War Economy Essay

Theoretically, it holds that the United States (US) invaded Afghanistan as a self-defense strategy following the 9/11 attacks. Practically, however, as US foreign policy is about conquest, self-protection and resource-extraction, it seeks strategic dominance of geographical space to sustain its global relevance. The rationality of the US suggests the need to continuously accumulate capital, resources and military proficiency to ensure autonomy. Therefore, a pragmatic reading into the motivation behind the invasion of Afghanistan negates the self-defense theory. Rather, the shifting coordinates of power within central and southern Asia crafted the perfect criteria for US intervention. This work explores the motivations and systemic cover-ups designed by the Bush administration in ordering military troops into Afghanistan in 2001. It will hold that this invasion was not just a War on Terror, but rather a tactic to ensure US prevalence within the region, and henceforth, the rest of the world. Thus, why did the US invade Afghanistan?

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on December 1979, the goal was to help Afghan communist forces set up a communist government. The Soviet Union felt Afghanistan had key resources and a foothold in the Middle East to spread communist ideas. The result would be a war that the Soviet Union wishes it never got involved in and likened to their “Vietnam War”, meaning winning a number of battles but not the war like what happened to the U.S. in Vietnam. The background of the war, outcome of the war, and impact on the United States are key to understanding the Soviet-Afghan War.

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

Afghanistan, a country of several ethnic backgrounds, is in constant struggle of standing united as a nation. The various beliefs, languages, social statuses, and ways of living have created tension among the ethnic groups (“Social Classes”). The Pashtuns and Hazaras are two particular ethnic groups that have clashed throughout history. The differences between the Pashtun and Hazara people created a major conflict with lasting effects on the way in which they live.

The situation in Afghanistan actually began in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded their country. The United States funded money to the "mujahedin," or holy warriors, in the name of stopping communism. From this support, Afghanistan was able to defeat the Soviet Union in 1989. Yet the country became very unstable after the war. Political power was fluctuating often and leaders came in and out of power rapidly. Farmers resorted to growing many drugs such as poppies and marijuana and sold them around the globe. Cities were annihilated. Over five million Afghanis fled to other countries in search of a better life. When the Afghanis turned to the United States for help in rebuilding our country, we refused. This caused great anger amongst the Afghani people directed toward the United States. This also lead to Mullah Mohammod Omar, the current leader of Afghanistan, to form a ground of men to "rebuild" his country. They are now known as the Taliban. Omar's personal description is, "A simple band of dedicated youths determined to establish the laws of God on

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

Context and Importance of Problem: Afghanistan has experienced political instability and conflict. After the Soviet invasion in 1979, Afghani mujahedeen waged a jihad against the communist government. In 1989, the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan, but the civil war continued until 1996, when the Taliban seized Kabul and introduced fundamentalist Sharia policies. After the September 11 attack on the United States, the U.S. and their NATO allies began bombing Afghanistan. When the Anti-Taliban Northern Alliance forces took Kabul, the Taliban were overthrown (Rubin 63-65). In December 2001, the Bonn Agreement set up a foundation for establishing a democracy in Afghanistan. The agreement sought to set up an interim

Between the time period of 1920-1980, the country was in a period of modernization and reform. Even though Afghanistan’s independence was declared in 1919 and they had began their reform stage, their independence was quickly taken away. With this change of political control, it forced many Afghani’s away from home. (History of

War is defined by the Webster dictionary as “a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations”, this definition does not apply to the current war in Afghanistan. This war has been one of the most controversial wars in United States history,with one of the biggest issues being how Afghanistan is being effected since it is not a part of the war as much as a platform where it is taking place. For all the confusion, destruction, and loss during a war there is a bright side in the unification and advancement of both technology and civil practices. This war has been no different in the fact that technology has advanced exponentially, and the world has begun to truly understand the customs and practices of the Middle Eastern States. The improvement of technology has allowed the building of better agricultural equipment, which has in turn given rise to better agricultural practices. Another thing that has changed both with a change in personnel and a change in policies is the government of Afghanistan. The main driving force for the change being seen is by the young people of Afghanistan who want the culture to evolve in a more global manor. When all of these changes are looked at as a whole instead of individually there is a clear trends that shows the growing economy of Afghanistan increasing at the highest rate in 100 years. This paper will explore all of the issues and outcomes stated above using Hofstede’s Five Dimensions of culture and

Majority of the people in Afghanistan never thought about the cultivation of poppies (opium) as a method of revenue for welfares until the Soviet Union’s invasion. Therefore, many expert people argue that the result of the war caused cultivation of poppies in the country. A successful eradication of opium in Afghanistan will lead the country towards a stable, prosperous, and secure state in the region thru implementing the three strategic factors. The first factor is: eliminate all the lines of financial funding to the terrorist groups by over watching the markets, banks, and border areas. The second factor is: the society of Afghanistan will be free from the use of drugs, and the trust will be built between the people and the government forces.

The War on Terrorism in the Middle East and Southwest Asia remains problematic. Though there are many problems within the Middle East, the narcotics problem in Southwest Asia remains one of the largest to date. It has been much debatable as to how to proceed in the combating of Narcotics in Afghanistan. There are many debatable arguments for the quick pull out, of all private and U.S. contract personnel out of Afghanistan to realign the methods to attack on the narcotics flow. Afghanistan is the world-leading producer of opium poppies. “Opium poppy cultivation has now spread to almost every province of Afghanistan, and its crops deliver 92 percent of the opium produced worldwide, or roughly 90 percent of all

Early written history of Afghanistan reaches back to the time of Alexander the Great (c. 330 BCE). Afghanistan has been occupied by multiple empires throughout its history and has enjoyed significant trade hubs due to its location along the Silk Road, most notably the Afghan cities of Balkh and Herat, the latter of which continues to be of economic significance due to its proximity to Iran. For the purposes of this paper we will examine the recent history of Afghanistan which encompasses the 20th and 21st centuries, however, it is important to note that significant outside interference has affected the sovereignty of Afghanistan throughout its history. The present day borders are a direct result of the Durrani Empire which ruled for nearly a century until British intervention in what quickly became known as “The Great Game,”

Afghanistan is one of the poorest and most troubled countries in the world. The land that occupies Afghanistan has a long history of domination by foreign conquerors and strife among internally warring factions. At the gateway between Asia and Europe, this land was conquered by Darius I of Babylonia circa 500 B.C., and Alexander the Great of Macedonia in 329 B.C., among others. In recent years, war and lawlessness had destroyed much of the country, millions of people went into exile and brought its economy to a standstill.

After decades of war in Afghanistan in late 2001, first attempts have already been made by Afghans and international organizations to consult the Afghan people on how to build capacities in pace-building which was an encouraging sign. However, the people in general are still too reluctant to speak about their suffering during the war. Instead, their current priority is to struggle for economic survival in the highly competitive post-conflict reconstruction business with its emerging social injustice. This pragmatic attitude causes a basic problem. If the past is not addressed, efforts to build a lasting peace are endangered. As lessons from other post-conflict societies have shown, national reconciliation contributes to

Economic development is considered critical to Afghanistan’s ability for shaping its future, particularly after foreign assistance reduces or dries out. Apart from Govt’s role to improve checks & balances (besides reducing corruption) to develop growth potential through foreign assistance, internal security is prerequisite for foreign companies/vendors to undertake developmental work in Afghanistan. Another factor that may hinder the process is the fact that Afghan society has yet not recovered from the losses of wars during last 30 years that left 2 million dead, 700,000 widows & orphans, and about one million Afghan children born in Refugee camps. This factor along with poor literacy rate provides limited skilled labour, middle managers, accountants, and information professionals.