NATO's big brother, the USA...

I'll start this off by noting that the following is a random diatribe of no real basis or motivation, and I've been writing it for the past two or three weeks. Just some things I have observed, and not meant as anything more than that. With that disclaimer, my thoughts on the interaction of the United States in a NATO war.

Despite this being an international war fought by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, I fully believe that the United States is the primary influence and power involved, with NATO support. This is not based off some purely Ameri-centric view point that we are somehow the better country, more noble, more just, or more powerful than anyone else. Instead, it is based off pure observations here in Afghanistan.

For one, KAF is a NATO base in Canadian battlespace. As such, you would expect a heavy Canadian and international influence, and you would not be mistaken - there are numerous compounds for the British, Dutch, Romanians, etc. There is a hockey rink at the middle of the boardwalk, built by the Canadians, and a large indoor soccer (football) field built by the British. But where there are not compounds, those areas that are not distinctly dedicated to a specific nation - the rest of the area is widely considered American. The major roads throughout KAF have names like All American Blvd and Screaming Eagle Rd, the majority of the new construction here on KAF is being done by the Americans, and mostly for American troops. The US has a massive presence at this base, far larger than any other country.

At the political level it is also readily apparent. When President Obama announced that he was delaying his answer on a troop surge until he had a withdrawl plan, it was only a matter of minutes before other major nations started to announce that they were also looking at a withdrawl plan. I have no doubt that the two are very closely related, especially considering that since then the US has decided to send 30,000 more troops and close behind were NATO nations with their offers of support. If the US had chosen to leave, would everyone have followed suit? I'm not sure, but I do know that much of the world watches the US to see what our next step will be, and they base their actions on that.

What does any of this really mean? Probably not much more than the electrons it's written on. However, it is always interesting to note that the United States seems to be a polarizing and magnifying country. Rarely do those things that we do as a nation go un-noticed, rarely do they illicit only mild emotions and responses. For better or for worse, people both condemn outright those things that we do and also harold them as spectacular achievements in whatever specific area.

I've never had a sibling, but I can only imagine that there would have been situations in my life where I would watch a big brother to wait and see what he did. If he jumped into a lake, no matter how cold I thought it was, I would probably jump in too. If he said "no way, that's crazy", I'd likely avoid it. Is America the "big brother" to the rest of the world? Even that term ilicits images and fears of phone tapping and CIA sneakery.

So, like I said - there was no point to this other than to write out the thoughts in my head, inspiried by the actions and realities of the world I find myself in out here. With tens of thousands of troops at the doorstep of Afghanistan, ready to fight, it's up to my team to make sure they have a place to sleep and eat and find comfort - not a small task, but as noble as any I can think of.