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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? ** Position Essay RUBRIC: 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, •develop a position or specific answer to the question that precisely states how the United States should proceed in Afghanistan, •use two criteria of the Just War Theory to analyze to what extent the U.S.'s involvement in Afghanistan is a Just War, •use three Perspectives to support your explanation of why our involvement in the war benefits or harms AFGHANIS, •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

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff8700; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 21px;">Post Recommendation Here

A little over 10 years ago, there was a terrorist attack on the world trade center. This event spiraled into a full out war between America and Afghanistan, which has yet to cease. Opinions on every aspect of this war differ greatly and no perfect solution has been found, but I have a proposal of my own. The violence and fighting in Afghanistan, which has been going on for 10 years, has done little to benefit America, Afghanistan, or any party in between. Instead of continuing on a path of destruction, we should reconsider our tactics and focus on helping Afghanistan citizens. They are the key to improving the economy, for both Afghanistan and America, as well as defeating the Taliban instead of forcing them into hiding. This will also bring our troops home safely and help those who have suffered the most from this war, the Afghan citizens.

Despite my disapproval of the current war, it began with justifiable goals. America had the right intention, "...correcting a suffered wrong is considered a right intention..."(Criteria) for starting a war. We wanted to correct a wrong done by the Taliban which caused Americans to suffer. We also had a just cause, "...innocent life must be in imminent danger and intervention must be to protect life"( Criteria). Innocent Americans were in danger of acts of terrorism, the government is obligated to keep it's citizens safe. With these two criteria in mind, America set out to put an end to the threat the Taliban was posing by destroying them and then returning safely home. It sounded like a short, sweet, patriotic mission that many were in favor for.

However, as this war began stretching past it's planned end, Americans started feeling the effects. There are many, like me, who believe the toll this war is taking on America is not worth the fight. Veterans for Rethinking Afghanistan, a movement that sprouted from a powerful documentary of veterans, are another group who don't support this war anymore. Their thoughts on the war are, " ...America can not improve the situation in Afghanistan and we are causing more violence due to our presence" (qtd in Blaine F). They also believe Americans shouldn't be paying for this war and to prove their point they have created a website where you can calculate how much you have paid for the war this year. On this website they state, "The Afghanistan War will cost U.S. taxpayers $107.3 billion this year just in direct costs" (Rethink Afghanistan). Barbara Lee, congresswoman of California's 9th district, has a similar disapproval of this war and has started a petition to get troops out of Afghanistan. A central reason for this being,"While we would like to see stability in Afghanistan and a situation that improves the lives of civilians (particularly women and girls), we recognize that we won't be able to accomplish either through continued military intervention" (Credo). This is becoming a popular opinion among many Americans due to the difficult and weakening economy here. Afghanistan still needs help, and it wouldn't be right to leave entirely, but by cutting down on military commitment, we can save money and lives. Linda Bilmes, a budgeting professor at Harvard University, and Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, wrote in the article, America's Costly War Machine, "Recent congressional investigations have shown that roughly 1 of every 4 dollars spent on wartime contracting was wasted or misspent" (Bilmes Stiglitz). With statistics like this, it's simple to see we're doing more damage to our own country than improvments to Afghanistan.

In fact, we aren't doing Afghanistan many favors at all. According to Madeleine Bunting, associate editor and columnist of The Guardian, we have caused even more violence by getting involved- especially for the already oppressed women of Afghanistan. The repercussions of American military presence include, "...masculinity becomes more aggressive and women are idealised as “the bearers of a cultural identity,” in the words of the World Health Organisation. Their bodies become part of the battle field. This is as true of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of Afghanistan. In the latter, foreign intervention ultimately only exacerbates such deeply destructive trends" (Bunting).If we can change the view of America as a threat by ending military attacks, we can gain the trust of the Afghan people and rebuild their country together. Although women receive the worst treatment, this hostile atmosphere is not solely limited to them. Hasan Askari Rizvi, National Security Analyst in Lahore, Pakistan, has become very aware of what the war in Afghanistan has done to the living conditions there. His country has struggled due to the fact that, " there are about three million Afghans living in Pakistan as refugees or otherwise" (qtd. in Abby W). If the citizens have left Afghanistan due to our intervention, we obviously aren't improving their lives from when Afghanistan was ridden with terrorists, considering back then they still lived in Afghanistan. Karl F. Inderfurth, former Assistant Secretary of State, and Theodore Eliot Jr., former U.S Ambassdor to Afghanistan, found a startling amount of Afghans, "...are clearly tired of the fighting. They’ve been at it, in one form or another, for over 30 years. Insecurity is identified as the biggest problem by over one third of those polled. More than half say they fear for their personal safety in their local area" (Inderfurth Eliot). 10 years of fighting and still less than half of Afghans feel safe; it's time for a new approach that can produce effective, long term results.

The most beneficial way, for both America and Afghanistan, to proceed with this war is to conclude it. No longer will there be military attacks, but instead there will be U.S forces put in place to protect citizens in Afghanistan. It will resemble a police force more than an army, and Afghanis will begin trusting Americans once they see how much we can help and improve their communities. This will also save America a substantial amount of tax dollars, seeing as expensive military weapons and equipment will no longer be required. Eventually even this involvement in Afghanistan will dwindle, as the economy is rebuilt through citizens who feel safe enough to return to their country and start their life again, including a new job. The Afghan forces will learn how to maintain order through America's example, so once we're gone they can continue running a successful country. This will eliminate the fear of a resurgent Taliban because Afghanistan will no longer tolerate the mayhem they create in their newly functioning country. I find this to be the best solution because it is a compromise that will allow America and Afghanistan to recover from the war in the most peaceful and just way possible. "Another way to Bring the Troops Home From Afghanistan." //Credoaction//. Working Assets, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/ july11_withdrawal/index2.html>.

Bilmes, Linda J, and Joseph E Stiglitz. "America's Costly War Machine." //Los// //Angeles Times//. N.p., 18 Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/18/opinion/ la-oe--bilmes-war-cost-20110918>.

Bunting, Madeleine. "The Afghan War and the Myth of Women's Rights." //The Hindu//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/ article2512606.ece>.

Furey, Blaine. "Veterans for Rethinking Afghanistan." Perspective Assignment. wikispaces BuchholtzSidorAmericanStudies. 12 Dec. 2011

Inderfurth, Karl F, and Theodore Eliot Jr. "Afghans in Transition." //The New York// //Times//. N.p., 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/opinion/ afghans-in-transition.html?_r=1>.

Wilmer, Abby. "Hasan Askari Rizvi, National Security Analyst." Perspective Assignment. wikispaces BuchholtzSidorAmericanStudies. 12 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, competently done •establish the credibility of sources, sources credited •cite sources internally and in a Works Cited, done •edit language errors from writing, well edited language usage errors •post the essay on Student Recommendations done