Wherever I go, I usually see people who are advocating the removal of troops from Afghanistan, or keeping them in there. The core value that these advocators hold is that we need to support our troops. You’ve probably seen signs of support our troops all over the place, but what does supporting our troops really mean?

Supporting our troops could mean a variety of different things. It could mean on one hand, to pull out of the Middle East. On the other hand, it could mean not to pull out of the Middle East. So wait, what does it really mean? The idea of supporting our troops in this context doesn’t really mean anything; it’s a completely neutral term in this respect which can be translated just as efficiently either way. I believe that to really support our troops, we need to consult our troops directly on whether to go or stay.

First of all it seems fit to point out why we should respect our troops in the first place. Many of us know someone who was or is in the military. These men and women of the military are not in the military because they enjoy war, but they do it to keep us safe. As Aristotle pointed out “We make war so we may live in peace.” They have protected us throughout the ages and thus are deserving of respect.

The people who you see discussing the war in Afghanistan are not soldiers. These people are either politicians or regular folk like you and I. My approach on supporting our troops is not a political one. I’m not going to throw out costs and benefits tables at you. Instead I’m going to look at this purely through logic and reason.

Okay so here is what we know. There are two sides to this debate. One wishes us to leave Afghanistan and one wishes us not to leave. The core value that they share is supporting our troops. Here is the problem with this debate in general. Has anyone even bothered to ask the troops what they think is best? Does it make sense that we are decided what to do from a soldier’s perspective without even consulting a soldier’s opinion on it?

From 2007 through 2009 the U.S. had special reports going on all the time. These reports contained reporters who would actually go to Afghanistan and talk to the soldiers who are there and ask what they thought should happen. According to these reports a good number of these troops didn’t like the idea of leaving because it would feel like their fellow soldiers who have fallen would have fallen for nothing.

Through the debates that we have had this data has indeed shown up. The problem is that nobody really cared. When asked about this data, people who wished for the troops to leave Afghanistan completely ignored the opinions of those there and refused sometimes to answer. This is very confusing since these people wish to support the troops but won’t even acknowledge their opinions.

Now we could spend several more months or years discussing whether we should go or stay based on humanitarian reasons. However, if both debates core value is to support the troops we need to actually listen to what the troops say, because they have been to Afghanistan while we have not. Therefore, to get a clear picture of the situation and to really support our troops we need to consult our troops directly about their opinions on this subject matter.