President Obama has said we need to look forward when he is questioned about President Bush’s Administration’s mishaps in Iraq, but he would be wise to look at their mistakes to insure he does not make the same mistakes in Afghanistan. 

The American people, in part, voted President Obama into office because they desperately wanted change, change in both foreign and domestic policies from the past eight years.  His timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq while laudable, some folks will argue that its too little at a snails pace. 

Disturbing, however, is what appears to be a return to a Bush form of solution making is  the increased troop deployment into Afghanistan that President Obama is proposing.  Perhaps the recent reports of the Pakistan and Taliban truce and working together to make American troops the fodder of their attacks should give him pause as to whether increased troops are a viable option.  

Hopefully President Obama and his advisors have studied the relationship between escalating violence in Iraq to the increase of the US military and private para-military presence.  Iraqis who did not want an American occupying force became labeled as “insurgents”.  It appears that the same may be happening in Afghanistan.  History also should tell the Obama Administration that foreign occupation and invasion has never worked in that part of the world.  So, what the increase troop deployments seem to be creating is the need and desire of shared interests between groups to oust the Americans.  At a time when there is clearly an instability in that region of the world, we should “tread lightly” to coin a part of President Teddy Roosevelt’s words.  

Most Americans were and continue to be hopeful that President Obama will bring change for this country and the daily lives of Americans. Yet, while he is focused on domestic issues, he should not lose sight of our foreign policies.  It appears that he has just hit the default button and is relying on the failed Bush policies of the past.  Violence only begets violence.  If we want world peace and a de-escalation of terrorism we must not try to solve or hunt “terrorist” by bringing war, famine and destruction to millions of innocent civilians around the world.

PEACE