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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: transparent; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The primary drive of the war in Afghanistan was the attack on the Twin Towers on the United States, on September 11th, 2001. Following the event, the United States got involved in Afghanistan in order to dismantle Al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization, and remove the Taliban from power. Since then, there has been successful moments for the United States such as the death of Osama bin Laden, but there is still conflict on how to continue the effort in the middle east.

In my opinion, the fight in Afghanistan has gone long enough. The United States has spent far too much money and resources in order to establish a steady Afghan state, and it has become “America’s longest war, and is longer than WWI and WWII combined” (Bunting). I agree with President Obama’s plan to pull troops out of Afghanistan by 2014.

In the Just War Theory, there are many different aspects of war that define it’s level of being just. An example of this is “last resort”, from the Jus ad bellum criteria. This states that “ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">all peaceful and viable alternatives have been seriously tried and exhausted or are clearly not practical” (qtd. from Just War Theory Wiki). Although in the early 00’s, the attack on the United States was a serious threat to Americans, over time as the U.S. grasped a better hand on terrorism, their occupation no longer seemed like a “last resort”. Although making negotiations are difficult, American lives are more valuable. Another aspect of the Just War Theory is “just cause” which states that “Force may be used only to correct a grave, public evil, i.e., aggression or massive violation of the basic human rights of whole populations” (Just War Theory). With terrorism being a public evil that threatens lives, this war definitely has just aspects. Although our efforts have gone beyond “stopping terrorism”, counting the fact that we are devoting an extreme amount of funds in the occupation. Also, our original goals for the war have been met since the United States captured bin Laden. The war in Afghanistan has become a money-draining cycle in efforts to stabilize the country.

In general, the United States occupation benefits those in Afghanistan. According to the New York Times, “Ideally in Afghanistan, financial assistance will not be able to end until at least 2030”. Afghanistan relies on foreign aid for about 90% of their government funds and would have an unstable economy without support from other nations. For reasons such as these, Alan Juppe, French Foreign minister believes “it would not be morally correct to abruptly leave Afghanistan” (qtd. from Reyna L’s Wiki). Although this is true, the effort in Afghanistan has been a financial struggle for the United States. America has spent an estimated “44 billion dollars in Afghanistan since 2002” (The Economist). The funds spent on the war has become a problem, especially since the United States are already in a multi-trillion dollar debt. In addition, it is estimated that “roughly 1 in every 4 dollars spent on wartime contracting was wasted or misspent” (Stiglitz). Needless to say, the involvement in Afghanistan is a severe damage to the United States economy. In addition, the war currently has extremely low approval rates in America. “72 percent of the American public want to bring troops back the troops from Afghanistan” (Lee), and even approval rates in Afghanistan have gone down as more and more agree that Afghanistan is moving in the wrong direction. Also, “experts have agreed that there is no military solution in Afghanistan” (Lee), as so to say that the problems in the middle east cannot be solved simply by guns and money. Great Britain and Russia have also attempted to govern Afghanistan and they have both failed. Many also say that the war will also end in failure for the United States if they were to continue much longer in the effort.

In my opinion, removing the troops from Afghanistan would be ideal. By doing this, the United States could begin to restore its damage economy and please the general public. Also, according to Wanidullah Shahrani, Afghanistan Minister of Mines believes that “Afghanistan has enough natural resources, and investing in the mining industry could potentially produce billions” (qtd. from Elena M’s Wiki). Although Afghanistan is not yet a stable country, by gradually removing troops, Afghanistan will hopefully be in a adequate position. Otherwise, the United States could potentially be even deeper into a multi-billion dollar commitment for some time, with little chance of real success. The sooner the United States begins to make changes, the better off America could potentially be. 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, minor errors, WC should be alphabetically orderd •edit language errors from writing, minor spelling, grammar and other language usage errors •post the essay on Student Recommendations done

Works Cited:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Wahidullah Shahrani." Wikispaces. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/ Wahidullah+Shahrani%2C+Afghan+Ministry+of+Mines>.

<span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- - -. "Bring the Troops Home." Credo: n. pag. Credo. Web. 15 Dec. 2011.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lee, Barbara. "Bring the Troops Home." Credo: n. pag. Credo. Web. 15 Dec. 2011.

"Investing or a-Whoring? ." The Economist : n. pag. The Economist. Web. 15 Dec. 2011.

"Criteria for a Just War." Wikispaces. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/Just+War+Theory>.

"Alain Juppe (French Foreign Minister)." Wikispaces. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. <http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/ French+Foreign+Minister%2C+Alain+Juppe>.

"Afghans Say Aid Needed for Years to Come." New York Nimes: n. pag. newyorktimes.com. Web. 15 Dec. 2011.