For a nation with doubts on war, Afghanistan strategy is a conundrum
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 20, 2009 3:07 PM
WINONA, Minn. -- Christina and Jesse Fladmark were married on Flag Day last year at a band shell on the Mississippi River. They chose the spot largely because Jesse, a soldier, draws strength from the nearby war memorial.
Twenty months later, Jesse is loading military convoys in Afghanistan and Chris is teaching math at Cotter High School, staying in touch as best she can and counting the months until he comes home. When she mentions her husband's mission, people often say, "Why are we even over there? They should bring everyone home."
"That's really hurtful, even though they are trying to be nice," Fladmark, 27, said over a Bailey's and hot chocolate on a rainy southern Minnesota night. "That's not how I or my husband see it."
How to see the Afghan war is a conundrum that stretches from Winona to Washington in a nation deeply divided over the wisdom of the fight. Opinion here, where Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) recently devoted an entire town hall meeting to the subject, echoes a new Washington Post-ABC News poll that reveals widespread doubts.
(More here.)
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 20, 2009 3:07 PM
WINONA, Minn. -- Christina and Jesse Fladmark were married on Flag Day last year at a band shell on the Mississippi River. They chose the spot largely because Jesse, a soldier, draws strength from the nearby war memorial.
Twenty months later, Jesse is loading military convoys in Afghanistan and Chris is teaching math at Cotter High School, staying in touch as best she can and counting the months until he comes home. When she mentions her husband's mission, people often say, "Why are we even over there? They should bring everyone home."
"That's really hurtful, even though they are trying to be nice," Fladmark, 27, said over a Bailey's and hot chocolate on a rainy southern Minnesota night. "That's not how I or my husband see it."
How to see the Afghan war is a conundrum that stretches from Winona to Washington in a nation deeply divided over the wisdom of the fight. Opinion here, where Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) recently devoted an entire town hall meeting to the subject, echoes a new Washington Post-ABC News poll that reveals widespread doubts.
(More here.)
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