[Excaliber]

WHAT would we do with 40,000 more troops? Win the hearts and minds of the people, perhaps, or not...

This principle of winning the hearts and minds of the people goes back 1,000's of years. History shows over and over that "winning" a war militarily will not stand the test of time without the will of the people.

If we secure that will based on a better lifestyle, more security, money, etc. it is not as important as securing it in the first place. There is AMPLE reason to believe the Afghans DO want all of the above. For many years the Taliban was despised there, the people fundamentally DO NOT want them in power. But what choice do they have? The Americans cannot defend them and they cannot defend themselves.

I support the request for additional troops, with an understanding of the goals to be achieved. Otherwise, we could be there for decades and accomplish nothing. If it is not possible to win the favor of the people then we should pull out the majority of troops and rely more heavily on "drone" missle strikes to kill the Taliban leadership. This will NOT result in a victory but it will buy time. The drone attacks kill many civilians, that really pisses off the people. But if we don't care about the people, no problem, nuke 'em (not a good idea).