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Afghanistan: America’s longest war and its future
Author: That Guy
Date written: 23/02/2014
Former US President George W. Bush
11 September, 2001, the day that the World Trade Centers were hit by the most devastating terrorist attack in US history. This is the day that changed the US and the world forever.
After the fall of the USSR, Americans felt that with no one to challenge their position as the leader of the free world, they were finally safe. Why wouldn't they? After all, they had the best military, the biggest economy, and the brightest minds in the world, all the things that are expected from a super power. When the terrorist attacks in the US occured, Americans found themselves facing a new enemy. It wasn't another super power, nor a rouge government, but a non-state actor…Al-Qaeda.
So, on 20 September, 2001, the United States President George W. Bush declared the global war on terror, and 18 days later, a full US invasion of Afghanistan began. The plan was simple, get in, capture the perpetrators of 9/11, oust the Taliban who harboured them, install a new democratic government who would never allow Afghan soil to be used as a terror base against US interests, and then get out. It was a simple, why wouldn't it be? The were facing a ragtag group of people, who didn't even have a proper military structure, let alone an air force.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Logo
Of course, the US wasn’t alone in their efforts over the years to get rid of the Taliban and make sure Al Qaeda was destroyed. The UN established, international coalition was set up to help the US in it’s efforts to succeed it’s mission, the coalition was named the International Security Assistance Force , and it was a resounding success. It helped bulk up security where the US had little presence, and conducted one successful operation after another.
Soon, the Taliban were ousted from power, and Al-Qaeda leaders were on the run. Though, the main objective was a partial failure (the capture of OBL and allies), the overall war effort was a success.
This brought new hope for the future of Afghanistan, in 2002, a new nation building effort was started by the US. Afghan that lived in foreign refugee camps by the millions started to come back to their country, they started to rebuild, repair and all in all, the mood was generally positive.
President George Bush, surrounded by leaders of the House and Senate, announces a joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq, 2 October 2002.
In 20 March 2003 the US made its biggest mistake, it went to war with Iraq . Thinking they had won in Afghanistan and ignoring the possibility of a resurgent Taliban, most of the US forces in Afghanistan were immediately sent to Iraq, leaving only a small force to deal with the steadily growing insurgency. Though Bush had declared a victory in Iraq by the 1st of May, things quickly became clear that the war was far from being a done deal. The US, as with Afghanistan, started a nation building effort in Iraq. Installing a democratic government, which today is in many ways just as dictatorial and dangerous as Saddam Hussein, it originally did seem as if things would be fine and America did indeed win the war. With the Ba’athist insurgency and the rise of Shia-Sunni sectarian warfare, the US became stuck in Iraq, unable to get out without losing face.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the Taliban had risen from the grave and become a major problem for foreign forces. But with Iraq being on the US media’s radar, the Afghan war quickly became known as America’s forgotten war . This only helped the Afghan insurgents in the long run, as the US started to divert more and more resources to suppress the violence and terrorism in Iraq, as Iraq was seen as more important, which reinforced the forgetful nature of the media.
Taliban Fighters
From 2003 to 2005, the Taliban had regained much of their former strength. Though unable to wage a conventional war, it was clear that they were a determined and deadly as an insurgent guerrilla force.
By 2006, it was clear that something needed to be done. Not only were militant attacks becoming increasingly common all over Afghanistan, it was clear that the Taliban were far more dangerous than originally thought. So, a renewed effort was launched. From 2006 to 2008, ISAF and US forces increased their efforts to reverse the gains that the Taliban had gotten over the years, though these efforts were challenged by the Taliban, who made US/ISAF efforts extremely difficult. So in 2009, recommended by top military strategists, the US under the new President Barack H. Obama, who was perceived as not considering the Afghan war as his own and being very reluctant, declared a surge in troops to Afghanistan to beat back the Taliban and decrease the violence in the troubled nation. Though this was met with harsh criticism back home, who compared the increase in troop level in Afghanistan to the surge in Vietnam during the Lyndon Johnson administration.. How clear the parallel stands on its feet is still to be decided, even 4 years after the initial surge.
Though the surge did indeed reverse massive gains of the Taliban, and lower the level of violence, in 2011, the US’s former top general and the former man in charge of the war effort in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus described the coalition gains as “fragile and reversible”.
In 2012, the surge ended and with it, the talk of a drawdown of troops became increasingly louder in US political hemisphere. Though, there was also an Afghan-led effort to find a political solution led by the Afghan High peace council in 2010, it was clear that the Taliban wouldn’t talk to the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai directly. Despite Afghan government claims, the Taliban continued to deny talks with them. The US started to lead its own secret talks between themselves and the Taliban leadership during the same time period, which, in 2013, led to the Taliban opening a political office in Qatar.. Though the office was quickly closed down by the Taliban, after they were forced to remove the flag that represented their former regime, the “Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan”.
Flag of Taliban
Despite efforts to open a sincere dialogue between the Afghan gov and the Taliban, or even direct US-Taliban talks, there seems to be no end to this war through finding a political solution. With a US draw down fast approaching by the end of this year (2014), and Karzai’s refusal to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement that would guarantee a contingent of US troops staying in Afghanistan, it seems that Afghanistan’s future is increasingly looking bleaker by the day.
Though the hope that was brought to Afghanistan after the ousting of the Taliban seemed indestructible, today it seems as if Afghans are already making plans to leave the country if either the US forces leave permanently, and/or if the Taliban take over. Refugees that went back home are starting to return to refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan, and those that are still there are refusing to leave, this is already over burdening Pakistan’s already strained economy.
The notion that Afghanistan’s future is in Afghan hands is truer now more than ever before. Whether a peace deal is achieved, the BSA is signed or if a civil war erupts after a US withdrawal, it is up to the Afghans to decide how best to fix the problems in their nation. Even after all the blood has been shed by foreign troops, whether that be for revenge against 9/11 or helping the Afghans, all the rest of the world can do is watch on. This may have started out as America’s war, but it has become an Afghan war and only the Afghans have the will and capability to end it. If they fail in their efforts to end the violence, the region itself may end up in extreme peril.
@WebMaster @Aeronaut @jaibi @Alpha1 @Luftwaffe
Author: That Guy
Date written: 23/02/2014
Former US President George W. Bush
11 September, 2001, the day that the World Trade Centers were hit by the most devastating terrorist attack in US history. This is the day that changed the US and the world forever.
After the fall of the USSR, Americans felt that with no one to challenge their position as the leader of the free world, they were finally safe. Why wouldn't they? After all, they had the best military, the biggest economy, and the brightest minds in the world, all the things that are expected from a super power. When the terrorist attacks in the US occured, Americans found themselves facing a new enemy. It wasn't another super power, nor a rouge government, but a non-state actor…Al-Qaeda.
So, on 20 September, 2001, the United States President George W. Bush declared the global war on terror, and 18 days later, a full US invasion of Afghanistan began. The plan was simple, get in, capture the perpetrators of 9/11, oust the Taliban who harboured them, install a new democratic government who would never allow Afghan soil to be used as a terror base against US interests, and then get out. It was a simple, why wouldn't it be? The were facing a ragtag group of people, who didn't even have a proper military structure, let alone an air force.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Logo
Of course, the US wasn’t alone in their efforts over the years to get rid of the Taliban and make sure Al Qaeda was destroyed. The UN established, international coalition was set up to help the US in it’s efforts to succeed it’s mission, the coalition was named the International Security Assistance Force , and it was a resounding success. It helped bulk up security where the US had little presence, and conducted one successful operation after another.
Soon, the Taliban were ousted from power, and Al-Qaeda leaders were on the run. Though, the main objective was a partial failure (the capture of OBL and allies), the overall war effort was a success.
This brought new hope for the future of Afghanistan, in 2002, a new nation building effort was started by the US. Afghan that lived in foreign refugee camps by the millions started to come back to their country, they started to rebuild, repair and all in all, the mood was generally positive.
President George Bush, surrounded by leaders of the House and Senate, announces a joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq, 2 October 2002.
In 20 March 2003 the US made its biggest mistake, it went to war with Iraq . Thinking they had won in Afghanistan and ignoring the possibility of a resurgent Taliban, most of the US forces in Afghanistan were immediately sent to Iraq, leaving only a small force to deal with the steadily growing insurgency. Though Bush had declared a victory in Iraq by the 1st of May, things quickly became clear that the war was far from being a done deal. The US, as with Afghanistan, started a nation building effort in Iraq. Installing a democratic government, which today is in many ways just as dictatorial and dangerous as Saddam Hussein, it originally did seem as if things would be fine and America did indeed win the war. With the Ba’athist insurgency and the rise of Shia-Sunni sectarian warfare, the US became stuck in Iraq, unable to get out without losing face.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the Taliban had risen from the grave and become a major problem for foreign forces. But with Iraq being on the US media’s radar, the Afghan war quickly became known as America’s forgotten war . This only helped the Afghan insurgents in the long run, as the US started to divert more and more resources to suppress the violence and terrorism in Iraq, as Iraq was seen as more important, which reinforced the forgetful nature of the media.
Taliban Fighters
From 2003 to 2005, the Taliban had regained much of their former strength. Though unable to wage a conventional war, it was clear that they were a determined and deadly as an insurgent guerrilla force.
By 2006, it was clear that something needed to be done. Not only were militant attacks becoming increasingly common all over Afghanistan, it was clear that the Taliban were far more dangerous than originally thought. So, a renewed effort was launched. From 2006 to 2008, ISAF and US forces increased their efforts to reverse the gains that the Taliban had gotten over the years, though these efforts were challenged by the Taliban, who made US/ISAF efforts extremely difficult. So in 2009, recommended by top military strategists, the US under the new President Barack H. Obama, who was perceived as not considering the Afghan war as his own and being very reluctant, declared a surge in troops to Afghanistan to beat back the Taliban and decrease the violence in the troubled nation. Though this was met with harsh criticism back home, who compared the increase in troop level in Afghanistan to the surge in Vietnam during the Lyndon Johnson administration.. How clear the parallel stands on its feet is still to be decided, even 4 years after the initial surge.
Though the surge did indeed reverse massive gains of the Taliban, and lower the level of violence, in 2011, the US’s former top general and the former man in charge of the war effort in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus described the coalition gains as “fragile and reversible”.
In 2012, the surge ended and with it, the talk of a drawdown of troops became increasingly louder in US political hemisphere. Though, there was also an Afghan-led effort to find a political solution led by the Afghan High peace council in 2010, it was clear that the Taliban wouldn’t talk to the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai directly. Despite Afghan government claims, the Taliban continued to deny talks with them. The US started to lead its own secret talks between themselves and the Taliban leadership during the same time period, which, in 2013, led to the Taliban opening a political office in Qatar.. Though the office was quickly closed down by the Taliban, after they were forced to remove the flag that represented their former regime, the “Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan”.
Flag of Taliban
Despite efforts to open a sincere dialogue between the Afghan gov and the Taliban, or even direct US-Taliban talks, there seems to be no end to this war through finding a political solution. With a US draw down fast approaching by the end of this year (2014), and Karzai’s refusal to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement that would guarantee a contingent of US troops staying in Afghanistan, it seems that Afghanistan’s future is increasingly looking bleaker by the day.
Though the hope that was brought to Afghanistan after the ousting of the Taliban seemed indestructible, today it seems as if Afghans are already making plans to leave the country if either the US forces leave permanently, and/or if the Taliban take over. Refugees that went back home are starting to return to refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan, and those that are still there are refusing to leave, this is already over burdening Pakistan’s already strained economy.
The notion that Afghanistan’s future is in Afghan hands is truer now more than ever before. Whether a peace deal is achieved, the BSA is signed or if a civil war erupts after a US withdrawal, it is up to the Afghans to decide how best to fix the problems in their nation. Even after all the blood has been shed by foreign troops, whether that be for revenge against 9/11 or helping the Afghans, all the rest of the world can do is watch on. This may have started out as America’s war, but it has become an Afghan war and only the Afghans have the will and capability to end it. If they fail in their efforts to end the violence, the region itself may end up in extreme peril.
@WebMaster @Aeronaut @jaibi @Alpha1 @Luftwaffe
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