Corbin+D.+--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

Corbin Dennis

Mrs. Sidor

Position Essay

December 15th, 2011

**How the United States should proceed in Afghanistan?**

The United States is fighting a war in Afghanistan mainly because the United States wants to stop terrorism. On 9/11, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban attacked the United States. They took down the World Trade Center buildings in New York City by hi-jacking planes and flying them into the buildings. They also attacked the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and hi-jacked another plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. They killed 3,000 innocent U.S. citizens. The United States went to war in Afghanistan, because that is where Al-Qaeda and the Taliban live. The U.S. went to war in Afghanistan to kill Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and to help the Afghanistan people.

The United States should stay in Afghanistan until Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have been stopped and the country is stable. The US should then quickly leave. This may take several more years. If the US leaves too quickly, this war will be a failure. I believe that the war in afghanistan is a Just War. Under the jus ad bellum criteria of Just Cause this was a Just War. The US wants to protect Americans from another 9/11 attack by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The war in Afghanistan met the jus in bello criteria of Distinction. The US is using drone planes with "smart bombs" guided by satellites, so that the US only kills the Taliban and does not kill innocent Afghanistan civilians.

The US involvement in Afghanistan has some benefits for Americans. Lara Olsen is a Research Fellow at the Center for Military Strategic Studies. She works with Non Government Organizations (NGOs). The Afghanistan children need food and education. Lara Olsen wants the US military to stay until the country is stable. (Lara Olsen, Corbin D.) Then the NGOs can help the children. These children will grow up to like the US. Ryan Crocker is the US Ambassador of Afghanistan. He is trying to create better relations between US and Afghanistan. He believes if the US leaves too early, the Taliban will rise up like it did when the US left during the war with the Soviet Union. (Ryan Crocker, Stacey G.) President Obama does not want to bring home all of the troops now. He wants Afghanistan as an ally of the US. If we bring home the troops now, then it will be unsafe for the Afghanistan people. (President Obama, Jill W.) It is not perfect. According to the Associated Press it is predicted in 2015 that the US will be spending $10 billion in Afghanistan. (US, Others Vow Support for Afghanistan Post-Troops). This is money that could be spent on Americans.

The war in Afghanistan benefits Americans. The US has not been attacked by the Taliban since the US went to war in Afghanistan. There has not been another 9/11. Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, wants the US to stay and become a stronger ally of Afghanistan. (Hamid Karzai, Brooks M.) He also does not support the Taliban. Angela Merkel is the Chancellor of Germany. She wants to stop the Taliban too. (Angela Merkel, Sarah M.) They threatened to bomb the German Oktoberfest. The war helps the US relationship with Germany. Husain Haqqani is the former Pakistan Ambassador to the US. He believes that the US is creating violence that is effecting everyone. (Husain Haqqani, Shea S.) He wants the US to stay until the Taliban is defeated. Once the US defeats the Taliban, we need to leave. According to the New York Times, by 2018, aid to Afghanistan is going to decrease by 90%. (Aid Agencies in Afghanistan Fears Reversals)

The United States should stay in Afghanistan until Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have been stopped and the country is stable. The US should then quickly leave. The US needs to finish what it started. The war in Afghanistan is a Just War under the jus ad bellum criteria of Just Cause. The US wants to protect Americans from another 9/11 attack by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Since the US has gone to war in Afghanistan, there has not been another 9/11 attack by the Taliban. The US is also helping the Afghanistan people with food and education.

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. summary clearly 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 citations have minor errors; web address should be truncated after .com in WC •edit language errors from writing, minor spelling, grammar and other language usage errors •post the essay on Student Recommendations done

Works Cited D., Corbin. “Lara Olsen.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <__http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/‌Report+on+NGOs--Lara+Olsen%2C__>. G., Stacy. “Ryan Crocker.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <__http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/‌Ryan+Crocker%2C+U.+S.+Ambassador+to+Afghanistan__>. M., Brooks. “Hamid Karzai-President of Afghanistan.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <__http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/‌Hamid+Karzai%2C+President+of+Afghanistan__>. M., Sarah. “Angela Merkel.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <__http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/‌German+Chancellor%2C+Angela+Merke__>. Nordland, Rod. “Aid Agencies in Afghanistan Fear Reversals After U.S. Exit.” //New York Times//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <[|__http://www.nytimes.com/‌2011/‌12/‌06/‌world/‌asia/‌us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-worries-aid-groups.html__]>. Press, Associated. “U.S., Others Vow Support For Afghanistan Post-Troops.” //NPR//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <[|__http://www.npr.org/‌2011/‌12/‌05/‌143130463/‌u-s-others-vow-support-for-afghanistan-post-troops__]>. S., Shea. “Husain Haqqani.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <__http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/‌Husain+Haqqani%2C+former+Pakistan+Ambassador__>. W., Jill. “Barack Obama- President of the United States.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <__http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/‌President+Barack+Obama__>.