Do you agree with President Obama’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan? Why or why not? What would you do?

As of June 2011, Obama’s plan to withdraw troops was to get the remaining 33,000 troops out of Afghanistan within 15 months. President Obama stated that 10,000 troops would come home in 2011 and 23,000 in 2012. As a democrat I would think that one would want to end the war as fast as possible because isn’t that what they dislike the most? He may blame the war is putting us farther in debt, which it is, but he hasn’t ended it. The fact that in the past year I have actually had a family member be deployed to Afghanistan proves that instead of taking troops out he is sending more in. President Obama has taken troops out of Afghanistan but not the numbers he promised in his election speech four years ago. 

                So if I were to say that I agree with Obama’s plan to withdraw troops, it would be a lie. Granted he was not left with an easy task when Bush left office, but I think there would be better ways of handling the situation. The government makes a big deal about helping the countries get back on their feet, would anyone truthfully help the United States get back on its feet after that kind of situation? Over the history of the United States we have “helped” too many countries which also led us farther into debt, that is the democratic way. His plan that has had our troops stay over there has not bettered the situation and has cost us a little over $1.3 trillion since 2001.

                What would I do is a hard question to answer because I am only 17 and I know little about how the stereotypical war should be handled. To answer the question as best as I can, I would say that when I entered office I would have sent all of the troops and equipment that I could over immediately. We would have then taken over the situation completely and then left the control to the governments. After they established some sort of order we would have packed up and left everyone. Then our hands would have been whipped clean and our spending would be over.

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This political cartoon is obviously about President Obama. It is stating that Obama is telling the country that our confidence is growing, that our finances are in order, and that the U.S is in tip top shape. Later he is basically saying that he has subjects such as energy, Iran, Afghanistan, growth, and jobs to take care of rather than his re-election. The impact this cartoon provides on our society is great. In Obama’s first term he promised us everything from getting all of our soldiers out of the Middle East to dropping the national debt. As of now some of our troops, not all, have been taken out but he has also sent more over, and he has raised the national debt by four trillion dollars. The debt that he has added has been said to be the most rapid increase in debt by any U.S president. So technically he is lying to our face when he says everything is fine and dandy because it is not. He skates around the fact that he needs to deal with our energy crisis, getting our troops out of the Middle East, the growth of the U.S and jobs. Granted he has done a few things such as Obama Care, but is that really helping the problem? Once again the leader of our country has dumped a large burden on the middle class. He has made it so everyone has healthcare, that they need, but at the expense of the middle class. I do believe he has touched of each topic that he has promised he would fix but I do not believe he has fully completed them.

I fully agree with this cartoon because he has repeatedly lied to the people of the United States. So don’t get me wrong when I state that fact because it is an OPINION not fact. If you would like to state your views with me some time I would be happy to oblige. As for right now I will state firmly that my love for Obama or any other candidate, for that matter, is not too great.

What it means to be a U.S citizen to me, Ethan Parker

Being a U.S citizen is the most amazing opportunity that any person can ever obtain. This is the most amazing country, in my eyes, for one reason-freedom. Even though there are many more reasons to be glad about being a U.S citizen, our freedom seems to be the largest. Our founding fathers set out on a goal and they were not going to fail. They set out to obtain our freedom by making a constitution.

The freedom of the United States allows us to do most anything we want. We can run our own businesses; we are not tied to the government because we are a free enterprise. We are blessed to have the democracy that we have, for the freedoms and protection it provides. Our military is the strongest for one reason-loyalty. There is great loyalty in our country because it is so great. The loyalty brings determination and hard work into play. We see focus and the hands on the chests of the people listening to the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem. That is the respect for our country because we do not want to take our freedom for granted.

My love for this country is profound. The things our founding fathers did for this country are not to be looked over and aren’t.