The War in Afghanistan is significant in American history because it is the longest war in American history.
It was fought in hopes of controlling terrorism. Before the start of the war, Afghanistan was struggling economically and was being taken over by the Taliban. The War in Afghanistan was fought in response to the terrorist attacks on the US. It is said to be an unwinnable war, which has left people in the US debating whether or not to continue supporting Afghanistan with troops and money. Terrorism inclined in the 20th Century.
In the late 70’s religious terrorism began. Afghanistan was put in danger by these terrorists. Religious terrorists are motivated by their God, Allah. They believe that in order to please their God, they must fight and kill everyone who is not part of their religion (Terrorism).
On December 25th, 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The Soviets wanted control of the country after Britain lost control of it. Similar to Afghans, the Soviets had little training.
The Soviets had also wanted to make Afghanistan a Communist country. The US supported the Afghans in this, because they don’t like communism. They would send weapons and money to Afghan fighters.
Eventually, the Soviet Union collapsed and the War came to an end, giving Afghanistan the win. However, Afghanistan was left with a communist government (Hopkins). During the invasion of Soviets, an Afghan resistance group was formed. This was called the Taliban, and it became a huge terrorist group. The word Taliban means ”seekers after knowledge´´. It is a religious based terrorist group. The Taliban started to take over major cities of Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul.
They started enforcing islamic laws. They created laws, such as restrictions and limitation on dress, entertainment, and personal grooming. Men had to have beards and women were forced to wear veils. Anyone who broke the laws was punished.
The terrorist group leader, Bin Laden, was supported by the Taliban since 1996 (Hopkins). The War in Afghanistan began in 2001 in response to the terrorist attack on the US, 9/11. The Taliban had training camps for their fighters, in many areas. US and their allies, were able to overthrow the Taliban within the first 9 weeks of the war, but the Al Qaeda terrorist group was still active in the war. Eventually, Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, was found hiding in Pakistan with other Afghan fighters. Pakistan had been helping to hide Osama Bin Laden.
Three Navy seals killed him on May 2nd, 2011. This labored the United States relationship with Pakistan. The war formally ended in 2014 when the US held a ceremony in Kaebul (Hodierne). After the Taliban was defeated, Afghanistan was given a temporary government under the direction of the United Nations. The leader of the government was Hamid Karzai. About 50 other countries sent troops to Afghanistan to monitor the people and their actions. These countries are all from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Eventually, the Afghanistan government gained their first democratic constitution, in January 2004. Later that year, Karzai was elected president (Hodierne). The United States sent about 20,000 troops to Afghanistan in response to the increasing number of attacks on the US in 2003. In addition, other countries from the UN, were sending about 40,000 more troops to serve. The Taliban and insurgents commonly use Improvised Explosive Device. They hide the bombs in areas that US troops will be and wait for them to explode.
However, the United States uses drones. Drones are extremely dangerous and often kill innocent civilians in Afghanistan. The US flies the drones above the suspected places where insurgents are hiding and drops the bombs. The United States used the Pakistan port, Karachi as a place to transport supplies. Troops from the United Nations did everything they could to convince civilians not to support the Al Qaeda and insurgents. Security was provided for villages in Afghanistan. Also schools and hospitals were built.
Additionally medical care was provided. In 2015, insurgents started to flood back into Afghanistan and the US quickly took action and bumped up security in Afghanistan (Hodierne). Afghans hoped that the US would help make Afghanistan have a strong and stable economy. America has tried to help, but is struggling because the terrorists continue to grow and become stronger.
The US has attempted to Nation Build. This means that they have tried to help Afghanistan by giving money and sending troops. It has been a poor country for a long time, and the growth of religious terrorism puts the country in even more danger. Afghanistan is ranked among the most corrupt countries.
Americans have different opinions on supporting Afghanistan, and this creates a conflict (”Is sending more US troops to Afghanistan the answer? 68,000 troops are currently there´´). Some people believe that it is best to keep troops in Afghanistan, and continue to support them with money. They believe that if Afghanistan and the Taliban are left unchecked, the terrorism with start up again, and take control. They will use the US troops departure as an opportunity to strike again and take over.
People believe that staying and helping the people of Afghanistan earn a good living, is the best way to avoid the occurrence of terrorism. Building schools, hospitals, and giving money is the best way to support the civilians (”Is sending more US troops to Afghanistan the answer? 68,000 troops are currently there´´). Countering, many people believe that the US needs to stop sending troops and money to Afghanistan.
Some believe that it’s not smart to send more troops to Afghanistan, especially because troops have already been there for years. There has been ballot box stuffing, and Afghan leaders steal the money they are lended, and use it to fund insurgents. Tax payers in the US are losing their money, because the money given to Afghanistan is supposed to be used to support the government and civilians (”Is sending more US troops to Afghanistan the answer? 68,000 troops are currently there´´).The War in Afghanistan has impacted Americans throughout the US. Afghanistan was starting to fall apart and had no support against the Taliban. The war occured in hopes of the US to have control over the Taliban and to end terrorism. The formal end of the war has left the US stuck with the decision of whether to support Afghanistan or not, as it continues to fall apart.
This war has not ended yet, and it will not end until the US and its allies put an end to terrorism.
