Al Neuharth President Obama has made one right decision on Afghanistan. This week, he fired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, whose own frustrations about the likelihood of losing the war caused him to sound off sarcastically about the top civilian advisers or decision-makers. Now Obama has a chance to make a second sound call: Bring all our troops home from Afghanistan sooner rather than later. Most of us across the USA agree that the Afghanistan war was necessary when President George W. Bush went after Osama bin Laden and his gang following 9/11. But most of us now think Afghanistan has been an unnecessary war since that gang escaped to Pakistan. Obama inherited the Afghanistan war. But he made the mistake of escalating it rather than ending it. His goal is not to catch bin Laden or his gang. It is to try to make Afghanistan a new nation. If he were a student of history, he would know better. Past efforts: •Great Britain tried to help govern Afghanistan with three wars between 1839 and 1919. It failed each time and lost more than 28,000 lives. •Russia (then the USSR) left after nine unsuccessful years in Afghanistan in the 1980s, with approximately 14,000 Soviet soldiers killed. We've been there nearly nine years and have lost the lives of 1,039 servicemen and women. Obama didn't recognize that Gen. McChrystal's crusty comments were based on his frustrations of the hopeless nation-building effort. He has a chance to recover by admitting that our presence in Afghanistan is a shameful waste of lives and money. If Obama doesn't get it and get us out, he'll likely lose his 2012 re-election bid. Too bad for a guy with so much promise. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more