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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

The United States entered the war in Afghanistan after attacks on America by terrorist groups on September 11. The United States’ goal was to eliminate terrorist and Al-Qaeda organizations that were using Afghanistan as their base. The US also entered this war in order to remove the Taliban from power, and in turn create a democratic state. Now being a decade into the war, our primary goals have been reached and so by 2014 our troops should return home. I believe that we can continue to have a relationship with Afghanistan and help them in other ways besides ground combat. We can help them through our technology from home as well as provide some aid to help them run their country efficiently.

The United States had the right intention when entering this war. The just war criteria for right intention states, “ Force may be used only in a truly just cause and solely for that purpose-correcting a suffered wrong is considered a right intention, while material gain or maintaining economies is not.” The United States went into Afghanistan to correct the wrong that was suffered by American citizens from terrorists in Afghanistan. Although The US had a right intention, they lacked a just cause. The US entered this war to punish the terrorist groups that killed and injured American citizens. It was distinct that the Taliban and leaders of Al-Qaeda were our enemies and they were America’s military targets.

My Position on how to proceed in Afghanistan by leaving in 2014 causes no harm to Afghans. We have achieved many of the goals that we said we would before entering the war. For example, we have eliminated top leaders of Al Qaeda and Taliban groups. We have also put in place a new President in hopes of creating a more democratic styled state. All of these achievements will benefit the lives of Afghans. Leon Panetta, the US State Secretary of Defense, stated, “ Thanks to the progress we have made, we can draw down our forces while building a long-term enduring relationship with Afghan people” (defense.gov). We can pull our troops out, but continue to help them by leaving some behind to train Afghan soldiers to defend themselves. Afghanistan doesn’t need to be spoon fed by the United States any longer, the only thing that will make a difference in their future is if they learn. Once they learn, the safety of Afghan citizens will be much better. The article “…Myth of Women’s Rights” by Madeline Bunting said that US presence makes it harder on women. If the US leaves by 2014 life for women and girls could get better. Peter Galbraith, a Senator, said that America’s presence in Afghanistan makes no difference to citizens. Therefore Afghan citizens wouldn’t care when US troops left.

My Position on how to proceed in Afghanistan benefits American Citizens by pulling out in 2014. The United States’ money that has been spent in Afghanistan has taken its toll on America’s economy. Barbara Lee wrote Bring the troops home, and in this piece she stated, “ At a time we should be focused on our economic recovery here at home, we can not afford to keep spending over $100 billion a month fighting an endless war in Afghanistan”. Sending troops home would save a lot of money for the US, helping the economy, and in turn benefiting American citizens. Leaving in 2014 benefits American Soldiers. They have been away from their homes, family, and lives for so long that it’s only fair to let them come home. John Master’s topic stated, “ The Veteran’s of foreign Wars know what it is like to be away from family overseas and live with the risk of dying”. Having the troops home would benefit American citizens because they would protect our country. The United States has one of the weakest borders in the world, the border between the US and Mexico. How would the US be protected if there were ever a group that crossed the border and threatened American lives? With the troops home we can work on strengthening that border to prevent threats to American life. “…The VFW national commander reports that Afghanistan is difficult, its complicated, and any definition of success involves the Afghan government assuming total control over their own country” (VFW blogger). Once the US leaves it will put a little more pressure on Afghanistan to perform and not completely rely on US forces. This benefits Americans because it allows US forces to focus on the safety, protection, and overall wellbeing of the United States.

This position is best for the United States because it benefits Americans as well as Afghans. My plan of leaving in 2014, but keeping some behind to help train will help push Afghanistan onto its feet and give them the confidence boost they need to perform. Training and teaching Afghan troops will help them defend themselves and create a safer life for their citizens. Having some troops stay back can also help protect if Taliban threats occur. Coming home benefits US citizens because it gives our economy a chance to bounce back, as well as provides protection for American citizens.

Works Cited Bunting, Madeline. “The Afghan War and the Myth of Women’s Rights.” //The Hindu// 14 Dec. 2011: n. pag. //The Hindu//. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://www.thehindu.com/‌opinion/‌op-ed/‌article2512606.ece>. Lee, Barbra. //Bring the Troops Home//: n. pag. //Credo Action//. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://act.credoaction.com/‌campaign/‌july11_withdrawal/>. Panetta, Leon. //Defense.gov//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://defense.gov>. “Veterans of Foreign Wars .” //VFW//: n. pag. //VFW//. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/‌Veterans+of+Foreign+Wars+%28VFW+%29>.

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, consistently done •establish the credibility of sources, some sources not credited •cite sources internally and in a Works Cited, some sources not internally cited and WC is mostly correct-- web addressed truncated after .com •edit language errors from writing, edited for language usage errors •post the essay on Student Recommendations done