John Allen Riggins, World News Editor

Being a conservative has its downsides, especially in high school when politics seems to be more of a football game then a serious issue.  But with President Obama’s announcement of an increase of 30,000 United States troops in Afghanistan all citizens, regardless of political affiliation, should recognize the dire need for an aggressive approach to the solution.

Obama’s recent speech once again showcased his ability to charismatically explain a complex and grave situation the American people, especially a topic as controversial as Afghanistan.

And it is an important step to ramp up the opposition of the Taliban. The Taliban are so dangerous, not only because of their widespread popularity among extremist minded people all over the world, but also because of their proximity to Pakistan.

Pakistan is one of the nuclear powers in the modern world and they are struggling to deal with the insurgency.  If the Taliban were to overrun the government of Pakistan they would have access to nuclear warheads.

The troop increase would allow quicker training of Afghan soldiers and better protection for the existing troops in the mountainous boarder according to General Stanley McChrystal.

The main downside of the troop surge is the proposed timeline. Opponents to the troop increase believe that Obama’s goal of beginning to pull the troops out by the end of 2011 will only cause a lull in Taliban activity while they simply wait for the troops to pull out.  A main argument for the timeline is that it will put the pressure on Afghan forces to be fully ready to take over when U.S. forces leave.

While opposition to the president will exist in any case, I believe he has this decision right. Without more ground forces neither the citizens of Afghanistan or America will be truly at ease.

The situation in Afghanistan is unfortunate and needs to come to a quick, but effective end.  By simply running from Afghanistan we devalue the troops who have given their lives and also accomplish nothing. If a president who’s party is so against the war can agree that more troops in Afghanistan will solve the problem than I believe we should all get behind that idea.