If Afghanistan is a Forgotten War, Why Are We Still There?

The Republican National Convention spent a lot of time talking about the failures of President Obama's administration and building up Governor Mitt Romney as a person. But they didn't spend a lot of time on issues, particularly the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

The New York Times points out that Afghanistan was only mentioned four times, and none of those mentions were from Romney or his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

Neither campaign has talked a lot about Afghanistan, and I suspect the silence to continue.

And it is an absolute travesty.

According to CostOfWar.com, $111.1 billion has been earmarked for the war in Afghanistan for fiscal year 2012. That comes out to over $2 billion a week.

That is $111.1 billion dollars being dumped down the drain for a fight that can't be won. $111.1 billion dollars fighting for a people that don't want us there. $111.1 billion dollars even though Al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization is in shambles, and the Taliban shows no sign of wanting to be a world wide terrorist operation.

$111.1 billion dollars when military suicides actually outpaced military fatalities in Afghanistan in June of this year. $111.1 billion for a war where suicide accounts for one out of five deaths, and that takes into account vehicle accidents and active combat fatalities.

And that doesn't even take into account those who survived their injuries and then have to deal with the aftermath of a long term disability. Struggling to hear back from the Veteran's Administration. Struggling to find a job and adjust to civilian life.

We have failed the men and women in our military. We must do right by them. And we can start by pulling out of Afghanistan immediately and reforming the VA so that we can effectively deal with the promises we made to the men serving on our behalf.