should we send the US troops back or should we keep them to where they are now ?

I said I would never get involved in a soldier thread... sigh.... I know these things can get bad because of fundamentalism.... But here goes. I think the troops should stay. Right now if the troops (Canadian, American etc..) pulled out of Iraq and Afganistan it would be like an implosion. Not that i don't think the locals coould do something but I believe that it would create another free market for evil people. Therefore everything we have been trying to do these last few years and all of the soldier deaths really would be in vain. I know that is cliche but oh so true. One of my friends has lost his life in a roadside attack in Afganistan. We talked before he left to go over there. He didn't want to go and shoot people. He didn't want to kill anyone. He wanted to make a difference in someones life for the better. he wanted to help people have rights like we have here in Canada. It would kill me if we pulled out and came home. Nothing would ahve been accomplished.

Let the troops stay and finish the job!

I read a book recently called "World War Z" by Max Brooks. It chronicles a global war between humans and zombies, and sadly, it showed more good thinking military strategy than I've seen in the current, actual wars. One paragraph in it summed up the public opinion on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's paraphrased here: "Americans like the decisive victory. Americans like to go in a war zone, blow ^&*( up, and walk out heroes." The problem is that this is guerilla warfare, and there are no pitched battles, no frontlines, no trenches. The enemy doesn't wear a uniform, and that homeless supplicant in the aid lines could just as easily be wearing 30 pounds of C4 as not. In war, people die. It's cliche, but fact. Politicians must accept this, and allow the soldiers to do what they do best. Give them all the resources they need, and there will be fewer casualties on our side, and more on theirs. There was another thing in World War Z that bears mention. "People always talk about Total War. Well, that's impossible for us humans. You can spend every minute of your life consumed by Victory. When you take a dump, is that a Dump For Victory? When you sleep, is that a Nap For Victory?..." etc etc. The terrorists can, and do, practice Total War. Us good guys can't. Sure it's in a book about zombies, but there's actually wisdom to be gleaned there. Our soldiers are definitely needed there. If we leave, the terrorists win. We'll have attacks like 9/11 constantly thereafter. By having troops over there, on their home turf, it concentrates the terrorists over there, and keeps them too busy fighting for their lives to plan to take ours. It's good for national security to have troops in the Middle East. Has anyone thought of pulling troops out of Japan and Germany to help in Iraq? I mean, how long do we need people in those countries? That war ended 60 years ago.