8 years?

So, I was reading this article tonight, about the "anti-terrorism" campaign in Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama is considering what new steps to take in the war which, as we all know, is worsening each day. What shocked me the most about the article was the line "the war has lasted longer than ever envisioned — eight years on Wednesday." I suppose I could have easily done the math myself, but I guess I never really thought about how long this "anti-terrorism" war has been going on for.

It's clear that something isn't working. Associated Press writer Ben Feller notes that at least 800 US soldiers have lost their lives in this war. That's not to mention countless Canadians and Afghani civilians. Although I understand that Obama has to make a very careful and calculated decision on what to do, I have to agree with Republican leader John Bohener when he says "we need to remember that every day that goes by, the troops that we do have there are in greater danger." Time is of the essence.

Ultimately, I still can't wrap my head around the concept of fighting terrorism with what can only be described as just that. The death toll from the events of September 11th are indeed astounding, reaching almost 3,000 deaths, but that certainly doesn't seem to justify the nearly 100, 000 killed in the so-called "war on terrorism."

The big question is, when is enough enough? How will killing 100,000 + people (our own soldiers, included) bring peace to the 3,000 victims of 9/11? It's the age-old problem of fighting fire with fire. The rest of the world knows it. According to Feller, "Public support for the war in Afghanistan is dropping. It stands at 40 percent, down from 44 percent in July, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll."

If we have already all figured it out, why haven't any changes taken place? We do, after all, live in a democratic society, or so we think. Maybe if we stop procrastinating, people will stop dying. Only time will tell...