Soldiers are often considered robots, meaning they have no real concern about the battle they are fighting. This is not true, especially in the case of the war on terrorism. If one were to ask a soldier what he thought of the war in Afghanistan, he would immediately tell you that it is a necessary war to keep the United States safe from the terrorists. Unfortunately, Americans do not think the same way soldiers or the families of soldiers do. Most Americans believe the war is a waste of time, money, and American resources. This thought process is not only wrong, but completely unfair to the troops serving. The Afghan war cannot be won by fighting or blood loss, but the war can and will be won by American occupation in Afghanistan. The jihad is often considered to be a holy war, but the jihad in Afghanistan is the terrorist group responsible for the attacks that continue happen in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan has a defined military strategy that is being followed by the troops. This proves the belief that no one is in charge of the military is untrue. The military has a defined objective for Afghanistan. The purpose of the war is to stop violence and the spread of the Jihad in Afghanistan (Bacevich). The spread of jihadism would be a direct problem for the American citizens. Many Americans do not see this as a problem, when in fact; it could be a serious threat to American safety. If the jihad was to continue spreading, there could be a potential rise of a jihad in the United States. This is why it is necessary to keep jihadism from spreading. The military strategy in Afghanistan was lined out for Obama by General Stanley McChrystal. It was made intensely clear that if the plan was denied, it would be almost like declari... ... middle of paper ... ... 11 October 2009. The Boston Globe. 11 November 2011. Baker, Aryn, and Loi Kolay. "The U.S in Afghanistan: The Longest War." Time Magazine 08 April 2009: 1-4. Dunn, Edmund. "A War so Far...Afghanistan." 2 October 2011. Examiner. 16 November 2011 . Hampton, Rick. "Afghanistan: America's Longest War." 27 May 2010. USA Today. 16 November 2011 . Lee, Roger A. "War in Afghanistan." 10 October 2011. The History Guy: The War in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). 11 November 2011 . McMahon, Robert. "The Purpose of the Afghan War." 21 September 2009. The Council on Foreign Relations. 26 October 2011 .
Baker, Jeff. "Tamim Ansary: From Afghanistan to Portland." The Oregonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.
September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden decided to “wake the sleeping giant.” The US immediately sent SOF units and CIA officers to recon the area and meet with the Northern Alliance. The primary battle leading up to this operation was Tora Bora, which was absent of conventional forces. Up until this point, the war on terror was predominantly a Special Operations fight along with Air Force for overhead support.3 SOF and the Northern Alliance had already displaced Taliban forces out of many towns and villages in northern Afghanistan to gain control of key terrain. Key towns in northern Afghanistan including Taloqan, Konduz, Herat, and Mazar-e Sharif took only three weeks to clear.4 The SOF units were making huge impacts across the country calling in air strikes. At the same time the SOF units were diligently...
A big challenge faced by those planning the operation, was that no one had the full picture. The command and control of units in Afghanistan were split into three separate entities; each had their own assets and intelligence sources. The U.S. ground forces under United States Central Command (CENTCOM) were lead by Lieutenant General (LG) Paul Mikolashek out of Kuwait. How...
Shanker, Thom. "Afghan Commandos Step Up Their Combat Role." The New York Times. 14 May 2013. The New York Times. 11 Feb. 2014 .
Young, Steve A. and Sahito, Imdad Hussain. "Reviving the United States' Commitment to Pakistan and Afghanistan," Journal of Strategic Security 2, no. 4 (2009): 17-30.
Most Americans believe that the troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan is due to the terrorist attacks on the United States. And while it is hard to deny that the 9-11 attacks were the impetus for putting boots on the ground, it is imperative that the chain of events following the horror of September 11 are seen to reflect the willingness and wants of actors in control before the towers fell. In no field other than politics does the justification for action often come from a noteworthy event and the true cause stays hidden behind the headlines.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Witte, Griff. "Afghanistan War (2001-present)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
I agree with the scholar’s theories because it is based on the fact that certain wars do not bring freedom and liberty for the humanity. A good example is the war in Vietnam. The domino theory of Eisenhower messed up a nation. Wrong Analogy created a huge problem for the United States. The US could not get out of the zone because if they did, the whole world would see the failure. The US would look beneath Russia. The war in Afghanistan was a mistake because of several reasons: 1) it is true that the September 11 attack occurred from Afghanistan, but no clear evidence show that Osama has been part the one behind it. The Taliban argued the same thing. They said that if the US can prove it was Osama behind the September 11 attack, they would turn him over. The United States wanted Osama before 9/11, so why Afghanistan, a country that was already in war with Great Britain and Russia for several Decades, should be the target? 2) George Bush did not consider the ethical and moral aspect of his decision. He put the nation into more debt and took people’s lives. Was it worth increasing taxation to increase the number of deaths of civilians and soldiers; because that was the outcome of his decision? The Taliban wanted to hand over Osama to them but the United States did not cooperate with them. The United States violated the United Nations Security Council Charter and on top of that, ruined millions of lives of combatant and civilians. In order to be better than Russia in terms of power, wealth, and strength, the US created a tension between Russia and United States for Afghanistan. At first, the Afghans had to fight one nation. Now, they have to choose to side one of them- either Russia to follow communism, or United States to follow lib...
Since the year 2001, Afghanistan’s history with the United States has been very rough and destructive due to the Afghanistan War. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, then-President George W. Bush signed a joint law resolution authorizing the use of force against those responsible for the 9/11 attack (“U.S. War in Afghanistan”). On October 7th, 2001, the US launched missile strikes against Taliban military starting the official “War of Afghanistan” (Afghanistan Profile - Timeline). Twelve days after the airstrikes, the first wave of conventional ground forces arrive in Afghanistan (“U.S. War in Afghanistan”). In August 2003, two years after the start of the war, there are now over 10,000 American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan (“U.S. War in Afghanistan”). A few years passed by without any major events during the war, until September of 2008 when President Bush sent an extra 4,500 troops to Afghanistan (Afghanistan Profile-
...n Afghanistan. Ed. Jann Einfeld. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2005. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
Children of Conflict: Afghanistan In the crowded city of Kabul, there is a growing population of about six million children who drop out of school to work and support their families. These children over work themselves every day to earn 10 cents per plastic bag, running between cars after pedestrians. Girls disguise themselves as boys so they would be able to go and sell plastic bags and earn a few Afghanis to get some bread to feed the family. The United Nations estimates that there are about fifty-thousand street children in Kabul alone.
"Soviet invasion of Afghanistan." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2011.
United States starts fighting terrorism in Afghanistan by overthrowing Taliban (Terrorist Organization). Tried to support Pakistan and Afghanistan people by bringing their Force into their countries to end war. When Osama Bin Laden was killed, it was a big victory for the US to change everything and not weaken Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda has a mission to overthrow all American troops from the land of Muslim countries. Here I recommend the United States to leave Muslim countries in their own way and do not intervene in their foreign policies and other internal decisions, if they really want to end up in a war on terror.
Coll, S. (2004). The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. London: The Penguin Press.
Council, H. P. (2012). Afghanistan's vision by 2015 . Kabul: High Peace Council law committee .