...and it ain't pretty. The United States invaded Afghanistan at the beginning of October 2001 in response to the attacks of 9/11. I was in the 8th grade when 9/11 happened and I remember how America changed so much. Everyone was so angry and hurt by the attacks that invading a country was something we had to do! Osama bin Laden was the prime suspect and Afghanistan’s Taliban was harboring him. It was a war worthy of going to, defending our country and having a clear plan of attack. We were to destroy Al Qaeda training camps and search for bin Laden. U.S. troops succeeded in toppling the Taliban regime.
Now, eight years later, we are still in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden still hasn’t been caught and they want to send more troops in to reinforce stability. I met a guy this weekend in ROTC at USC and he told me he was probably going to be sent to Afghanistan and I thought to myself “They’re still sending troops there?” Now, headlining many of the major newspapers this weekend is this question of whether or not Obama will succumb to expert request for more troops. It is going to be a huge issue to debate about in the upcoming weeks.
Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top commander of American forces in Afghanistan, has chosen to go public with his recommendation of 40,000 more troops. This weekend, insurgents attacked a pair of eastern military bases, killing 8 U.S. soldiers, the deadliest attack in over a year in the region. Gen. James L. Jones, national security advisor, said this weekend on CNN that he sees no evidence of instability in Afghanistan, seemingly attempting to indirectly oppose McChrystal’s stance. While in an interview with CNN, he said he doesn’t “foresee a return of the Taliban” and “al Qaeda presence is very diminished.” So do we need more troops or can we figure out a plan with the troops we already have?
I think it would be a shame to send more troops into the region. Afghanistan needs stabilization, a stronger state police force, economic growth and a developed infrastructure. Let’s put American dollars into achieving these goals rather than sending in more military. At least one thing is for certain: all of the sudden, Afghanistan in making the headlines again, and reminding American citizens that there was once a war where invasion was warranted and intentions were honorable.
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Sending troops to Afghanistan is not going to fix the problem in the region. People in the region need to fix there own problems. We sent groups of troops over and over to Iraq and the country is still not perfect. America and the world needs to let the middle east solve its own problems. They may need our help once in a while but we must not take over because it is not our problem to resolve.
ReplyDeleteI don't quite understand your last sentence. Maybe it doesnt really fit in with the rest of your post, I am not sure
ReplyDeleteBut, that is beside my point. I think it is really scary to think that more of our soldiers are going to be sent there. I have a lot of friends in the military, and it scares me to know that they are going to be sent to a war zone. It really brings the issues home when you know people actually there. And I totally agree with JV in that America needs to stop intervening with the problems in the Middle East. They have been fighting for centuries, and are probably going to be fighting for many centuries to come.
I think that instead of trying to solve the world's problems, the United States government should be a little more concerned with its domestic problems like poverty, and the ever increasing education problem, to just name a couple.
i agree with you and JV. America has often had the policy of "big brother" and "empire" in its foreign policy decisions. Recognizing deep-seated socio-economic inequalities and historical atrocities amongst different ethnicities in the region, the US can play a role in helping countries and grassroots communities in the Middle East build institutions that forgive, heal, and renew.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but some authentic apologies between groups will have to be given down the road to begin the healing process and equitable institution-building to promote equitable and sustainable development and opportunity-building in the area.
dan (theurbanbriefcase.wordpress.com)