STOP TROOP INCREASE IN AFGHANISTAN

Barack Obama seems to be starting out on the right note by his forthcoming executive order closing the prison gulag at Guantanamo, long an embarrassment to anyone concerned about due process and equal protection.

However, Obama's tendency to commit more troops to Afghanistan is a clear mistake. Nothing will be gained by making Afghanis subservient to U.S. military power. More bombs, more tanks, more war planes will not make Afghanistan into a democracy.

The one thing for sure that Obama's military increase will do is to kill more Afghanis and more Americans. There will be more suicide bombers, more air strikes that kill innocent civilians, more shootings. We need to stop this madness that thinks that America can solve world problems by its arsenal of military firepower.