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Home Small Wars Project Perspectives on Afganistan Midterm Assignment Student Recommendations - Position Essays

TASK II: Write and Post a POSITION ESSAY to the wiki. Due Thursday, December 15th. Write an essay that advances a well-supported position on the question below and post it on: Student Recommendations wiki **How should the United States proceed in Afghanistan? **

The United States is fighting a war in Afghanistan because the devastating event in 2001. Most people remember this day as the biggest terriost attack our country has ever had. The Al-Qaeda had issued men to board american planes filled with citizens and they were directed to take over the plane and crass them into three american land marks consisting of the Twin Towers, The Pentagon, and the fourth plane was taken back over by civilians but crashed in a field near by. This caused President Bush to declare war against the Al-Qaeda in 2001and we were the ones that started the war so we need to0 finish it. The United States needs to stay in Afghanistan until the government is stable enough to stand on its own and defend for themselves. The President for United States right now, Barrack Obama, is already planning dates when the solders are coming home but this is not necessary. He is planning on keeping the troops in Afghanistan until at least 2014. "President Obama has ordered the U.S. military to withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year and pull out another 23,000 by the summer of 2012, part of what he called "the beginning, but not the end, of our effort to wind down this war" (Jim Sciutto).

We have basically wiped out the Al-Qaeda for the most part and are now working on the Taliban, we have a responsibility to protect Afghanistan from the Taliban because we started this war so we cant stay behind and let people die because of our issues. We need to do this so Afghanistan does not become like Pakistan, which is basically a split country. If we leave Afghanistan immediately, then we could leave them in chaos with the Taliban, who are bound to come back if there are no security forces working against them and the country as a whole could become a failed state because the government is overthrown by the Taliban. If both Afghanistan and Pakistan are in a government fail then Iran will take over and this is a huge problem because Pakistan has nuclear weapons and Iran said they would use these on the United States if they could. “The one thing that the world does not need is, for Iran to have the capability to deploy nuclear weapons-even one single nuclear weapon” (//Darieni)//. If Iran takes over they could not only gain weapons but they could gain land which could allow them to expand their groups. More groups means more people against the United States. We need to make sure that Afghanistan and Pakistan are stable before we exit the country even if we have to be part of the war by just supplying them. We need to make sure that Iran does not take over.

The United States going to war is considered a just war because we went there as a last resort. The Al-Qaeda attacked and killed innocent civilians in America and this is a good cause to go to war. They came into our home land and created one of the worst disasters our country had had. They were a threat to our country so our military had to defend us to create a safe environment. The war we are fighting is not unjust because we went in to protect our citizens but they have been in there for 10 years so it is not as just as other wars where we have gone in to protect the United States and then a few months later left. “Ronald Reagan had declared war to keep our U.S citizens safe” (Lucas and Elena’s wiki).

There are many perspectives on the war in Afghanistan and there are people who think our involvement in the war harms Afghan but there is also people who think we benefit them. One of the people that thinks the United States is beneficial is the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. “With the huge economical depression Afghanistan is in, they could use all the help they could get. Karzai appreciates the US’s help and aid they are giving to Afghanistan and wants them to stay longer that they actually plan on staying” (Brooks. M Wiki). This quote shows someone who is thankful for the help. Another person who thinks the United states in beneficial is the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zarari. “As the leader of Pakistan, Zardari supports America's involvement in Afghanistan. They often work side by side and the by doing so, they even found and killed Osama bin Laden” (Max. R Wiki). This shows that most of the presidents are benefited by the United States being there but there is also people who think that the U.S. is effecting them in a bad way. Army General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani thought that the Pakistani were depending to much on America. They thought that it was beneficial at some points but that they need to slowly back out of the war. “The Pakistani government does not want the United States to necessarily leave its just a matter of how much support they need” (Drew .S Wiki). This shows that the Pakistani want the money side of Americans support rather than their physical help.

Americans both benefit and are harmed by the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. One of the things that benefits us is that it is protection. When we got attacked in 2011 the army went out for protection to ensure that this would not happen again. Sadly there is more harmful things rather than benefits. One of the harmful things is money. "The amount the U.S. military spends annually on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20.2 billion, according to a former Pentagon official" (NPR staff). This shows that the cost of war is so expensive and the way the government gets this money is taxes. It is very expensive which is why it can be economically harmful to some families. Lastly, another reason why the war is harmful is more people dying. There have been so many solders that have died that it almost equals the about that was killed during 9/11. In the end there is many reasons that are harmful to the United States and not as many that are beneficial but we are helping out a country that would fall without our help.

My position is the best way to go for our country because it benefits both us and Afghanistan. We need to slowly back off and start letting them defend for themselves. We should still be a supported even if all our troops leave because we were the ones that started the war. We also need to be on standby because we can not allow Iran to take over these countries because if they get their hands on nuclear warfare then they are almost promised to bomb us. We need to also take in to perspective what the other countries think but in the end we need to do what benefits us the most.

Works Cited Franke Schein, “Iran threatens America with nuclear bomb.” //examinar.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. .

Mason, Brooks. “Hamid Karzai-President of Afghanistan.” //Wikispaces//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. .

NPR STAFF. “Among The Costs Of War: Billions A Year In A.C.?” //NPR//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. .

Ribar, Max. “Pakistan’s President, Asif Ali Zarari.” //wikispaces//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. .

Sarno, Drew. “Army General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, (Pakistan’s Military Commander).” //Wikispaces//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. .

A quality will essay will •open by setting up a context for the question--briefly explain why the unites States is fighting a war in Afghanistan, clearly done •develop a position or specific answer to the question that precisely states how the United States should proceed in Afghanistan, clearly done •use two criteria of the Just War Theory to analyze to what extent the U.S.'s involvement in Afghanistan is a Just War, clearly done •use three Perspectives to support your explanation of why our involvement in the war benefits or harms Afghanis, all three perspectives referenced •use three different Perspectives to support your explanation of why the war benefits or harms Americans three perspectives referenced •draw supporting information from the articles studied in class which are posted on Moodle, some articles referenced •wrap up the essay by restating the key reasons why your position is the best way for the U.S. to proceed in Afghanistan. Focused summary made • organize your ideas in extended power paragraphs, inconsistently done; citations must be followed with a sentence that explains how the evidence gives the thesis authority •establish the credibility of sources, some sources not credited •cite sources internally and in a Works Cited, Internal citations and WC mostly correct-- web addressed truncated after .com •edit language errors from writing, minor language usage errors •post the essay on Student Recommendations done

Position Essay RUBRIC: A quality will essay will <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•open by setting up a context for the question--briefly explain why the unites States is fighting a war in Afghanistan, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•develop a position or specific answer to the question that precisely states how the United States should proceed in Afghanistan, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•use two criteria of the Just War Theory to analyze to what extent the U.S.'s involvement in Afghanistan is a Just War, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•use three Perspectives to support your explanation of why our involvement in the war benefits or harms AFGHANIS, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•use three different Perspectives to support your explanation of why the war benefits or harms AMERICANS, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•draw supporting information from the articles studied in class which are posted on Moodle, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•wrap up the essay by restating the key reasons why your position is the best way for the U.S. to proceed in Afghanistan. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•organize your ideas in extended power paragraphs, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•establish the credibility of sources, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•cite sources internally and in a Works Cited, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•edit language errors from writing, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">•post the essay on <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Student Recommendations