Rex Murphy’s essay, “What We Are Fighting For,” strives to outline the reasons behind the Canadian governments’ continued deployment of troops to Afghanistan. Murphy reviews the initial reasoning for deploying troops overseas, then continues on to explain that simply disbanding the Taliban government is insufficient. He indicates that the UN led mission is also implementing peacekeeping measures, and Canadian troops, as Peacekeepers remained. Murphy outlines the ambitious peacekeeping goals and provides insight into civil liberties those of us from democratic nations, often take for granted. The author then delves into the intricacies and obstacles faced in attempting to install a democratic government in a country still under threat of Taliban…
Global Issues (1992-07-19). Anatomy of a Victory: CIA’s Covert Afghan War — Global Issues. Globalissues.org. Retrieved 2014-04-14.…
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…
The attack on the United States on September 11, 2001 (better known as 9/11) by Osama Bin Laden rammed a wedge into the relationship between the United States and the Islamic world. In result the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and the invaded Iraq. Professor Irogbe’s article on the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq argues that the U.S. actions are igniting rather than reducing global terrorism and if U.S. were to withdraw troops from these countries it would promise for global peace and security. The article covers the cost of human and financial resources of the war, abuses committed by invaders including the application of extraordinary rendition, the indefinite detention of prisoners…
Afghanistan is a war torn country located in central Asia. There are currently approximately 319, 000 internally displaced people in Afghanistan. (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2012) The poverty is extreme, there are frequent natural disasters that tear down cities and villages, (Refugees International, 2001) and the people are in continual danger of violence. This violence includes constant suicide bombings, ambushes, abductions and rocket attacks. In 2009 there were at least 12 of these incidences every day. (Kazem-Stojanovic, 2011) They are living in fear of their lives 24/7. Due to a severe drought in 2011, there is a lack of food and therefore thousands are suffering from starvation. (Refugees International, 2001) There is also the current issue of the coalition forces deciding to take their troops out at the end of 2014. (Amiri, 2012) Citizens fear that once they are gone the Taliban will regain full control again.…
The war in Afghanistan started after the September 11th, 2001 attacks in the United States while President Bush was in office. President Obama was inaugurated as president on January 20th, 2009 and he picked up in the middle of a long war in Iraq and Afghanistan. After taking office, General Stanley McChrystal was selected to command NATO operations in Afghanistan. McChrystal submits a detailed report, to then Defense Secretary Robert Gates, calling for a surge of 30,000 – 40,000 troops in Afghanistan. The general’s assessment reflects the “Polis Model” in that he writes “success demands a comprehensive counterinsurgency (COIN) campaign” and further writes “failure to gain the initiative”, “risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible”. This assessment gives the portrayal that increasing the troop count in Afghanistan is the only feasible option and that any other method would result in failure. To make matters worse, McChrystal’s 66 page assessment…
Lane, S. “Withdrawal from Afghanistan to start within months” The World Today, April 17, 2012…
Yet while our principles continue, unscarred and secure, the same is not true in Afghanistan. There, the peaceful teachings of Islam have been cast aside, and instead are used to promote violence. There, women have no rights to education. There, human trafficking and massacres against civilians have become common. There, leaders are self-appointed. We are fighting for their safety and protection as much as our own. The battle we share stems from a desire to fight those oppressing freedom, not civilians caught in the crossfire. Food, refuge, and medical aid will be available to our friends.…
[ 6 ]. Rohde, D. and Sanger, D. E. (2007). “How a ‘Good War’ in Afghanistan Went Bad.”…
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)…
|Afghanistan and the role of the U.S. |Since the fall of the Taliban, drug |explore the complex interaction between the|…
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…
Although the Obama administration has begun removing troops from Afghanistan, before doing so, senior military leaders had advised strongly against it. The president is pulling out larger numbers of troops than these senior military commanders advised him. The commanders told the president that security advances were fragile and could easily be turned against them. President Obama may have made the decision under pressure because he promised to do just this in his presidential campaign, to remove the troops from Afghanistan. Seeing as how the President is anxious to be re-elected, he is striving hard to fulfill all his promises made in his original campaign.…
Women’s rights in Afghanistan is an issue that must be brought to international attention. It has been only six years since the Taliban regime was taken out of power in Kabul. Many positive changes have occurred since then for improving Women’s rights and participation within society. When the Taliban were in power, women were not allowed to work, go to school, receive medical care from male doctors, travel without male relatives, and they were regarded as non-citizens without rights or representation. Over the past six years, women are now allowed to do these things; they are not oppressed like they were before. Women have a presence and voice in government and in the media. Things have impressively improved but there are still problems. Males still attend school in greater numbers because of security reasons and other restrictions. In the South and East of Afghanistan the Taliban is increasing its power. Nearly 150 schools have burned to the ground, 305 schools closed and 105 students and teachers have been killed because of the rising Taliban power in the mentioned South and East.…
The United States should empower the Afghan Government to actively pursue peace negotiations with the Taliban because total victory is neither plausible nor affordable. U.S. and NATO have battled the Taliban for sixteen years. Some defense analysts estimate the Afghan war cost the U.S. between $4 to $6 trillion dollars. Furthermore, thousands of Americans sacrificed their lives and limbs in pursuit of victory against the Taliban. Yet, the Taliban insurgency remains resilient today. The U.S. military strategy is unsuccessful and will not work as long as Pakistan harbors the Afghan Taliban and there’s a corrupt unsustainable Afghan government. Therefore, the U.S. should place more emphasize and prioritization on diplomatic and economic actions to establish a peace agreement with…