Emily+M.+--Afghan+War

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="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The US was pulled into Afghanistan when Al- Qaeda targeted the World Trade Center. However, this was not the only reason for US involvement. Afghanistan’s security was deteriorating and not able to hold back the Taliban. There were also human rights issues under, under the rule of the Taliban, that were being challenged. The US felt it was necessary to intervene to protect Afghan and American citizens. However, with the war coming to a close and Afghanistan progressing towards a secure country the question is whether to stay or leave. Setting an exact date on when every American troop will be out of Afghanistan maybe too risky, however, establishing a goal is ideal. Having troops completely evade Afghanistan by 2014 is America’s ideal goal for ending the war. If Afghanistan’s security is already getting stronger each day and the government is working on becoming more stable then when US troops leave in two years Afghanistan should be in a secure state. However, if Afghanistan is not stable enough for US troops to leave in 2014, America should extend their staying time for a couple more years and then leave. Also, with leaving Afghanistan, the US needs to be aware that they could be targeted once more, even more of a reason to wait until Afghan has reached stability.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The war in Afghanistan is a Just War in the criteria of Jus ad Bellum.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The two criteria’s it falls under are just cause and comparative justice. The Afghanistan war is a just cause because the US was targeted by Al-Qaeda in September 11, 2001 and we were in imminent danger of another attack. This war is also comparative justice because of the injustice greatly suffered by the Afghans when the Taliban came into power, for example, when Fariba Nawa, an Afghan- American journalist, states, “during the Taliban, as we all know, they [girls] weren’t allowed to go to school.” The injustices suffered by Afghan citizens and America being targeted by Al- Qaeda are the reasons that make the war in Afghanistan a just war.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The US’s involvement in the war benefits Afghanistan. It benefits Afghanistan because US troops not only protect the Afghan citizens from the Taliban but troops give food and education to Afghan children. In Stacy G’s wiki, she studied Ryan Crocker, the current ambassador of Afghanistan, Crocker makes the point that the US cannot abandon Afghanistan anytime soon because, “the United States had abandoned Afghanistan one time before, after its war with the Soviet Union in 1989, with disastrous consequences- the rise of the Taliban.” With US troops being stationed in Afghanistan they are protecting the citizens from the Taliban rising once more. Another person with the same opinion as Crocker is Hasa Askari Rizvi, a national security Analyst in Lahore, Pakistan, who believes that, “if [the US and NATO] leave in a hurry, the Taliban will overwhelm the Afghan army and the police.” Again, the US’s protection is benefiting the Afghan citizens security. Lastly, Lara Olsen, a research fellow at the Center for Military and Strategic Studies, believes the US troops benefit Afghan citizens because they bring stability so Afghan children can go to school and receive food. Whether the troops are protecting or nourishing Afghan citizens, overall, they are benefiting their lives.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The US’s involvement in the war may benefit Afghans but it doesn’t benefit the US itself. It harms the US because it costs a lot of money and the US is currently in a recession. In an article by the New York Times it Afghanistan’s economy is dependent on foreign aid, “more than 90 percent of the $17.1 billion national comes from foreign donations” most of these donations from the US. This doesn’t help out the US’s already struggling economic state. Ismail Salami, and Iranian writer and Middle East expert, shares his opinion that the US should leave Afghanistan and focus on cleaning up their own economy he says, in his article called //The Charity Begins at Home, Uncle Sam!// “the wars which Washington officials have mounted so far and will mount in future, have cost the US public purse billions of dollars which could have been used instead for empowering the American people and ameliorating the deplorable economic situation in the country.” The war has only sucked the energy and money out of the US and harmed their economy.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Setting a goal for having all US troops abandon Afghanistan by 2014 is ideal. This way, it gives Afghanistan more time to strengthen their security and work on making their government stable. While also letting the US work on their own economy and keeping in mind that they could also be targeted once more for leaving Afghanistan. However, if the goal is not reached in 2014 then so be it. If this happens the US will stay a couple more years to ensure Afghanistan’s stability. The US has always been there to help but they need to focus on helping themselves also. 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, 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, Internal citation not done; WC is only partially complete •edit language errors from writing, minor spelling, grammar and other language usage errors •post the essay on Student Recommendations done

__Works Cited:__ Abby Wilmer’s wiki

Corbin Dennis’ wiki

Stacy Gibson’s wiki

"Afghanistan." //New York Times// 22 Nov. 2011: n. pag. //The New York Times//. Web. 15 Dec. 2011.

Nawa, Fariba. Interview by Michel Martin. //Tell Me More//. NPR. 5 Dec. 2011. //NPR//. Web. Transcript. 15 Dec. 2011