeda and Taliban elements. That sounds elusive.
3. I am sick of hearing about exit plans. When it comes to war, either we have objectives and we will do whatever it takes to achieve them or we shouldn’t be at war. The only exit strategy being discussed should be victory or defeat.