Brian+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

Not Even Close (To Leaving) By 10:28 am on September 11, 2001, the world had been forever changed as over 1,000 people lost their lives in the largest terrorist attack on American soil to date. Within weeks, President Bush had asked congress to declare a state of war between the United States and Islamic extremists. We began to mobilize our troops into Afghanistan and after an initial strike, we were able to completely oust the Taliban from the capital city of Kabul. After the Taliban retreated, we finally defeated them at Tora Bora and drove them over the border into Pakistan. Since then we have focused more of our effort on security and rebuilding the government and infrastructure. Even as we shift our effort away from Iraq to Afghanistan, the American public is now calling for an end to the war and a refocus of attention on our own country. Some others, however, think we should stay in Afghanistan to ensure the country’s survival and to limit the spread of Islamic extremism. I personally believe that we should stay in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future and invest in the natural resources in the country.

Just war theory states that “force may be used only in a truly just cause… correcting a suffered wrong is considered a right intention, while material gain or maintaining economies is not” (Just war theory). When al-Qaeda attacked the United States, killing over one thousand innocent people, I would say that was a fairly severe wrong that we suffered. We went to war in revenge for the lives lost and to ensure that Islamic extremists and terrorists would not pose a significant threat to people around the world. Also, Just war theory says that “acts of war should be directed towards enemy combatants and not towards non-combatants caught in circumstances they did not create” (Just war theory). While there have been unfortunate instances of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, the vast, overwhelming majority of these attacks have been inflicted by the Taliban and al-Qaeda on their own people. The war, so far on our side, has been a just one.

While we have been rebuilding Afghanistan, the UN has sent billions of dollars in foreign aid to President Karzai’s government, accounting for more than 90% of Afghanistan’s GDP. President Karzai has publicly stated that “[Afghanistan] will need [the UN’s] steadfast support for at least another decade" (Brooks M.). This means that if we left immediately, Afghanistan’s economy would crumble fairly quickly and all of the help we have given the country will have gone to waste. Also, even if we solved the financial problems in Afghanistan right now, if we pulled out, the security of the country could not be ensured. Ryan Crocker, the United States ambassador the Afghanistan, has the position that “ we should not leave until there is stability in the country of Afghanistan, but troops should continue to slowly be removed as we work to do so” (Stacy G.). This will allow us to end our ten year war and ensure the survival of Afghanistan. Hashim Mayar, the deputy director of Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR) agrees with Crocker. She says that “There is a fear that all this [aid] could be cut and Afghanistan could be left alone as it was in the ’90s, which will have very bad consequences this time,” (Gigi F.). If that happens, all of the effort we have expended will have been a waste.

One way to ensure that our investment isn’t wasted is to invest in natural resources. Wahidullah Shahrani, the Afghan Minister of Mines, has reported "billions of dollars worth of copper and gold deposits in four areas of the country that together are roughly the size of the Grand Canyon" (Elena M.). With reserves like that, we can’t afford to let other countries have complete unrestricted access; it would certainly help us to bolster our economy. Also, because we have been involved in Afghanistan, we have greatly lowered the risk of another terrorist attack on the United States. Senator and former Presidential Candidate John McCain said, “I believe that the fight in Afghanistan is critical to our national security. Our goals there are achievable and success is worth the continued sacrifice." (Michael W.). One of those goals is to ensure that the people of Afghanistan are safe from terrorist attacks and suicide bombers. According to the Associated Press, a terrorist bombing occurred on an Islamic holy day which killed dozens and damaged a Shi’ite mosque (Dozens Dead…). If we are unable to keep the people safe from terrorists on a holy day while we are still in Afghanistan, we cannot hope that the Afghan security forces can keep them safe once we are gone. If we can completely defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban, securing the country and keeping the people safe, only then can we say we have truly succeeded in Afghanistan, and only then can we leave.

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, most sources credited •cite sources internally and in a Works Cited, Internal citations have minor errors; WC is incomplete •edit language errors from writing, edited for language usage errors •post the essay on Student Recommendations done

WC:

“War,” Stanford University Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 07/28/05, [|http://plato.stanford.edu]

President Hamid Karzai (Wiki) Brooks M.

Ryan Crocker (Wiki) Stacy G.

Hashim Mayar (Wiki) Gigi F.

Wahidullah Shahrani (Wiki) Elena M.

John McCain (Wiki) Michael W.

“Dozens Killed in Rare Attacks of Afghan Shi’ites” Associated Press