War has been one of the most constant occurrences in America's history. According to the Congressional Research Service [1], US armed forces have been offensively deployed for all but 24 of the last 213 years. Yet, of these engagements, no war has lasted longer than the current war in Afghanistan. The length of this commitment has not matched the results.
Conventional American forces must be withdrawn from Afghanistan because they are only exacerbating the problem, and the fight with the Taliban isn't going anywhere. 1,848 servicemen and women have sacrificed their lives for this country in Afghanistan; more than 2,300 have been injured. Over 90,000 US military personnel are still on the ground there [2]. The war has so far cost over $480
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Most recently, on April 10th, the top US and NATO commander, Gen. David Petraeus, told reporters that, "There is no question that al-Qaeda has had a presence in Afghanistan and continues to have a presence - generally assessed at less than 100 or so." [5]
The goal of our deployment in Afghanistan that has been repeatedly announced by the White House and the Pentagon is to prevent a return to power of the Taliban and with it the restoration of a safe-haven for al-Qaeda. Shortly after he took office, President Barack Obama announced a “surge” of more than 30,000 fresh troops into Afghanistan. In making the announcement he set clear objectives, which he reiterated in his June 22nd speech to the nation: “To refocus on al-Qaeda; reverse the Taliban's momentum; and train Afghan Security Forces to defend their own country.” [6]
The first piece of that, as Gen. Petraeus and others repeatedly admit, has been secured. Thus our presence, according to the commander-in-chief, is designed to “reverse the Taliban’s momentum” and to train Afghan forces to maintain that fight against the Taliban.
In this regard, our presence in Afghanistan does us no good anymore – we gain no advantage from being there. As the former British Ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, told the Guardian, “for every dead Pashtun warrior, there will be 10 pledged to revenge.” [7] Killing Taliban fighters is pointless. Even though we have increased the
At the start of the new millennium, China became rapidly known as the fastest growing economy sparking the greatest shift of relative power in history. Coincidence, or not, Afghanistan’s narrow border with China made it a perfect strategic target to presume military presence within the Asian region. Arguably, the invasion of Afghanistan lays largely on a tactical plan designed by the US to resist
In response to the September 11 attacks, the United States should declare war on the responsible group. As a nation, we should do only the actions that bring about the best consequences, and the best consequences would occur by bringing the responsible group to justice. In this case, killing the Taliban and its supporters is the right action because it produces the greatest amount of good.
As most Americans know, for over 10 years already, we have been in a war with Afghanistan due to the World Trade Center attack on 9/11. The war had a stated goal to dismantle the Taliban and a terrorist organization called “Al-Qaeda,” as well as to end Al-Qaeda’s use of Afghanistan as their base for making facilities such as terrorist training camps and secretive underground bases. The War on Terror began on October 7th, 2001, as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks where nearly 3,000 innocent American citizens lost their lives. Many people do believe that the terrorist attack was a “false flag” operation on America by the Elite who run the country with a goal to run oil pipelines from the Caspian Sea through Afghanistan all the way to
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
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
“What We Are Fighting For” written by Canadian veteran Rex Murphy challenges the reasons for Canada's mission in Afghanistan. Murphy begins by advocating that Canada entered into the war on terror not only to back our American allies but also in retaliation to the Al-Queida attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. He states that we needed to do step in since in both of these attacks not only killed Canadians, but jeopardizes our sense of security. Murphy continues to discuss Canada's current role in Afghanistan. Firstly, he discusses how we need to displace the Taliban Government as a means of protection for the future, both for the Afghan people and Canadians. Secondly, Murphy believes that we play an important part providing the
But Bin Laden, the object of the military campaign in Afghanistan, remained at large.” Many promises were made by the government that this terrorist would be found in no time. However, instead of finding their enemy, the government ended up killing several civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq just to make it look like as if they were working hard on their mission. What is even harder to believe is the fact that nearly seven years after the World Trade Center attacks, millions of civilians have been killed, but Osama has yet to be found.
The events of September 11, 2001 will have forever changed the American military. The campaign to follow would have the US Military fighting forces in two completely different environments. In Iraq, the battles would be primarily fought in a close-quarters urban environment. The Afghanistan Campaign, formally named Operation Enduring Freedom, would be fought in a drastically different environment. Both campaigns would be fought against an insurgent force as opposed to a uniformed army the United States military was accustomed to in previous wars. The Afghanistan theater of operation would present an enemy in an unforgiving terrain and a significantly long history of war fighting. This new enemy combined with
America is under attack, not from an enemy in a faraway land, but here at home, by our own government. In the current year 2010, almost 7 years after "shock and awe" campaign that officially started the war in Iraq, the U.S. government fails to recognize that our efforts in the Middle East have plateaued, and it is time to bring our troops home. The surge campaigns in recent years were felt by many, to be an unofficial recognition that the war is not going well, and several top generals have had high hopes for this military strategy, but compelling evidence concludes this was a short-lived success. No one can deny the financial toll the Iraq war has had on America, for America is in the middle of one of the worst economic crisis in recent
The Counter Insurgency operations in Vietnam have taught the U.S. a lot that can be applied to Afghanistan. According to Phillips (2015) “Although our understanding and steadfast support can make a significant difference, ultimate success depends on
Since the September 11th attacks in 2001, the United States has been at war with Afghanistan. Their goals were to remove the Taliban, track down those in charge of the attacks, and destroy Al-Qaeda.
In an age when mankind has the ability to completely annihilate itself through nuclear combat, war can be a more terrifying and powerful thought than ever before. Unfortunately, because of the extent of the actions that the Taliban has committed against both America and its own followers, the United States’ war against terrorism seems to be a necessity. I do feel, however, as if there are many things that can be done by the American government in the near future to peacefully approach a more civil and politically involved Afghanistan. Although my feelings on a war against terrorism are mixed, I do feel that significant actions must be taken in order to restrict the spread of
In 2001 the Twin Towers were destroyed by two planes and also there were two other planes one was supposed to hit the White House and the other the Pentagon. This started the war in Afghanistan. It’s been eight years since this incident, and the United States and President Obama still want to keep this war going. Next year they are going to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. There are three reasons why they shouldn’t send them: one for their safety; two Afghanistan should keep their business to themselves; and three it’s going to affect the economy big time.
Then, on October 7th, President Bush announced operations in Afghanistan were underway. In his address to the nation, President Bush enumerated the demands given to Taliban leadership as, “close terrorist training camps; hand over leaders of the Al Qaeda network; and return all foreign nationals, including American citizens, unjustly detained in your country.” It was clear “none of these demands were met,” as President Bush announced military strikes were underway in Afghanistan. This concludes the first element of contemporary evidence.
For more than a decade US troops are fighting against terrorism in Middle East especially in Afghanistan. Soon after the worst terrorist attack in the history of United States occurred on September 11 2001, War of Terror began. President Bush declared “war” against terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and Taliban that rooted in Afghanistan. The war just did not disturb the families of the troops, but to all Americans and Afghanis. Every hours tax payers are paying millions of dollars for the war. Thousands of troops have been injured and died since the war began. Loss of money, environment, and deaths are the three key factors that makes me believe that Afghanistan war should end and US government should bring the troops home as soon as