Afghanistan National Reconciliation and Peace Process

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. Three decades of war has subjected Afghans to harsh living conditions. Leaving most with insufficient resources to survive. Many women are left widowed, and are obligated to provide for their families,

For over 2 centuries, Afghanistan has known virtually no time without war. Beginning around 326 B.C. with the conquests of Alexander the Great, to the Persians, British, Russians and most recently, America and our NATO allies, Afghanistan has been cultivated into the country that it is today through a trial by fire. Regardless of this relentless onslaught of foreign military power, the Afghan people have tirelessly defended their homeland with no outside power ever being able to subdue them completely. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet Union in 1989, the country fell into civil war, torn even further apart by fiercely dedicated tribal warlords. This power vacuum led to the rise of a group called the Taliban. Led by a one eyed man

In 1979, the USSR took control of the Afghan capital, Kabul, and tried to gain control over the whole country and its people. The invasion was a failure, costing thousands of lives and having serious consequences.

The reconstruction in America after the Civil War was very similar to the reconstruction in Afghanistan after the Operation Enduring Freedom. Both countries had huge amounts of destruction and obstacles to overcome after each of their wars. There are many similarities between the reconstructions in America and Afghanistan. They had problems with the government, economy, security, and the destruction.

Afghanistan, a country landlocked in the middle east. A key trade route to and from Asia, It has been fought over since the first traders traveled from their homelands following the Silk Roads. There first were tribes that squabbled over petty territory and game but then they started to learn and grow and become more organized. Soon all of them became united under the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th Century, but shortly after they became embroiled in war again after the death of the prophet and who should be the next heir of his position. Then the foreigners came, and realising the necessity for cohesion to protect themselves. A new sense of nationalism arose and they finally united under one barrier. But that banner was too good

With the tales of these three individuals told, it is hard not to feel a sense of pity and uncertainty about Afghanistan and especially the United States’ role in Afghanistan. With the consensus of entering Afghanistan originally being to stop terrorism, throughout Gopal’s book it seems that the goal, or better yet, the idea of wiping terrorism away had certainly been lost. No longer does it seem that the United States is helping, rather that the U.S. is one of the main problems in the country. The details and facts listed in the book open a

It seems that War has found a home in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan have

“We lost the war in southern Afghanistan and it broke my heart.” This statement used by Graeme Smith in the introduction to his book, The Dogs are Eating Them Now: Our War in Afghanistan, sets the tone for the rest of the book. Although foreign forces had, arguably, the best of intentions going into the war, the Taliban always regrouped and reappeared, often larger and harder to defeat than before, no matter how tremendous their losses were in previous battles. International forces did what they thought was essential for rebuilding of Afghanistan, including the elimination of the Taliban through air strikes and poppy eradication, even though they did not truly understand the needs and priorities of Afghan citizens and were constantly perceived negatively by the Afghan civilians. In an accessible method, Smith provides general knowledge about how the intervention on the behalf of the international community impacted the country and its people. This book also leaves me with reflections on the dynamic between insurgents and villagers and how the international forces could have helped to prevent a power vacuum from occurring during the years where most foreign forces pulled out of Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan War has brought many other historic events, including the defeat of the Taliban, and the killing of Osama bin Laden. The Afghanistan War has altered the lives of millions, including those in Afghanistan. The war brought a new government and rid the country of the corrupted government. However great these victories were, there were various drawbacks as a result of the war. The U.S. lost millions of lives and millions of dollars. The U.S. has been driven into debt but these aren’t the only consequences faced by the U.S. The United States has immensely been affected both socially and economically. The United States has suffered from the political consequences the Afghanistan War has brought.

The Special Inspector-General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) quarterly report for January is a bleak read. At close to 30%, not only do the Taliban hold more Afghan territory than any time after the 2001 invasion, but "The insurgency is spreading (Afghan forces) thin, threatening rural districts in one area while carrying out ambitious attacks in more populated centers." The Taliban trifecta of high-stakes attacks in late 2015 adds weight to SIGAR’s assessment. Moreover, even before militants briefly overran Kunduz, Kandahar airport and besieged Sangin district, UN figures revealed a 19% increase in “security incidents” between August and October.

It is my belief that the war in Afghanistan has been worth the steep cost. There is no doubt that this cost has been steep with the over 2, 300 casualties of American soldiers, but the importance of assurance of safety from continued attacks by Al Qaeda cannot be overstated. Al Qaeda has been all but destroyed. The leaders that remain have fled to hiding and pose no threat to the United States or any other country. The United States’ goal in Afghanistan has been fulfilled, but it can do much more to fight terrorism from there as

The war between Afghanistan and the United States has been one that has lasted longer than any war; the civil war combined with both World War I and World War II do not match the duration the United States currently faces with Afghanistan. With both countries engaging little to no military conflict, the U.S. continues to be on Afghanistan’s territory, securing the country from the rise of militias potentially threatening our counterpart’s sovereignty. Many people have been arguing whether the US should withdraw from Afghanistan and when. Currently, as the U.S. plans to withdraw from the Afghan nation, the issue is not one that pertains to the U.S. and Afghanistan, for they are not the only two involved. American forces had planned to leave the opponent’s nation but fear the security along with the sovereignty of Afghanistan continues to be one that is porous. The initiation of the war was the 9/11 attack and has been lasting for 13 years. However, many people complain about the extreme high cost of the war The United States should withdraw completely from Afghanistan because of the high cost of the war, popular opinion’s support, and very few al-Qaeda members are left.

This paper will be explaining the similarities, and differences, between the Vietnam War and the War in Afghanistan. There are many topics that bring these two wars together. However, I am only going to be talking about public support, policy objectives, military strategy, weapons, fighting spirit, links to home, and death totals. These topics have a lot of information about them, but there is too much to write about every little detail, so I will cover the broad overview of them. Each paragraph will be about one of the topics. There will also be a discussion about insurgencies and counter insurgency operations. These are two big topics in Vietnam and Afghanistan since almost all of the enemy in both wars were, and are, comprised of insurgents and different types of militia groups.

I think the first thing that America needs to do in order to bring peace to Afghanistan is to stop the spread of the Taliban. Whether or not the war will accomplish this or not is hard for anyone to say right now, but if it does not, something must be done to end the radical Islamic group’s tyranny. This would improve the quality of life for many Afghanis; women would not be forced to wear full-body garments, innocent people would not be beaten in the streets for disobeying the Taliban’s rules, and people would not be publicly executed in gaming fields. Without the Taliban’s presence, the United States would be

Conventional warfare that is prolonged and resource intensive is not sustainable and eventually leads to descent into attrition type warfare. Irregular warfare operations, be it COIN or counter-terrorism, from the Western perspective consume time and resources. This consumption is predominantly fuelled by the asymmetry of Western and insurgent forces which results in significantly different tactics being used by the two forces. Western powers, in almost all cases, tend to have superior technology and a larger number of forces and rely heavily on these factors during conflicts, however this perceived imbalance of power is not necessarily advantageous for the Western power. Andrew Mack discusses this idea that military superiority does not always result in victory when facing an unconventional enemy, Mack states " In such asymmetric conflicts, insurgents may gain political victory from a situation of military stalemate or even defeat." Here Mack surfaces the idea of 'political capital' and argues that insurgents' ability to win wars stems from "...the progressive attrition of their opponents' political capability to wage war." This concept is solidified if we observe the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan, after having a Western military presence in the nation for over ten years, public support has declined and it is no longer politically viable to continue operations in that theatre. Insurgents continue to function in this state and the threat of