DPJC Position Statement

DPJC Statement on President Trump's Upcoming Speech About U.S. Involvement in Afghanistan
August 21, 2017

After months of delay and apparently difficult conversations at top levels to come up with a "winning" strategy for Afghanistan, what President Donald Trump will announce Monday evening will be nothing more than an extension of the failed strategy that has kept U.S. forces in the country for 16 years with no end in sight.

The announcement would represent a total abandonment of Trump's repeated calls before he was president that U.S. troops should come home and, based on reports of his plan, will represent a continuation of a failed strategy taken by his two predecessors that will likely worsen security for ordinary Afghans.

Don Dillard, president of the board of the Dallas Peace & Justice Center said, "Americans are way ahead of Congress and the Trump Administration on this issue. A strong majority believes we should bring our troops home and instead focus on rebuilding America's dilapidated infrastructure such as bridges, roads and schools. We should pay to attention to them."

According to DPJC activist Hadi Jawad, "Afghanistan has been a utter failure for America, and an unwillingness to admit failure is dangerous. Whether America 'cuts and runs' or 'stays and bleeds' it's a win win for America's enemies. The lesson to draw is not that America should never give up after having intervened, but that we should avoid staying the course no matter what the cost."

"Rather than building more military power, which results in the loss of even more human life, a plan to bring all parties in the region to the peace table could result in a cohesive, peaceful society," says Len Ellis of DPJC. "A long term strategy of replacing boots and guns with society-building strategies and projects would be a welcome turn of events. Imagine instead of 5,000 soldiers, a force of 5,000 Peace Corps workers! Yes, it is possible."