The 5,500

The 5,500

(by R.P.Edwards)

The 5,500

Fodder for fiends

Though less would seem best

To those with the dream

But evil is hungry

And cunning

And grows

And weakness perceived

Will embolden our foes

You could see it coming; if "seeing" did not involve the prism of ideology, that is. 

Anyway, in hindsight (again, for those whose sight was/is leftwardly skewed), the "force" should have been at least double what it was before the remnants were hastily withdrawn to avoid total annihilation. 

The factors had been many; massive numbers, traitors in the ranks (not "ours," but theirs, the "theirs" we were supposedly helping) some advanced weapons supplied by menacing foreign entities, and a unifying religious-born motivation that equated murder...with martyrdom. And, oh yes, a striking when the calendar said it's "not" the time for war.

Yes, numbers have a voice. And the few left on the wall (as well trained and capable as they were) spoke...weakness.

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The president, to his credit, has announced that there will be, eventually (more for now and the near future) a contingent of 5,500 American military folk left in Afghanistan to help the fledgling government. For those who are pleased (and there are many) their nearly universal desire is that the force...would be bigger. True, it's larger than the President's earlier intentions (and that's good!) but too little, is too little. Time will surely tell, and I dearly hope my opening "fantasy" is just that.

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