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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 main reason for the United States fighting the war in Afghanistan is for protection. We are there to protect ourselves, as well as the citizens in Afghanistan. Before we went into Afghanistan, it was a completely failed state under the rule of the Taliban, and a safe-haven for Terrorists, such as Osama Bin Laden and the terrorist group Al Qaeda. By the end of our time in Afghanistan, which will hopefully be in 2014, the US hopes to have had stabilized the government and gotten the economy back on track.

I think that we should definitely **stay** in Afghanistan until at least 2014, because if we leave now, everything will go back to chaos and probably even worse than what it was before we went in, and all of our efforts up until now would be a complete waste of time. According to the article we discussed in class, __The Economist__, we have already spent 400 billion dollars on this war. It would be a really dumb move to spend that much money on Afghanistan to not finish the job we started. The __New York Times article Aid Agencies in Afghanistan__, that we also discussed in class mentions another reason why we should stay; because if the troops leave now, the unemployment in Afghanistan will get even worse, due to the AID groups leaving.The war we are fighting in Afghanistan, I think is deffinately a just war. I say this because it follows the Jus ad bellum criteria for Just Cause and Right Intention. It was a just cause because we went in to innocent American lives that were were in danger of being attacked by terrorists that were coming from Afghanistan. Another reason I think this war is just is because it follows the criteria for Right Intention. I say this because we went into Afghanistan to protect ourselves, and the citizens in Afghanistan- basically to correct a suffered wrong.

According to Laura Olsen, a researcher for military and strategic studies at the University of Calgary in Canada, the US presence in Afghanistan is good, and that if we get our stuff together we can bring stabilization to the country.(Corbin Dennis). If we stay and get the government together, more people in the Afghanistan can have an education and more basic rights. If we leave now, there is no way they can make that the Afghan progress on their own. The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari also thinks that our presence in Afghanistan is a good thing to make the country stable. (Bella M). The government transition chief of Afghanistan also said that with us in and donating to Afghanistan, we are keeping their economy stable, and if we leave that will all fall apart.

If we leave Afghanistan now, the terrorists will go back into hiding out in Afghanistan, which could be potentially very harmful to US citizens. In my perspective on Afghanistan page, I found that Obama said that now that the terrorists don't have anywhere the hide and plan out attacks, the United States isn't at risk as much as we were before we went into Afghanistan. Ryan Crocker, the ambassador of Afghanistan, also thinks we should stay put because "Al-Qaeda's future is inextricably linked with that of Afghanistan and the Taliban. Al-Qaeda is not [in Afghanistan] because we are... if we decide to go home because it is ready, you could see a Talibanization of this country and a return to the conditions that existed in pre-9/11" (The Washington Post)(Stacy Gibson). In Reyna Lusson's diverse perspective on Afghanistan page, she said that Alain Juppe, the french politician who serves as minister of Foreign Affairs said that it wouldn't be moral to leave Afghanistan right now, because we started this mess and so we should probably clean it up too. If we clean up the mess like Juppe says, Americans will be safer than if we just leave and let the terrorists go back into Afghanistan.

Over all, I think we should stay in Afghanistan until at least 2014, for the Afghan's benefit and our own. if we stay, we won't have wasted 400 billion dollars on a useless war, the Afghan's government will finally be stable and their people safe, and US citizens will also be safe because there will no longer be a safe haven for terrorism. This is definitely the best way to go because both the US and Afghanistan is at peace and safe. 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, done in a general way •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 NOT credited •cite sources internally and in a Works Cited, formatting errors in both; not all sources are included in the Works Cited •edit language errors from writing, minor spelling, grammar and other language usage errors •post the essay on Student Recommendations done

Works Cited

Diverse Perspectives on Afghanistan- Max Ribar, Jill Waltz, Corbin Dennis, Stacy Gibson, Bella Meyrer, and Reyna Lusson. Nordland, Rod. "Aid Agencies in Afghanistan Fear Reversals." //New York Times// 5 Dec. 2011: n. pag. //www.nytimes.com//. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/world/asia/ us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-worries-aid-groups.html?_r=1>.

Driessen, Tilo. "Afghanistan’s post-war economy Investing or a-whoring?" //The// //Economist// 26 Nov. 2011: n. pag. //www.economist.com//. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://www.economist.com/node/21540316>.