Youth: War in Afghanistan: A losing state
Nov 20, 2009
It’s been eight long years since September 11. Ever since terrorists brought down the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., President George W. Bush declared war on terrorism within Afghanistan, claiming there were weapons of mass destruction in the country. Not only was the U.S. Army fighting against al-Qaeda at the beginning of the war, but they also were fighting the Taliban and other insurgent groups. For eight long years, massive blows to both sides caused devastating casualties. Deaths and injuries are caused among the soldiers and civilians through terrorist activities. The U.S. Army was struggling to control the situation while suffering multiple cataclysms. While President Bush claimed the missions in Afghanistan were successful, the news media said the opposite; making everyone in the country wonder if this war was worth it. President Obama has since taken over office and it’s been eight months since his inauguration. But the situation about the war hasn’t changed.
After the destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush sent troops to the country on an ultimatum to stop al-Qaeda. The Taliban offered to surrender Osama bin Laden to the U.S., but President Bush refused the offer and commanded a bomb strike on Afghanistan. This caused multiple civilian casualties and many towns and cities to be destroyed. In response, the Taliban attacked right back, causing more civilian casualties. I believe President Bush refused the Taliban for two reasons. One, the Taliban’s form of government is inhumane because they treat women cruelly and make them look less human. They ban western knowledge, music of any kind, and forbid women to be educated. Anyone who commits a crime gets their hands cut off or worse - in front of everyone. Second, the Taliban had treated bin Laden with hospitality and asylum, the standard their code of behavior tells them to treat a guest. President Bush believed the Taliban were allies with bin Laden because of this code. Regardless, after the refusal of the offer, both al-Qaeda and the Taliban caused many casualties among the U.S. soldiers and civilians of Afghanistan and a battle of two – against – one was created.
A few years later, the conditions in Afghanistan were getting worse and worse. Through out the years, 48,250 U.S. troops, along with 65,000 NATO-ISAF troops, 9,500 British troops, and the Afghan National Army of 100,000, were sent to combat and a total of 6,782 of them were killed. The Afghan government is in chaos due to its lack of power and authority. Insurgent groups commit terrorist acts in the streets of cities and towns and slip into crowds of civilians, leaving roads full of corpses of civilians, soldiers, and even members of insurgent groups who were either committing suicide bombing or got caught by accident.
Those events also affected America. The citizens of America are mad about what’s going on. Billions of dollars have been spent on the war, creating bad effects on people. Families are upset that their loved ones have to stay in Afghanistan for a long time, more than one or two years. Some soldiers would come back with serious injuries like missing a limb or paralysis. Whatever the reason is, when a soldier comes home, he and his family will suffer with some financial issues because he can’t find a job due to the economy today or his health condition. In worse cases, a lot of soldiers were killed in combat, leaving heartbroken families to struggle to take care of their own. This causes people to want to bring the soldiers back home.
Back in Washington, D.C., Congress and President Bush were arguing over either withdrawing troops out of Afghanistan or continuing the fight. Congress believed the war cost a lot of money, time and men, causing many problems within the country, financially and emotionally. They thought Afghanistan was beyond recovery. Bush believed that the mission was on the right track. He thought he could get Afghanistan back on its feet by stopping the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and helping the Afghan government to strengthen its army so they can fight on their own. He also believed that if they withdrew the troops, these insurgent groups would attack America. During the 2008 Presidential Election, John McCain supported the war, believing that sending 17,000 troops and additional allied troops would help prevent al-Qaeda from turning the war-torn country into their home turf. When President Obama took over office, he created a strategy to prevent al-Qaeda and the Taliban from coming back by sending more troops there. The only reason to do that is for the protection of America and its allies. This caused people to become upset even further. To my eyes, it’s just something similar to Bush’s strategy and nothing has turned the tables in the war.
As an American, I think sending more troops can be a bad idea. Sending more troops means more deaths and this leads to poor economic consequences, and other needs we need like medical support and education. But as a human being, I pray for the success of the war. If the troops were to withdraw, what would happen to the people of Afghanistan? I think the people would suffer under the terror of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. More people will die. Women and girls will endure a wrath way worse that death. Afghanistan will never recover and be in a state of ruins. One thing everyone has in common is that no one knows if this war will go on for a year or two, or even longer. We even don’t know the conclusion of the war. We do know that when the smoke from the fires of war goes away, we’ll have our answer.
The opinion in this article does not represent that of the Sampan or the Asian American Civic Association.
After the destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush sent troops to the country on an ultimatum to stop al-Qaeda. The Taliban offered to surrender Osama bin Laden to the U.S., but President Bush refused the offer and commanded a bomb strike on Afghanistan. This caused multiple civilian casualties and many towns and cities to be destroyed. In response, the Taliban attacked right back, causing more civilian casualties. I believe President Bush refused the Taliban for two reasons. One, the Taliban’s form of government is inhumane because they treat women cruelly and make them look less human. They ban western knowledge, music of any kind, and forbid women to be educated. Anyone who commits a crime gets their hands cut off or worse - in front of everyone. Second, the Taliban had treated bin Laden with hospitality and asylum, the standard their code of behavior tells them to treat a guest. President Bush believed the Taliban were allies with bin Laden because of this code. Regardless, after the refusal of the offer, both al-Qaeda and the Taliban caused many casualties among the U.S. soldiers and civilians of Afghanistan and a battle of two – against – one was created.
A few years later, the conditions in Afghanistan were getting worse and worse. Through out the years, 48,250 U.S. troops, along with 65,000 NATO-ISAF troops, 9,500 British troops, and the Afghan National Army of 100,000, were sent to combat and a total of 6,782 of them were killed. The Afghan government is in chaos due to its lack of power and authority. Insurgent groups commit terrorist acts in the streets of cities and towns and slip into crowds of civilians, leaving roads full of corpses of civilians, soldiers, and even members of insurgent groups who were either committing suicide bombing or got caught by accident.
Those events also affected America. The citizens of America are mad about what’s going on. Billions of dollars have been spent on the war, creating bad effects on people. Families are upset that their loved ones have to stay in Afghanistan for a long time, more than one or two years. Some soldiers would come back with serious injuries like missing a limb or paralysis. Whatever the reason is, when a soldier comes home, he and his family will suffer with some financial issues because he can’t find a job due to the economy today or his health condition. In worse cases, a lot of soldiers were killed in combat, leaving heartbroken families to struggle to take care of their own. This causes people to want to bring the soldiers back home.
Back in Washington, D.C., Congress and President Bush were arguing over either withdrawing troops out of Afghanistan or continuing the fight. Congress believed the war cost a lot of money, time and men, causing many problems within the country, financially and emotionally. They thought Afghanistan was beyond recovery. Bush believed that the mission was on the right track. He thought he could get Afghanistan back on its feet by stopping the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and helping the Afghan government to strengthen its army so they can fight on their own. He also believed that if they withdrew the troops, these insurgent groups would attack America. During the 2008 Presidential Election, John McCain supported the war, believing that sending 17,000 troops and additional allied troops would help prevent al-Qaeda from turning the war-torn country into their home turf. When President Obama took over office, he created a strategy to prevent al-Qaeda and the Taliban from coming back by sending more troops there. The only reason to do that is for the protection of America and its allies. This caused people to become upset even further. To my eyes, it’s just something similar to Bush’s strategy and nothing has turned the tables in the war.
As an American, I think sending more troops can be a bad idea. Sending more troops means more deaths and this leads to poor economic consequences, and other needs we need like medical support and education. But as a human being, I pray for the success of the war. If the troops were to withdraw, what would happen to the people of Afghanistan? I think the people would suffer under the terror of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. More people will die. Women and girls will endure a wrath way worse that death. Afghanistan will never recover and be in a state of ruins. One thing everyone has in common is that no one knows if this war will go on for a year or two, or even longer. We even don’t know the conclusion of the war. We do know that when the smoke from the fires of war goes away, we’ll have our answer.
The opinion in this article does not represent that of the Sampan or the Asian American Civic Association.
Article Reference: http://www.sampan.org/show_article.php?display=2173
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