Argues on Americas War in Afghanistan - Research Paper Example

War in the Middle East I. Introduction September 11, 2001 represents a date in history that none of our contemporaries will forget. This day is the day when the American society, if not the Western world, changed completely and was forced to face the threat of terrorism. After September 11 the whole world changed. The U.S. subsequent involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan may go down as one of the most controversial wars in history. Indeed, there are a number of complex questions involved when determining the moral and political justifications behind this “War on Terrorism.” While there were ultimately no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq, the country was under the iron rule of a brutal and power- hungry dictator, of course. Similarly, many Americans believe that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable, yet entirely justifiable. II. Consideration Due to September 11, 2001, the U.S. government has learned that Osama Bin Laden was tied to the horrifying terrorist attacks on America. Since then, America has gone to war. The aim was to bring Bin Laden out of hiding. Many believe that Bin Laden’s acts of terror justified the American’s terrorism in the name of protecting the United States. Some believe that Al Qaeda’s attack on the United States violated the "just war" theory. The just war theory explains that only government led groups can lead an attack, but they must do it for a just cause. It’s been said that Al Qaeda broke the just war theory because they attacked civilians and they did so with no cause. Furthermore, the attacks on the Pentagon, one could argue, was a government driven attack. The subsequent wars, together with other operations against terrorist groups, represent the American response to the threat. There is no doubt that the American response had its economic and strategic interests, but the essential reason for US’ actions following September 11 many believe was for the defense of freedom. Supporters of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq believed in the progress that can be made in defending freedom and democracy anywhere in the world. Freedom became after September 11 an all-purpose explanation for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The wars conducted by US were justified as a response to the terrorist attacks which aimed the basic liberties of the American society. Freedom was soon perceived as an American good that must be promoted everywhere and the United States was seen as having the moral duty of promoting democracy throughout the world. This belief in the right of America to guard liberty was not shared by the entire population, but as poll numbers showed as late as 2004, the majority of Americans supported President’s Bush actions. President Bush and his supporters believed that the intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan would bring progress in these countries and that democracy was the only way to achieve progress. The change in Muslim societies should be made in the way they perceive freedom, which is essential to democracy, which proved to be a prosperous political system. While it is yet to be seen if the change in the political system of Afghanistan and Iraq represents progress or not, supporters of the war believe that democracy in the Middle East will eventually lead to progress. III. Shared Values When considering the war in the Middle East it’s clear that Osama Bin Laden’s and Al Qaeda’s actions in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center are entirely unjustified and misguided. The death of innocent civilians was a direct and intended consequence of the attacks. These deaths indicate that Al Qaeda violated simple and pure human rights violations that supersede political intentions. In this respect, it’s clear that the attacks were an act of terrorism and violated any claim to justice. It follows then that there must have been some sort of action taken against the individuals who perpetrated these attacks, and in great part the swift actions taken in response to the World Trade Center bombings were justified as a means of national security. It’s also clear that the way the governments in much of the Middle East operate is contrary to American values of democracy and freedom, and that it might be ultimately beneficial for much of the population to adopt these standards. In these regards, it’s clear that a wrong was perpetrated against the United States and that some diplomatic or even military action was justified as a response. IV. Argument Even as the war in the Middle East was initially justified as a means of national security, the United States’ longevity and continued presence has proved to be largely problematic. While the war might have started along well justified measures, it carries a toll on the American population, and the reason for its perpetuation has become hard to identify. For America, there are no benefits from winning the war other then the satisfaction of standing up and being proud. The United States should do what they do for Israel. We are not in war with them but we have chosen to send them money to fight a war. Thus, if it is ok for companies in America to send fractions of their proceeds to Israel for them to buy more guns to increase warfare, then it should be ok to do the same for Afghanistan. This will cause a bond between countries rather than tension, and then maybe we will be able to work together to get Osama Bin Laden, rather than kill our only links to get to him. While ultimately the war in the Middle East remains a complex question with no clearly definable answer, it ultimately seems that at this point the United States should withdraw its military presence in the Middle East and concentrate on national security within the country. One important reason that individuals must consider is peoples’ safety here at home. While the War on Terrorism has been sold as fighting the terrorist abroad so they must not be fought at home, this seems a somewhat specious concept. Military recruiting is down. Young people do not want to join the Armed Forces when it is quite clear they could die in Iraq or Afghanistan. This shortage results in fewer qualified members of the armed forces, and leaves fewer in America to protect against terrorism and attack. There have already been reported over 2,600 coalition force member deaths. That includes 2,463 Americans. Almost 18,000 military personnel have been wounded during the war, and thousands of Iraqis and insurgents have also died during the fighting ("Coalition Casualties"). (BBC 2009) This human cost may be the most difficult consequence of the war to bear. One of the most important aspects has been the economic considerations. In America, of course, the cost of war is highly expensive, in the billions. Indeed, recent economic numbers indicate that the national debt is approaching a record $14 trillion dollars, with approximately $4 billion dollars added daily. (http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/) A great portion of this accumulating sum is a direct result of funding the war in the Middle East. At home, many Americans have faced the harsh economic situation of the recent recession and are suffering because of the fall-out. Many Americans believe that there is a connection between the country’s hurting economic structure and war funding. Indeed, a recent poll indicated that, “More than 7 out of 10 Americans think government spending on the war in Iraq is partly responsible for the economic troubles in the United States.” (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS) With such great numbers of individuals identifying a connection between the war and the country’s poor performing economy, it follows that ending the war could greatly contribute to an increase in jobs and economic performance. For the people in Afghanistan, war is not only killing them physically but it has drained them of all their scarce resources. Their economy was nowhere as stable and evolved as America to begin with, and soon they will have no more money to eat, and only starvation can prevail. This problem makes the war unfair and immoral. Innocent people did die on September 11th and nobody deserves the pain and agony of the terrorist’s terrible actions, but now we have done the same and it is in our hands to fix the problems. The war is hurting innocent people while the warlords are running out of Afghanistan and establishing organizations in other countries. Indeed, as early as 2002 Time (Kohat, 2002, pg. 23) reported that, “Officials estimate that, altogether, more than 3,500 al-Qaeda operatives and their Pakistani comrades are hunkered down in the tribal belt along the Afghan border and in the sprawling cities of Karachi and Peshawar, sheltered by homegrown extremists.” In these regards, the continued efforts of the United States military (and the substantial tax dollars that support it) have gone to fight a losing battle. The more ground the United States is able to make in defeating terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, the more they are simply moving to the surrounding regions. Indeed, many argue (Jones 2010) that it’s highly likely that even if a modicum of success or victory was achieved in Afghanistan that our nation’s national security wouldn’t benefit, as the terrorists organizations would merely establish their operations in a different region of the Middle East. While Afghanistan seems on the way to democracy, it also seems on the way to civil war, and many wonder if the strife in the Middle East will ever end –war or not. It seems that the Muslims have so many different factions that they can never agree, and the U.S. involvement is exacerbating these differences. Indeed, the greatest obstacle that stands in the way of the American’s intention to promote democracy in Muslim countries is the gap in ideological beliefs. Cultural differences proved to be hard to overcome. American definition of freedom resides in the support for political democracy, for free markets, for limited government, and for individual freedom. Islam has different views on the cultural definition of freedom and Muslim societies historically choose a different type of political system. The belief that US is right and the rest is wrong, that America loves freedom while those that do not support democracy hate it is the reason for the inefficiency of the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. America has used freedom and democracy as being universally desirable and US being their protector, disregarding the fact that perhaps other nations might have a different view of what freedom is. Jane Mayer identifies that the “invocation of freedom as an American rallying cry”. (Mayer 2009, pg 34) Americans imagine themselves as being guardians of freedom in an oppressive world has roots in the American Revolution and the Civil War. (Mayer 2009) It is a historical perspective of Americans of themselves, so there is little surprise that US identified itself after the attacks of September 11 as the guardian of freedom and democracy everywhere in the world. While this belief has noble roots, it is an ethnocentric view of the world and is one of the central reasons the American War on Terror has been ineffective. The involvement in the war on terror has greatly harmed the United States’ image internationally. It has made the United States look imperialistic and domineering because of the desire to spread western thought and ideals among all the peoples of the world, disregarding their own ideas and ideals. (Bennis 2009) In a perfect world, the entire planet would enjoy democracy, civil rights, and freedom. However, the world is not perfect, and many fault the United States for attempting to recreate American ideals globally, in effect globalizing America while ignoring the culture and traditions of the rest of the world. This makes the United States look bad to many around the world, and has undermined our world position and influence. (Bennis 2009) This may not seem like the most important consequence of the war, but in truth, it could be deadly. The United States, always on the side of "good" against "evil" is no longer the "good guy" in many people's eyes. The involvement in the Middle East has made the U.S. look like a bully at best – shoving democracy down the throats of people who may not desire it. It also has made us look imperialistic and domineering because of the desire to spread western thought and ideals among all the peoples of the world, disregarding their own ideas and ideals. In a perfect world, the entire planet would enjoy democracy, civil rights, and freedom. However, the world is not perfect, and many fault the United States for attempting to recreate American ideals globally, in effect globalizing America while ignoring the culture and traditions of the rest of the world. This makes us look bad to many around the world, and has undermined our world position and influence. More animosity toward the U.S. fuels more hatred and violence. More countries are now attempting to (or have already) create nuclear weapons. It seems the world may be heading into another Cold War, and America may be one of the reasons why. V. Conclusion In conclusion, the United States War on Terror is a war that must be reconsidered and stopped entirely. Americans found themselves after the attacks of September 11 deeply hurt and they needed to revenge against the ones that hurt their nation. The capture of the terrorists which planned the attacks on 9/11 was inefficient and so has the attempts to democratize Afghanistan. In continuing to ignore the growing deleterious consequences of this War on Terror the United States is ultimately harming itself and its long term prosperity. The compassion and hearts of many Americans are going out for the Afghani’s. The idea is not to cause a bigger fight but to end the fight that is going on by showing them we do not intend on destroying their nation If we find ways to fund them, after this war is over, it will make it a lot easier for them to bring their communities back together and regain their lives and may help us eliminate the terrorist organizations that focus on anti-America. In their eyes, America has caused the deaths of their people and ruined what is left of their tumbling economy, and we need to change their views. Soon life would be back to normal and American citizens would be the ones to thank. References Bennis, Phyllis. (2009) "Foreign Policy in Focus". Fpif.org. http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt. "Forces in Afghan assault", BBC World News, June 23, 2009 Jones, S. (2010). In the graveyard of empires: America's war in Afghanistan. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Kohat, T. (2002, July 22). Al-qaeda's new hideouts . Time, 23. Mayer, Jane. (2008) The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals. Anchor Press. Poll: 71 percent think Iraq spending hurts economy. (2008, November). Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/18/poll.iraq.economy/index.html U.S. national debt clock. (2010, July 28). Retrieved from http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ Read More