The Afghanistan Speech We Wanted To Hear

Dear President Obama,

We are writing as two women who greatly admire you, contributed to your campaign, and campaigned for you. We defend you against detractors. In this case, we don’t aspire to speak for all citizens, but do have our ears to the ground. Tuesday’s Afghanistan speech led us to an uncomfortable conclusion: too attuned to the nuances of policymaking it seems possible that groupthink has set in among your speechwriters and senior staff. From where we sit, Tuesday’s speech did not make it clear that they considered the extraordinarily war weary hearts of many Americans.

Here is what we wanted to hear:

We’ve been at war for eight long years and need our sons and daughters to come home. We’ve poured trillions of dollars into Afghanistan, money we no longer have and have set plans with President Karzai to remove our troops by 2011. Afghanistan is not a perfect place; their election process was certainly flawed. But it is their job to move forward. We will not abandon them in their efforts but must change our focus, always working to keep America safe from terrorists. That is essential. We have already paid too high a price in blood and treasure.

Let me tell you why this new plan is essential. We are in the worst shape we have been in since the Great Depression. We have to put America first for a while. Get our economy back on its feet. Get people working. Put America first. Ensure health care for all of our citizens. Put America first. Make our public schools excellent again. Rebuild our roads. Strengthen our bridges and levees. Clean up the environment. Put America first. The list of needs is long and we know that in your communities you will continue to do your part, through volunteerism and community action, to help where you are needed. This is what it means to put America first.

Having rebuilt our international partnerships and established the good will we had lost for so long, we will, of course, continue active engagement in the world. But we can’t foot the worlds’ bills at the moment. Not while we are hemorrhaging. Taking a cue from airline instructions, we must put on our own oxygen masks on so that we can save ourselves. Then we can save everyone else.

In order to bring our troops safely home from Afghanistan, General McChrystal, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, our diplomatic corps and brave soldiers will continue their strategic work on military and diplomatic fronts. In concert with Afghanistan’s leaders, our plans are in place for a month by month withdrawal of troops and a smooth transition to local power. And know this - there is more than one way for us to fight Al-Qaeda. They are not just in the caves of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will continue, with smaller forces to fight them there, with our NATO allies to fight them around the world, and with our Department of Homeland Security to keep them off of American soil.

We must also implement plans for our returning troops. Re-entry is not easy. We must ensure that they return to systems designed to support their physical, emotional, familial and economic needs. America first. If we do these things, we’ll be a stronger, safer and more economically sound country. We’ll also be a more effective international partner.

That is the speech we hoped to hear, Mr. President.

Here is our last recommendation on this topic. In your meetings, please post a sign that speechwriters and staff must consult before submitting their work:

1. Who are the constituents for this policy or program?

2. How have their voices influenced the policies and programs that will impact them?

3. Where is the HOPE?

4. Where is the CHANGE?

Your capacity to implement this unique mix of factors is why we elected you. But hope and change were not much in evidence on Tuesday night.

Lora-Ellen McKinney

Lora-Ellen McKinney is a psychologist, writer and religious activist who attended the Harvard Kennedy School Charlayne Woodard

Obie award-winning actor and playwright Charlayne Woodard is based in Los Angeles. http://www.charlaynewoodard.com/