Preview

Drone Attacks

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2194 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Drone Attacks
American interest in Afghanistan: Drone attacks:
The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). Under the George W. Bush administration, these controversial attacks were called a part of the US' "War on Terrorism" and sought to defeat the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants who were thought to have found a safe haven in Pakistan. Most of these attacks are on targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Northwest Pakistan. These strikes are mostly carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated remotely from Creech Air Force Base and have
…show more content…

The U.S. presence in Afghanistan ended in 1979 with the assassination of the U.S. ambassador Adolph Dubs in Kabul on 14 February 1979 and with the Soviet invasion the following December. Subsequently, U.S. involvement was indirect, primarily the provision of military aid to the Afghan resistance through the 1980s. After 11 September 2001, U.S. interest in Afghanistan was renewed as it became apparent that al-Qaʿida, the group responsible for the terrorist attack on the United States, was based in Afghanistan and was supported by the Taliban government in Kabul. On 14 September 2001 the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to engage in a military response to the 11 September attacks. Following unsuccessful political attempts to force the Taliban government to expel Osama bin Ladin and his group, the United States began a bombing campaign on 7 October 2001, directed at Taliban military and political installations. By 13 November 2001 the Taliban government had fallen, and a U.S. - backed Afghan interim government was formed in December at a meeting sponsored by the United Nations in Bonn, …show more content…

invasion of Afghanistan was illegal under international law and constituted an unjustified aggression, the view that the continued military presence constitutes a foreign military occupation, the view that the war does little to prevent terrorism but increases its likelihood, and views on the involvement of geo-political and corporate interests. Also giving rise to oppposition to the war are the high level of civilian casualties, the cost to taxpayers, the decades of war inflicted on Afghans, the length of the war to date, and the estimates by many that it could last for many more decades
By one estimate, around 5,000 Afghan civilians had been killed within just the first three months of the U.S. invasion.[1][2]

Involvement in an Afghan civil war:
Opposition also stems from the view that the U.S.-led military forces are taking sides in an ongoing civil war in Afghanistan between its ethnic groups, backing minority Tajiks and Uzbeks against the Pashtun majority of Afghanistan.
Osama death:

Bin Laden was buried at sea after a Muslim funeral on board an aircraft carrier, Pentagon officials


You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In his essay” What are we fighting for,” Rex Murphy discusses what he sees as the most compulsory reasons Canadian troops are in Afghanistan, to support some form of democracy that can resist malevolent influences and provide for its citizens, basic civil opportunities. Murphy begins his discussion with recapping the events leading up to our involvement in the Afghanistan operations, primarily 911, and supporting our ally, the United States in removing a government that supported such atrocities. The Afghanistan mission, which was UN approved, was intent on, most importantly, removing the Taliban and providing stability for its citizens through better government. However, Murphy discusses how without support a new government is not sustainable…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    CIA drone strikes have the potential to decimate terrorist organizations in an inexpensive manner and reduces boots on the ground combat for American soldiers. Though, we need expansive and additional congressional oversight of drone strikes and CIA targeting. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) is devoted to regulating and reviewing every aspect of the drone program, however, committee members are often met with denial and restriction of information. We need to make sure our drone program is met with regulation and preemptive strikes must be strictly reviewed in a legal manner prior to, in order to prevent the endangerment of innocent civilians, radicalization and mobilization of extremest retaliation, and to preserve the reputation…

    • 117 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drone Warfare, enacted by George Bush and expanded on by President Obama to provide a haven for Americans against the terrorist group, al-Qaeda. The use of weaponized unmanned surveillance drones allowed for far better independent targeting decisions, rather than retrieving intelligence from sources within the real country where the warfare would take place. These strategic implications created a question among Americans, is the use of drones to target individuals right? This question has arisen due to a high number of civilian casualties, making it seem inhumane to do. However, Kenneth Anderson provides readers a strong argument as to why drone warfare is strategically effective in his article, “The Case for Drones” with his organization pattern,…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    9/11 Summary

    • 2006 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Two planes were slammed in the twin towers killing 3,000 people and injuring 6,000. Another plane plunged in the Pentagon killing 186 people, the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers on the plane charged the hijackers which caused them to lose control of the plane, in result everyone on board died. Iraq felt the United States got what they deserved because of past and present U.S. policies in the Middle East. Palestinians praised the terrorist attacks against Americans because U.S. continuing support for Israel and its military presence in Saudi Arabia. However the policies towards the Middle East do not justify the 9/11 attacks by the Al Qaeda network. The attack was acted out of frustration by people who failed to confront the oppressive governments internally in their dual struggle. President George W. Bush confronted Al Qaeda and demanded that Afghanistan turn Bin Laden over to the U.S. After Taliban failed to meet the demand, the U.S. provided military assistance to the Northern Alliance. In March troops were deployed in the land and the act was called “war against global terrorism. The expenses of these attacks were out of control. The international community pledged 1.8 billion in 2002 to help rebuild Afghanistan and another 2.7 billion to come in subsequent years. The U.S. continued to escalate the war even after Taliban power had been removed and the money to rebuild their country was not handed over. The Taliban has shown that they are going to fight until the end and for America, this is Vietnam being…

    • 2006 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    An event so catastrophic, that is still remembered up to this day. On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda extremists carried out suicide attacks on the World Trade Centre killing over 3,000 Americans. This then resulted in the Afghan mission as Americans launched a NATO-sanctioned invasion of Afghan on October 7, 2001 in an effort to capture Osama Bin Laden and to expel the Taliban power in Kabul. Canada then joined the mission in 2001, deploying a 40 person commando unit to Kabul. By 2002, Canadian military commitment increased the amount of troops to 1900 based outside of Kabul as they worked closely with the Americans.…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Since the September 11 attacks, the Pentagon and the C.I.A have launched hundreds of strikes in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. These have resulted in thousands of civilian casualties. People who see their loved ones injured or killed in drone strikes become motivated to join terrorist groups. According to author Jeremy Scahill, the vast majority of militants operating in Yemen today are people who are aggrieved by attacks on their homes that forced them to go out and fight (Procon.org n pag).…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drones In Warfare Essay

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Drones are flown by pilots thousands of miles away, controlled from remote bases like Creech Air Force Base, where no pilot ever leaves the ground. The base is located 45 miles north of the Las Vegas Strip. Drones help support military troops on the ground by giving them a bird’s eye view, utilizing sophisticated imaging and radar technologies. Drones are mainly used to find and target individuals or small groups. The government claims that with the help of drones, they have eliminated up to 70% of al Qaeda’s…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    American presence in their countries is not making a significant difference. Military and foreign policy experts agree that there is no military solution in Afghanistan, and that “any lasting solution must involve a negotiated peace settlement.” This means that American actions overseas are not going to impact their relationships with other countries. CIA Director Leon Panetta has confirmed that Al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan is severely diminished. Occupying states and nation-building do…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    911 Term Paper

    • 1717 Words
    • 7 Pages

    President George declared a war on terror shortly after the attacks on the world trade center and the Pentagon. The U.S. gave the Taliban and the Afghan government an ultimatum to turn over Osama Bin Laden and they refused. The US and NATO invaded and the Taliban government was toppled in eight weeks with the help of the Northern Alliance. The U.S. continued to punish and pursue Al Qaeda into the mountains and surround them. Our military was within weeks of crushing Al Qaeda when the Bush Administration shifted focus to Iraq. This created a vacuum that led to an Al Qaeda resurgence. The U.S. loosing focus on Afghanistan angered our Pakistani ally. A decade later we our no closer to winning the war in Afghanistan than we were in the beginning. Even with Bin Laden dead American casualties have sky rocketed from 270 in 2008 to 3,371 last year. We are now left in a quagmire in Afghanistan because we failed to complete the job in Afghanistan, while fighting an unneeded expensive war in Iraq. (Hirsch)…

    • 1717 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ferguson paper

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In 2001, President George Bush (43) involved the United States in one of the longest combat fights in U.S. Millions of dollars of the U.S. budget, in which there is little or no room for, have been funded to send force to Afghanistan. The US should not be policing Afghanistan because it is up to the Afghans to decide how the government should be ran…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    On October 7, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan in retaliation of the 9/11 attacks. Since 2001, there have been over two thousand deaths of American soldiers as a result of the war and over two hundred thousand injured. It is estimated more than twenty six hundred Afghanistan civilians have died as a result of the ongoing war. American citizens now view…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    On the day of 9/11, more than 3,000 people lost their lives to terrorists who have planned this horrible attack for a long time. So America started planned to cause their own terror to the enemy. Over 91,000 Afghans, including civilians, soldiers and militants, are recorded to have been killed in the conflict, and the number who have died through indirect causes related to the war may include an additional 360,000 people. These numbers do not include those who have died in Pakistan because of this war.…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and various other terrorist threats, the United States has used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, to eliminate terrorists or potential terrorists. The US should continue using and developing drones as combat weapons because they have less collateral damage than impractical alternatives, keep our own troops safe, and aide military generals with photography and mapping of foreign countries. Moreover, because UAV's cannot guarantee the safety of the innocent bystanders, drones obtain the reputation of creating more terrorists than they tend to eliminate and not only do drone strikes violate the sovereignty in other countries, they also violate the rights of basic human rights. Consequently, drones may be perceived differently in the eyes of Americans and Pakistanis.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wounded War Veterans

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The cost-benefit analysis of unjust war is difficult to understand for some, especially when the reasoning of intent is dubious. Does the motives behind the United States government stationing troops in Afghanistan make the fact that we have way too many young people who are getting injured in combat daily a justified act of valor? It is a harsh awareness when you realize your nation is putting the lives of it’s military at risk every day for nothing other than what seems to be ulterior motives in an unjust war on terrorism.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Drones went from 1 every 40 days, to 1 every 4 days once the Obama administration took office, increasing by 13 folds.” (Paltow) This quote is being given to explain how the drone evolution has grown in fighting terrorists. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are used for many different things in our world today. The drone originally invented by Reginald Denny and started as hot air balloons and worked down to the small sized drones that we see today. There are many types of military drones, for example, hunter drones, killing drones, surveillance drones,etc. Some drones are used to gather information, see things that most people cannot see, save lives, kill enemies and even capture movies. Military drones are used for intelligence,…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics