US military presence in Afghanistan - Essay Example

of the Business of the Concerned 25 September US Military Presence in Afghanistan Introduction There is no denying the fact that the US led war in Afghanistan has given way to many serious questions and issues. Many of the concerned groups and agencies within and without the United States tend to wonder whether the war in Afghanistan is winnable or would it eventually give way to a limbo like situation as it happened in Vietnam. There are varied reasons that are propping up doubts and confusions regarding the US invasion of Afghanistan. Many tend to question whether the US military presence in Afghanistan is justifiable when the Hamid Karzai led government in Afghanistan tends to be really corrupt and ineffective, quiet akin to the United States backed government in South Vietnam twenty years ago. However, these doubts and confusions pertaining to the US led military action in Afghanistan simply cannot dilute the fact that in a post 9/11 scenario, the ground realities in the US were such that it was somewhat imperative for the US to engage in some kind of military action to allay the falling public moral and confidence. The 9/11 incident amounted to an attack on the United States of America and it was somewhat imperative on the nation to trace and attack the terrorist bases situated in Afghanistan. However, the thing that needs to be regretted is that the US presence in Afghanistan instead of culminating into a logical conclusion rather got prolonged. Somehow the US got entangled in the situation in Afghanistan and in the present context; it is an issue of debate whether the US should withdraw its military from Afghanistan or whether it should keep it troops stationed there until the envisaged objectives are achieved. It will be really insightful to analyze the reasons both supportive of and critical of the premise that US military should leave Afghanistan. Con Side The 9/11 like Situation may Arise Again The thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the US attack on Afghanistan was backed by valid and justifiable tactical and strategic reasons. Many people tend to think that in the post 9/11 scenario, United States sent its military to Afghanistan to avenge the 9/11 attacks. Yes, this is true, but it was not the only reason why the US sent its forces to Afghanistan. Rather the US invasion of Afghanistan was based on more elaborate and detailed strategic considerations that were backed by valid doubts that if not militarily engaged and neutralized, the terrorist groups that targeted US may do so again (Goodson 7). So the objective of the US lead invasion was to trace and annihilate the groups stationed in Afghanistan that were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and to neutralize their capacity to again launch such attacks on the US and the other Western democracies. Thereby, the posting of the US military in Afghanistan was not senseless, but rather happened to be a strategic necessity. In the light of this fact the thing that needs to be considered is that the US objective of invading Afghanistan has still not completely been achieved. Though the US military has freed large parts of Afghanistan from the hold of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, still it is a fact that the Taliban and the Al Qaeda continue to have bases in Afghanistan and have managed to retain a significant chunk of their capacity to plan and engage in acts of terrorism and carnage. Thereby the US must stay put its military in Afghanistan until the Taliban are conclusively annihilated. Otherwise, there exists a valid possibility that the Taliban may reorganize them self and may once again give way to a 9/11 like action. The argument that the US should continue to retain military presence in Afghanistan to avoid a redo of the 9/11 like mayhem is indeed valid and logical. The veracity of this argument is proved by the ground realities. Irrespective of the engagement with a heavy US military deployment the Taliban have time and again proven their capacity by attacking the US and ally basis within Afghanistan. The other thing is that the Taliban continue to enjoy safe heavens in the tribal regions of Pakistan, irrespective of the repeat US drone attacks. The Taliban have strong links to Al Qaeda and they consider US their number one enemy. So it is quiet likely that once the US troops are called back, it will ease much pressure on the Taliban and will give them the time and the resources to regroup and reorganize and once again launch 9/11 like attacks on the US and other friendly nations. The very Possibility of a US Withdrawal will automatically lead to the US Defeat It is a fact that when the US military entered Afghanistan, the US had well in mind a definite objective and it was willing to pursue action until that objective was achieved. In that sense the US forces have come a long way in Afghanistan. Large tracts of Afghanistan have been cleared of the Taliban and the Al Qaeda. The Al Qaeda capacity to launch 9/11 like attacks has significantly been nullified which is proved by the fact that since the invasion of Afghanistan, no 9/11 like attack has reoccurred in any part of the Western world. Human rights have been restored in Afghanistan and the nation is on its way to growth and development. Today Afghanistan is a democratic country and its citizens live without any fear of the Taliban, all because of the US military intervention. Moreover, the Afghan forces are being recruited and trained with the help of the US military and they are preparing themselves to hold Afghanistan once the US forces withdraw (Ahmed 1). Considering these fact it would not be wrong to say if the US has not won the war, it is close to doing so. In that context if the US decides to immediately withdraw its military from Afghanistan, it will automatically send a message to the Taliban and the Al Qaeda that the since the US troops are poised to withdraw, all that they have to do is sit and wait to win the war. Thereby a very possibility of a US withdrawal till the Taliban are completely defeated will readily give way to a US defeat. Thereby, the US troops should continue to hold on to Afghanistan till they bolster and augment the gains made by them till now and very soon they will win the war. Well, this argument sound plausible yet it is vague and hazy as it is difficult to say as to when the US will conclusively end up winning the war. In a broader perspective the US military has made many gains in Afghanistan and has succeeded in breaking the backbone of the Taliban and the Al Qaeda. It was also largely owing to the intelligence gathered by the US military in Afghanistan that the US succeeded in locating and killing Osama bin Laden. Thereby the premise that the US should continue to retain Afghanistan sound propitious and full of hope. However, the only lacuna that takes out air out of this reason is that still it is not possible to guess as to when the US will secure a complete victory in Afghanistan. Pro Side Loss of the US Lives and Resources The Afghanistan War has cost much dear to the United States army. The missions within Afghanistan have led to the loss of many US lives. Since the coalition forces entered Afghanistan, the war in Afghanistan has led to the death of a total of 3383 coalition personnel and a total of 2280 US personnel (iCasualties 1). The irony is that the war in Afghanistan is still far from being over and each successive day is accompanied by a further loss of the US and ally lives. Considering the augmenting US head count, it will be right to say that the US military should withdraw from Afghanistan to prevent a further loss of the US and ally lives. However, if the US forces continue to stay in Afghanistan, it will lead to a further loss of many US lives The other thing is that the war in Afghanistan has bled the US economically. Much US resources and money had been wasted till date in retaining the US forces in Afghanistan. Since 2001, when the US forces landed in Afghanistan, the United States has spent $661, 836,462,700 in Afghanistan (National Priorities Project 1). By all means this is a gargantuan sum of money which could have been spent on more worthy causes. The problem is that though this reason is statistically accurate it happens to be flawed in the light of the available facts. The thing that needs to be urgently recalled is that the US forces entered Afghanistan with a cause and that cause was to wage a war against the Al Qaeda and the Taliban and to dilute their capacity to target the US citizens and property. It was a war with a reason and every war tends to cost something in terms of the men and resources. Once the US has come such a long way, citing the loss of the US lives and resources to abruptly remove the troops will sound immature and non-serious. The loss of men and resources could not be the only reason that US can extend to pull back its forces from the region. Now the US has an ethical and moral stake in Afghanistan. It is not Our War There is a chunk of the American people and the political community that believe that the war in Afghanistan was not their war (West 7). They believe that the US had no reason to send forces to Afghanistan and that the nation had no cause to engage in such an unjustifiable military action (West 10). This section of the population believes that the war in Afghanistan was uncalled for and needless and had led to an unnecessary loss of the US lives and soldiers. Thereby the US should withdraw its military from the Afghan soil at the earliest and must leave the war to the people and nations who are actually the stakeholders in this war. The sad thing is that in a nation fatigued and sucked by such a long war, this premise tends to command an emotional appeal and support. However, if analyzed in a logical and tactical context, the conclusion that comes forth is that the Afghan war is very much the US war. The assertion that the Afghan war is not the US war is totally bereft of the factual support and strategic evidence. The elements that launched the 9/11 attack were stationed in Afghanistan and hence it was very much the US onus to track, attack and neutralize these elements. Thereby, the US did what any self respecting sovereign nation should have done. It is a different thing that this war got prolonged and somehow the Taliban managed to hold on irrespective of the concerted US action and pressure. Just because now the US has somehow got entangled in this mission does not absolve it of its responsibility to defend and protect the US citizens. Conclusion In the light of the tactical and strategic considerations and the onus imposed by the sense of responsibility and ethical duty, the reasons extended by the con side seem to be more valid and thereby the US should not call back its military from Afghanistan. The US military entered Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 mayhem and has been immensely successful in pushing back Taliban and diluting the potential of Al Qaeda. In such a scenario a withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan will indeed invigorate the moral and potential of the anti US forces. Besides, even a consideration of a US withdrawal is akin to a US defeat as it will convey a message to the Taliban and Al Qaeda that all that they need to do is to sit tight and the US will eventually withdraw, thereby relieving them of much stress. Hence, the US military should continue to stay in Afghanistan till it achieves a conclusive victory. Works Cited Ahmed, Azam. “In Afghan Transition, US Forces take a Step Back”. The New York Times 25 May 2013. Web. 25 September 2013. “Coalition Military Fatalities by Year”. iCausalities.org. 2013. Web. 25 September 2013. “Cost of War in Afghanistan Since 2001”. National Priorities Project. 2013. Web. 25 September 2013. Goodson, Larry P. Afghanistan’s Endless War. New York: University of Washington Press, 2001. Print. West, Bing. The Wrong War. New York: Random House, 2012. Read More