Major speaks about Afghanistan

College Republicans and members of the N.C. State community welcomed Major John Krenson last night to speak about the topic of the war in Afghanistan.

Krenson, formerly stationed in Afghanistan, gave first-hand accounts of what he experienced and what needs to change.

He indicated that the size of the military is one thing that needs to change.

“When we stayed places, we saw results,” he said. “But you can only do that with numbers. You don’t have to have big tanks and artillery.”

Raleigh Davis, a freshman in engineering, said he came to hear Krenson speak to support College Republicans and “see want kind of perspective someone who’s actually been overseas to Afghanistan has to offer.”

“I was very impressed,” Davis said. “He made a lot of good points and gave a lot of insight that often the media can’t give us.”

Jason Cooke, a graduate student in genetics, echoed Davis’ thoughts.

“It was very interesting and put a lot of things in perspective for me,” he said. “Being a Republican myself, I’ve had my doubts. But [his speech] encouraged me to open my eyes and maybe look into the issues a little more.”

Krenson said the troops need to stay in the Middle East to protect the citizens who support the American troops.

He also said there are several conditions that make a war a “just war.”

The first is that damage by aggression is lasting, grave and certain, he said, pointing to Saddam Hussein and Weapons of Mass Destruction. He added that the likelihood of success is a significant factor.

“Yes it’s hard, yes it’s tough,” he said. “But look at World War II, look at the Civil War.” He said the two wars were five years of total combat followed by a decade of construction. The last factor, he said, was proportionality.

“The world is fought so the outcome of the war is not worse than what it is fighting against,” he said.