Ever since President Obama announced his plan to deploy tens of thousands of United States troops to Afghanistan, I’ve been wondering if this plan could have any hope of success. The honest truth: I don’t know because it’s way too early in the game to predict an accurate statement.

Obama hopes to bring democracy to Afghanistan, but is this really plausible? Do the Afghan people want democracy or the United States to leave their country alone? I think there is a mixture of both sentiments. However, I don’t think the U.S. truly understands the Afghan people; representatives may say its citizens want a Western world in the country, but are those lies or the true wants of the people?

For the past few decades, Afghanistan has undergone a tumultuous history, never truly belonging to itself. The Russians came to invade the country in 1979, bring their Marxist ideals and laws. America took a huge interest in Afghanistan because it didn’t truly trust Russian and Marxist ideals in the country. During Russian rule, millions of people died and thousands upon thousands of people fled to neighboring countries. Instability and terror was a daily worry for a country of innocent people.

Eventually, the Taliban, who took the Islamic religion to another dimension, replaced Russian rule. Civil rights and liberties were stripped from the people. Laughing, singing and dancing were considered illegal and punishments could include imprisonment and public beatings.

During Russian rule, intellectual and prominent leaders fled the country to escape Soviet inquisition. This led to a loss of thousands of people who could represent the people, leaving room for tribal lords in rural areas to rise up and make their voices heard.

Like the Russians, the Taliban was forced from government, placing Western influence in the region yet again. America has tried to place Western ideas on a country that has followed its own tradition for thousands of years. This seems like a near-to-impossible task to me.

There has to be some way to incorporate modernization, but still maintaining Afghan tradition and culture. Americans can’t wipe out the culture; I think that most of us don’t even understand anything about the tradition and values of countries in the Middle East. We might like to say we do, but we can’t even begin to understand the hardship and trauma millions of people have had to face.

Also, people wonder why a country rich with history, culture and tradition could be so war-torn and degraded still. I think it’s because the country has not had a chance to prove itself. It always has had a babysitter or unwanted presence. I think the people have not had a chance to speak without fear of reprimand.

I don’t think the problems the country faces will be fixed with Obama’s plan. It’s going to take decades, if not hundreds of years before there is mostly peace in the country. There is so much hatred and fear of foreigners and of fellow countrymen. Trust and respect needs to be the dominant force to unifying a government, not fear and ignorance.

Education can dilute ignorance, but the U.S. would benefit for the need of the history lesson. We need to understand a problem before we can even begin to have a solution. I honestly don’t feel like America has done its research in regard to Afghanistan. I understand of the current threats that are being posed, but we have to know what we are battling before we enter. Preparedness and steadiness, not action and impulsivity will reap better, long-term results.

Each Afghan generation has had different reigns of rulers, and each generation has different views how the country should be run and what would be most beneficial for the country. Until the country can think like one, I feel it’s going to be numerous generations before we see a truly successful and happy Afghanistan.