Word: nationals
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...most basic level, the decision to pursue a troop surge is wise and well thought out. In his speech, Obama emphasized that Afghanistan is not a new Vietnam. Unlike that war, the Afghan one is being fought by a 43-nation collation against not a popular insurgency, but one on the fringe of society. Also, on 9/11, the U.S. was attacked by terrorists harbored by those whom we fight in Afghanistan today. If the Afghan government were to fall once again to them, those attacks are proof enough that there would be direct negative repercussions on American national security...
Lost to this newfound pragmatism, though, is the idealistic rhetoric of the Bush era, which advocated building up infrastructure, the economy, and civil society alongside a vibrant democracy as the road to perpetual peace. Obama’s strategy also calls for a dedicated shift from nation building to a more cost- and time-efficient policy of simply destroying the enemy and leaving Afghanistan with a functioning and effectual government...
...speech, Obama defended this decision: “As president, I refuse to set goals that go beyond our responsibility, our means, or our interests, and I must weigh all of the challenges that our nation faces; I don’t have the luxury of committing to just one.” The president claimed that another decade of nation building in Afghanistan would hardly incentivize the Afghan government to take the reins and would distract from imperative domestic issues including health care, education, and economic reform...
...demonstrable commitment to building a robust, honest, and representative Afghan nation, though expensive, would foster friendships and alliances that would also help achieve Obama’s ultimate objectives—to push out al-Qaeda and quiet the Taliban. Pakistan’s cooperation is especially vital to these ends. Its government must know that America is a committed and honest ally if we are to expect more help in achieving them...
...Crimson was pleased with its ability to compete against some of the best swimming and diving teams in the nation...