facebook-pixel

Letter: The only way to win is not to play

Afghan commando petrol at the Pandola village of near the site of the U.S. forces' bombing in Achin district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, April 14, 2017. U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Thursday struck an Islamic State tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan with the largest non-nuclear weapon every used in combat by the U.S. military, Pentagon officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

In the 1983 movie WarGames, a massive military computer is challenged to a game of Global Thermonuclear War. After numerous failed exchanges, the computer states, “The only winning move is not to play.”

I can’t miss the comparisons in The Salt Lake Tribune article (“Trump hedges as military presents Afghanistan plan,” Aug. 5) concerning the longest running conflict in United States history. Apparently President Donald Trump is searching for a “game changer” after 16 years of failed operations. The article states that our military leaders are trying to find a blueprint for “winning the Afghan conflict.”

Might I suggest the wisdom of the movie: Don’t play the game. The Pentagon proposes sending more American troops into the conflict, more boots on the ground, more injuries, wounds and casualties. President Trump proposes “dealing a swift and definitive blow,” thereby ending the conflict.

Does anyone question what America has to gain from this continuing war? It’s time to acknowledge the logical conclusion and bring our soldiers home: “The only winning move is not to play.”

Robert Gauthier

Murray