Why Should We Win The War In Afghanistan
Adrian Iwaskiw
Why we can not win the War in Afghanistan
The most important international challenge facing the United States over the next ten years is dealing with the war in Afghanistan. The war has been going on for ten years and we have gotten very little progress. As days go by more and more American soldiers are being killed battling the unforeseeable enemy. In Afghanistan the United States is most likely fighting a losing battle. The War in Afghanistan can almost be compared to the Vietnam War because of its duration and the type of enemy we are facing. Instead of blaming politicians I think the reason we won’t win the war because of our culture in America.
As Americans, we are impatient. We don't want to wait for our meals but
rather we go through the drive-thru. We never drive the speed limit. I believe that the reason Bin Laden hides in caves isn't because he's scared to die. It's because he knows we want quick results and, if we don't get them, we will want to quit. So he is basically trying to wade it out until the United States basically gives up and leaves Afghanistan all together. We were spoiled by the first Gulf War and now Americans expect all our fights to be over with in weeks, not years. However as every year goes by we are wasting more and more time their comparable to the Vietnam War.
We are fighting an enemy that can not face us in battle. Instead we are fighting radical Muslims fighting a guerilla war. As the war continues more Afghani civilians will join the fight with their fellow insurgents and continue the war until all the Americans leave. Most of the Afghanis want their occupiers to leave and will do anything to leave them alone such as suicide bombings, and attacking their own civilians.
Newspapers and television stations support profits and bad news sells. That's why you'll see 100 stories about soldiers dying or killing innocent people before you'll see one talking about the progress our soldiers are making. The media rarely prints the whole story and so much bad news undermines our efforts both domestically and world wide.
Democracy is a wonderful thing, unless you are trying to fight a war that is going to take a long time to win. You win votes by doing what's popular, not necessarily what's right. If voters are getting bored with the war, you make your generals' jobs harder by bringing soldiers home versus giving them the manpower and resources needed to win. Rather than stand by the President and his decisions, you question his every move and destroy his credibility. When our own leaders can't agree with each other, and even suggest we made a mistake, why would the rest of the world ally with us?
Our schools are the blame for this since they are only giving the glorified version of our own Revolution. Many people tend to think that America shouldn’t go to other countries and interfere with their business. However if they knew their own history, Americans would realize that, without the help of France and the Netherlands, we would never have won our own war for independence. And, they would be more supportive of how important it is to help other nations do the same. They would also realize that forming a working democratic government isn't easy. It took us 6 years after the war to create a government that worked. And, because many Americans don't realize that, they think we are failing when Iraq wasn't turned into a Democracy overnight. I hope some day we do catch Bin Laden and punish him for the crimes he has committed. However, I also know that's going to take time. And, in this war, time is our enemy.
Why we can not win the War in Afghanistan
The most important international challenge facing the United States over the next ten years is dealing with the war in Afghanistan. The war has been going on for ten years and we have gotten very little progress. As days go by more and more American soldiers are being killed battling the unforeseeable enemy. In Afghanistan the United States is most likely fighting a losing battle. The War in Afghanistan can almost be compared to the Vietnam War because of its duration and the type of enemy we are facing. Instead of blaming politicians I think the reason we won’t win the war because of our culture in America.
As Americans, we are impatient. We don't want to wait for our meals but
rather we go through the drive-thru. We never drive the speed limit. I believe that the reason Bin Laden hides in caves isn't because he's scared to die. It's because he knows we want quick results and, if we don't get them, we will want to quit. So he is basically trying to wade it out until the United States basically gives up and leaves Afghanistan all together. We were spoiled by the first Gulf War and now Americans expect all our fights to be over with in weeks, not years. However as every year goes by we are wasting more and more time their comparable to the Vietnam War.
We are fighting an enemy that can not face us in battle. Instead we are fighting radical Muslims fighting a guerilla war. As the war continues more Afghani civilians will join the fight with their fellow insurgents and continue the war until all the Americans leave. Most of the Afghanis want their occupiers to leave and will do anything to leave them alone such as suicide bombings, and attacking their own civilians.
Newspapers and television stations support profits and bad news sells. That's why you'll see 100 stories about soldiers dying or killing innocent people before you'll see one talking about the progress our soldiers are making. The media rarely prints the whole story and so much bad news undermines our efforts both domestically and world wide.
Democracy is a wonderful thing, unless you are trying to fight a war that is going to take a long time to win. You win votes by doing what's popular, not necessarily what's right. If voters are getting bored with the war, you make your generals' jobs harder by bringing soldiers home versus giving them the manpower and resources needed to win. Rather than stand by the President and his decisions, you question his every move and destroy his credibility. When our own leaders can't agree with each other, and even suggest we made a mistake, why would the rest of the world ally with us?
Our schools are the blame for this since they are only giving the glorified version of our own Revolution. Many people tend to think that America shouldn’t go to other countries and interfere with their business. However if they knew their own history, Americans would realize that, without the help of France and the Netherlands, we would never have won our own war for independence. And, they would be more supportive of how important it is to help other nations do the same. They would also realize that forming a working democratic government isn't easy. It took us 6 years after the war to create a government that worked. And, because many Americans don't realize that, they think we are failing when Iraq wasn't turned into a Democracy overnight. I hope some day we do catch Bin Laden and punish him for the crimes he has committed. However, I also know that's going to take time. And, in this war, time is our enemy.