WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

The War in Afghanistan (2001-present) began when the
United States military invaded Afghanistan on October 7,
2001. This war is still in progress today after 9 years
and 166 days. It has since been known by several other
names including The War on Terror and Operation
Enduring Freedom. The war was spurred by the attack
on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and
remains an ongoing conflict.
The invading troops were led by the United States with
the support of the North Atlantic Free Trade
Organization, or NATO. The United Kingdom, Germany,
France, Canada, Poland, Turkey, Spain, Romania, and 39
other nations all contributed to the initial effort. Over
146,000 troops were sent into Afghanistan from these
various nations. The main enemies at the start of the
war were the Taliban government of Afghanistan and Al
Qaeda, a large terrorist organization that was behind
the September 11th attacks. Other terrorist groups such
as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hi-Khalis were also targeted.
New terrorist organizations have since been discovered
and are being targeted as they are found.
The War on Terror has had many successes. The
Taliban was dispersed and over two thirds of its
leadership was destroyed. Many Al Qaeda camps were
destroyed, though there are still suspicions that the Al
Qaeda is still in operation from remote locations.
Afghanistan was also occupied by NATO troops, which
helps ensure that new terrorist groups are not coming
into power. The war is still being fought adamantly,
despite reduced media coverage in recent years. In
December of 2009, President Obama sent an additional
30,000 troops into Afghanistan over a 6 month period.
He also set a withdrawal date of 2014. He has
promoted human rights and progress towards increased
rights for women in Afghanistan as well.
Another goal of the War on Terror has been to improve
the human rights or women and children in Afghanistan.
The Taliban Party was infamous for denying women any
rights and committing violence against women and girls.
To this day, women in this nation have poor access to
the justice system and to education. They are also often
subject to physical violence. The United States and its
allies hope to improve this situation.
Afghanistan War Criticism
Many critics in the War in Afghanistan debate feel that
the war has been indirect in its approach and poorly
managed. They tend to feel that since there is no one
definite enemy, the war is set up for an indefinite
conflict. Another common criticism has been the large
number of civilian casualties. Somewhere between
14,000 and 26,000 innocent people have lost their lives
during the war, either by becoming caught in the
crossfire or in a bombing situation.
A number of protests against the war have been seen
throughout the world. Though the majority of Americans
were in support of the initial invasion, the majority of
Americans are now opposed to the war. Many see it as
an unnecessary act of aggression against the people of
Afghanistan. The NATO bombing campaigns are often
the focus of such sentiments. Many groups have
proposed non-violent solutions to the problem in
Afghanistan and wish to end the loss of civilian lives.
The War in Afghanistan started off as a fight against the
Taliban and Al Qaeda but has grown to a larger scale
effort to eliminate terrorism. Whether or not the United
States will indeed remove all troops by 2014 remains to
be seen. Regardless, the War in Afghanistan debate
remains at the center of public attention in the US and
abroad.