Security Governance in Afghanistan

The Afghanistan War was the longest war in history fought by the United States. The war took place over 13 years and 59 countries participated in the war. The US led the war in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, after the Taliban refused to give America Osama bin Laden and expel al-Qaeda. As a result of this on the 7th October 2001 the US and the UK launched Operation Enduring Freedom. They were then joined by other forces including the Northern Alliance, which had been fighting the taliban since 1996 when they came into power. The main goal for the Afghanistan war was to destroy al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

For the past 13 years the United States has been involved in the Afghanistan war, and the reasons for the continuation of the Afghanistan war are very blurry. Not only are the reasons for the United States to fight the war blurry, but it seems the the cost vs. benefit of fighting the war do not equal. Only

1. In President Obama’s speech at West Point, he announced that 30,000 additional troops would be sent to Afghanistan. He made this decision because he said it was vital to the United States’ national interest. The vital national interest at risk in President Obama’s address is the security and safety of the American people as well as the “security of our allies and the common security of the world.” By involving the military and increasing the troop strength, President Obama can achieve the objectives of his strategy. His objectives are to keep the Taliban from becoming powerful, prevent them from government rule, improve Afghanistan security forces and government so they can manage their own country and prevent Al Qaeda from

After the death of Osama Bin Laden, President Obama announced the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan with the intent to have all U.S. forces removed by the end of 2014. Recent events in the Middle East are raising questions as to the desirability of this withdrawal in its entirety.

2001-Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan are targeted by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), and the CIA’s

According to the New York Times, troops in Afghanistan are still heavily reliant on their American counterparts for training, technological resources and intelligence (Mazetti & Shear). While it may be necessary for American troops to be present in an effort to gain intelligence and stabilize activity in the area, we are not there to build their nation. America needs to reduce the number of troops in harms way and reduce the spending for another nation, especially when our budget doesn’t allow for such luxuries.

Every year, since the Taliban regime ended, foreign troop numbers within the country have increased dramatically. The greatest increase of troops was about twenty thousand additional troops added to the grand total of sixty-six thousand. With increased troops, the Taliban activity has also intensified. Mullah Saifur Reheman, a Taliban, began to rebuild his militia forces to support the anti- United States fighters. His forces amounted to over one thousand by the beginning of Operation Anaconda in March of 2002. Rebels against the revolution had planned to use the region as headquarters for launching guerrilla attacks (Shapiro). The United States used Kandahar International Airport as an operational base for taking and dispersing personnel and supplies. The number of U.S. troops who operated in the country grew to more than ten thousand against the al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Eventually, the United States and its allies drove the Taliban from power and curtailed al Qaeda’s efforts to plan and execute terrorist attacks at a high cost. The United States special inspector for Afghanistan reconstruction has reported that, when the security for aid workers is counted, the total amount of nonmilitary funds that Washington has appropriated since 2002 “is about one-hundred billion dollars (Emadi).” That is more than the United States has ever spent trying to rebuild a country. There is no need to spend that much money to have an impact, that money just needs to be spent well. In

A total of 19 men hijacked four planes, using them to attack our military and economic centers and to murder almost 3,000 innocent people including men, women and children (Address on the War in Afghanistan. 1). The perpetrators were a part of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, an organization that we have been using force against, along with those who harbor them, since 2001, days after the 9/11 attacks (Address on the War in Afghanistan. 1). With the support of our allies, NATO and the United Nations, we sent troops into Afghanistan after the Taliban denied turning Osama bin Laden over, the leader of al-Qaeda, and in the matter of months, al-Qaeda’s members scattered and many were killed (Address on the War in Afghanistan. 1). What’s next? President Obama addressed this in his speech on the War in Afghanistan, saying 30,000 additional troops will be sent to Afghanistan for the next 18 months, and after 18 months, our troops will begin to come home. (Address on the War in Afghanistan. 2) Obama’s strategy is: “We must deny al Qaeda a safe haven. We must reverse the Taliban's momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan's future.” (Address on the War in Afghanistan. 3.) Once the United States military has aided security forces in becoming more powerfully built, many other things would fall into place.

Families have fathers and sons fighting in the war in Afghanistan. We as a country were determined to fight back against the terrorists and some people might not have agreed with that. We now have soldiers in afghanistan fighting and dying and we are dropping bombs on towns with innocent people in them. We are starting to look like the terrorists. Osama bin laden has been killed so what are we still fighting against. On June 3rd 2015 Adam Taylor from Washington post wrote an article that states, “War has directly resulted in the deaths of 149,000 people in Afghanistan and Pakistan between 2001 and 2014, according to estimates in a new report released by Costs of War project at Brown University’s Watson Institute. That figure includes U.S. military members, contractors, and opposition fighters as well as at least 26,270 civilians in Afghanistan, and 21,500 in Pakistan.” This shows how many people are still dying in the war. The lives of many United States loved ones have been lost in that war which has affected us

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, however, insists Washington will “stick with Afghanistan, but not just in 2016, that’s 2017 and beyond,” Sectors of the US media also report that military commanders are pressing President Barack Obama to shelve the troop drawdown until

The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. The goal was to bring down the terrorist organization responsible for the attacks, Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda has been defeated, however, some believe that continued American presence in Afghanistan is important because the country now serves as a base to fight terrorism. Others believe that the United States' continued presence is unjustified and that the cost of the war has been too steep make continued presence in the country worthwhile.

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.

Kill/Capture: How An Aggressive United States Military Initiative May Be Doing More Harm Than Good in Afghanistan

Entry of the United States army into Afghanistan in 2001 led to the removal of the Taliban supported government from power. As a result, President Hamid Karzai formed the government supported by the US-led international security assistance force (ISAF).In retaliation. Taliban regrouped and began an aggressive campaign against the government and forces allied to the United States. Thought the group majorly targets government forces, the number of civilian casualties has remained high. Successful campaigns by the US and forces loyal to President Karzai dismantled the group’s leadership and organization. However, a campaign by Mullah Mohammed Omar gave it a new lease of life, leading to increased recruitment drive. Consequentially, the group

Every day someone’s child, spouse, sibling or parent makes the courageous decision to join the United States Army. This is something less than one percent of Americans ever do, this takes a special person to become a defender of the Constitution. Of those defenders, how many of them have deployed to a combat zone, most specifically Afghanistan? The United States military has spent over 10 years in Afghanistan. Soldiers and families are beaten and tired after this decade of combat and losses no one can even understand. These losses and brokenness is why it is time to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and bring them home in a steady and slow pattern or increments. Closing out a combat and war zone takes a lot of planning, preparation, training and cooperation from all Allied forces and host nations; Afghanistan is no different. A decade of war needs to come to an end and Afghanis need to take charge of their country and people and stand on their own two feet.