As the war in Afghanistan continues to drag on many Americans and Europeans are becoming frustrated by the death tolls of coalition and NATO forces. Moreover, many of the funds that the United States and European Union have sent to the Afghan government are not achieving the desired goal : A strong and internally stable and self-sufficient government.
Initially, the United States began sending troops and funds to Afghanistan to a) eliminate the power of the Taliban and Al Queda, b) help rebuild the infrastructure of Afghanistan, and c) help train Afghan forces to combat the threat of the Taliban and Al Queda. After 830 US deaths and over 150 coalition deaths many are starting to worry that Afghanistan may turn into another unending quagmire that requires the presence of US and Coalition forces for an indefinite amount of time. Please read the TIME Magazine article (link below) and answer the following question in two paragraphs.
Should the United States continue to send billions of US dollars and over 100,000 US troops to Afghanistan?
Points to consider:
- What would the ramifications be of an immediate withdrawal of US forces?
-What would the consequences of a strong Taliban be?
- Is this OUR problem or the Afghan people's problem?
58 comments:
The US should take the troops out but not quite yet. If we leave now, the Afghanistan infrastructure will collapse and become more unstable. If we immediately withdraw, the Tabliban could become stronger. We have already broken them and have gotten rid of most of the organization. If we back out now, they will take advantage and become stronger and a bigger threat. The gov't in Afghanistan right now needs a little help in setting up a good, non sexist country and we are the ones who need to help because we have a pretty good system. Even when it takes a lot of people to do this task, if we can stabilize this country we can improve the relationship between us and them and other countries as well.
This task of reestablishing the gov't is our concern because Afghanistan doesn't know how to. If they did, we wouldn't even be over there and we wouldn't have this problem about sending troops over there. But they don't, so it is necessary to send more troops to Afghanistan to help stablize the country's gov't.
Getting rid of the Taliban and Al Queda is also necessary to send troops over. If we get rid of these terrorists groups, no more 9/11 will happens or any other tragedies. I think we should get the troops out as soon as possible, but first I think we need establish a steady gov't in Afghanistan first and get rid of the Taliban and Al Queda.
I can see both sides to this argument in this issue. On the one hand, it would seem highly irresponsible and reflect poorly on us as a nation if we were to abruptly leave Afghanistan, instead of slowly weaning them off of our support. Also, it makes sense to stay there if it prevents another 9/11, and if it helps to keep the Taliban from doing anything horrific. On the other hand, however, it doesn't entirely make since to stay there, especially since our troops are dying over there. In some ways, the responsibility should be on the Afghan government. Of course, that brings us to the fact that the Afghan government is corrupt and does not work very well. Over all, though, I think we should stay there for as little time as possible, while still supporting Afghanistan as much as we can.
Afghanistan has been going on for many years and to send billions of dollars and 100,000 troops in incredible. I dont think we should send more troops into Afghanistan. I think that all countries should not pay so much attention but some attention. Focusing too much on one country will have other countries in trouble. And what about America...few billion dollars into our economy would boost it. I think that if we stay to long in one country that might change their view on our country. Which may be in a negative way. Some people say they need democracy...well if they cant do some of the process how will they know what to do when the are governing without the US there....they should know how to govern and if the US is always doing it, it will not be the Afghans government it will be the US's.
The united states and the European union have already invested massive amounts of time money and lives in to resolving this conflict. Now we cant turn and walk away from a task that can be solved. Before the war in Iraq the united states was taking control of the Taliban and was making progress in helping Afghanistan.
Due to the distraction from the war in Iraq the United States had cut funding and troops from this war.Now the Iraq war is not a threat to our security however the Afghanistan war is. with the absents of our troops in Afghanistan the Taliban is becoming stronger and is more likely to hurt us on our turf unless we put a stop to it.
The U.S should keep sending troops and money to Afghanistan, but I also think they should lay out some plan for what is to be done, and when the troops are to be pulled out. The troops there are obviously needed to keep Afghanistan stable. I think that we can't take the risk of pulling our funding and troops from there, or else the Taliban or Al-Qaeda may rise up. We don't need another terrorist regime ruling in the vital area of the middle east. TIME says: "European leaders regularly argue that a hasty withdrawal would spell disaster for Afghanistan, neighboring Pakistan and for their own countries." So it is obvious to me that we need some sort of presence there.
That being said however, Afghan people will at some point need to be able to protect themselves. The U.S should try to train the Afghan military to protect themselves. Also, the U.S needs to somehow reduce the corruption in the Afghan government, which is very important to the stability of the Afghanistan. The U.S. and European Coalition needs to have a clear goal on what they need to get accomplished in Afghanistan, and then get out of there. There needs to be a presence in Afghanistan, but we can't be there forever.
The US should definitely stop sending billions of dollars and 100,000 troops over to Afganistan. It is a waste of money and American lives for the sake of an inadequate reason. We should've never even gone there in the first place because all that has come out of it is violence and inconvinience for all. If the US were to immediately withdraw from Afganistan it would probably not result in a diasterous situation to say the least. I'm sure at first it would be a stuggle to set a stable system that works for them but the US really isn't contributing to that cause.
One of the only risks I see coming from our prompt departure is the growth of the Taliban. The major consequences of a strong Taliban are intolerence of indiviuality and cruelty and discrimination against women throught the counrty counrty. Regardless, we shouldn't have made this our problem in the first place. We should remove the troops as soon as possible and make it Afganistan's unfortunate problem. In my opinion, they probably would rather we do that too.
The United States occupied Afghanistan first after 9/11/2001, citing reasons that were stated (eliminate Taliban and train troops to fight Taliban, rebuild infrastructure, etc.). Since, we've lost nearly 1000 soldiers and have accomplished little of our original goals despite literal tons of money being poured into the project. What's the solution? Everyone wants the Taliban gone, everyone wants Al Queda gone, but at what cost?
Perhaps the goal of Al Queda is just to stay in hiding long enough that we waste all of our resources and men looking for them. If that's the case nothing will be accomplished. Hamid Karzai, the newly, possibly fraudulently , elected president of Afghanistan has already been described as "unreliable and at times frustrating" by world governments. The way things are going, it just looks like NOTHING will be accomplished. The only thing that is happening is an incredibly large loss of U.S. money.
Europe is losing support of the people. Eventually they will be gone. Once the coalition has abandoned the U.S. we will be much weaker. Then, the entire project will go further downhill, and we won't have enough time left to save the situation. There isn't much we can do at this point, except save ourselves countless billions that could be put to use in our own country to salvage our own economy.
we should pull our troops out and stop sending so much money over to Afghanistan, but not yet. We need to wait until we have the situation under control and a stable infrastructure. We need to give them a strong government and make sure they can take care of the Taliban and Al Queda before we pull out.
It is not fair to anyone to send over more money and more soldiers every day. We need to get the situation under control and then get out of there.
The United States is arguably the most powerful country on a monetary, military and political stand point. As a superpower in the world, we cannot let down our guard and leave Afghanistan for its own people to deal with. As a privileged country, we are morally and politically obligated to help Afghanistan rebuild its infrastructure and shut down the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Its not as if these two organizations are only wreaking havoc on the civilians of their own country, but The Taliban and Al Qaeda have involvements with the United States which is the main reason that we need to stay in Afghanistan. We cannot give up on these people and we certainly cannot give up on ourselves. We have fought too long and hard to just wave our white flags and turn around. This would only be a reflection on the "cowardice" of the United States to The Afghani's and that is a label that will make us vulnerable and is the last thing we need.
The Afghani people need our help. We cannot surrender now. Imagine what would have happened if Britain would have given up on the United States when they saw that they were having these huge conflicts with The Native Americans. We wouldn't be the Union that we are today. The superpowers of the world are ostensibly targets of The Taliban and Al Qaeda and we can't put our guns down until we all will be safe. There have been 850 American casualties in Afghanistan so far. But if you put together all of the deceased in September 11 and in Afghanistan and all of the future attacks if these terrorist organizations aren't stopped, we could lose so much more. It is for the preceding reasons that the United States cannot simply withdraw its forces from Afghanistan!
The United States has been dealing with this war on terror for many years and we cannot just pull our troops out now. Many people disagreed with putting our troops there in the first place but now that they're there we have to finish what we started. We can't put our troops there to help Afghanistan rebuild their infrastructure and help get rid of the Taliban, Al Qaeda and their corrupt government and then just take them out when they need our help the most. Not only do these organizations throw around their own people but we know that they have their eyes on us. This is another reason to finish the job we started, to protect our own country. If we pull our troops out now, not only will Afghanistan have major problems and be taken over by these corrupt terrorist organizations, the United States will be looked at as a major target for attack.
Overall, if we pulled out our troops now, this would ultimately lead to a bigger disaster. Not only would we be putting a target on our back but we would be leaving Afghanistan defenseless. We need to try to finish what we've started while we try to make a plan to gradually pull out our troops.
I believe that both ways America is taking a big hit. IF we send more troops in we can put more pressure on the Taliban and help our allies. If we don't send more troops ion the Taliban could retake power and all is for naught. Getting rid of the Taliban is important because if they got power it would be the end of education for women and the begging of oppression and terrorist attacks for many other countries.
But on the other hand if we send more troops in it mean more American blood spilt. We are already in debt billions of dollars and our country is very economically unstable. Will spending more American live and dollars really save our country
i support sending more troops to Afghanistan 100 percent. If we were to pull out then the infrastructure of the entire country would be decimated. The taliban would most likely retake the country, start harboring al quaeda operatives once again and we would be right back where we started. There would also probably be increased al quaeda attacks on american soil. We started this war and we have to finish it.
We started this war with the goal to get rid of the taliban (which we have done) AND establish a self-sufficient government there. We cannot complete half our objective and simply pull out. we have to finish what we started even if people don't like it. If we left then Afghanistan would be even worse off than it was. then we would have achieved absolutely nothing at all.
When it comes to the issue of staying in Afghanistan or leaving there are many pros and cons. On one hand we are spending a lot of money on staying in Afghanistan and we are loosing are suffering the loses of many american lives. on the other hand if we leave we will be abandoning Afghanistan's people in a time of great need. Another problem with pulling troups out of Afghanistan is that the Taliban is beginning to regain power and if they do the people of Afghanistan and the united states are in danger of terrorism from them.
considering both sides of this issue it is hard to tell whether it is better to stay or go. Even tough it may cost more money and there will most likely be more casualties we should stay in Afghanistan. We need to finish what we stared there and if we dont it will be a waist of time money and not to mention dishonoring the names of those soldiers who have died there. Another reason we need to stay in Afghanistan is in oreder to prevent the taliban from coming back in to power. It is easier to keep an eye on what is right under your nose than what is across the world. A good example of this is the fact that another 9/11 hasn't happened since we have been there.
I think that the US needs to focus more of its manpower on recruiting and training Afghan troops and police forces. If, instead of sending more forces, we can prepare Afghanistan to eliminate the Taliban themselves, we will be able to fix many of the social and political problems in Afghanistan. Backing out now, without training a new army, would leave the country torn apart unable to resist another terrorist regime. Once we have given the Afghan people the ability to resist terrorism on their own, the US army can safely return home without threat of another 9/11.
Also, I think that US troops should focus more on actually rebuilding Afghanistan, rather than funding the government to do that. The money we have been pouring into Afghanistan is obviously not having the effect we want, so we have to do something. Instead of donating money for roads or schools, we need to actually get Americans (and people from other nations)building schools and repairing roads. If Afghanistan doesn't have to worry about rebuilding their physical country, they can focus more on repairing their political and social problems.
Get the job done and rout the terrorists before getting out of there. Face it, it's our fault they're there in the first place- we trained them and funded their war against the Soviets. If they kicked out Stalin's grand army after becoming so good at guerrilla warfare, what's to stop them from doing the same to us?
If we withdraw immediately or in the future without SIGNIFICANT progress-defined as little to no Taliban/Al Qaeda/terrorist control and/or influence in the region- then it is very likely the Taliban will resurface and reverse all progress we've made in the past 8 years. What good would that do? Chances are, if that happened, we'd have another 9/11 and another counter-insurgency invasion of Afghanistan or other Islamic extremist countries *cough*Iran+nukes*cough*. Imagine how much that would cost!
In other words, take Gen. McCrystal's advice and send as many troops as needed over there. He is the commander on the ground and probably the more well-informed than, say, a congressperson from Texas. Somebody has to pay the price for the US's mistakes with the Soviets. What would you rather it be? Our men and women who volunteer to do it, or innocent civilians like you or I?
The US has got itself into a right problem. If they were to stay in Afghanistan then many more troops will die and many families will protest staying. while if they leave then people will be asking "what if" another 9/11 attack? Will we be safe?
The US should not leave completely because the Taliban will harbor more and more terrorists and become much larger and the world would feel very unsafe. The US should focus more on getting the Afghanistan government to do something about it themselves. then they can leave
The US should take out the troops right now. The other European countries can stay there and perhaps stabilize the Afghanistan government. I am worried about Taliban and Al Queda, but the other European countries could hold them off for a few years while the U.S. can stabilize their own government and their own issues like economy and health care.
I'm not saying that I want the 9/11 to happen again, but while we use billions of dollars, our own country's citizens are in need of money and guidance from the government, and a few billion dollars may help them do it. Maybe a few years later, when our economic system has stabilized, perhaps we can send our troops again to Afghanistan with better equipments, more reinforcements, and stronger warheads that could be made with the money that the country could make in a few years.
Also, for the last few years,I have not seen any improvements in the Afghanistan war or the Afghanistan government, so I think that we are wasting both our time and money while we are in the war.
I don’t agree with the amount of time money, and lives the United States has spent on Afghanistan. It is a corrupt country with a grim future. But we can make that future better. After 9/11 we had to step in and stop the spread of the Taliban and in turn Al-Qaeda. This is true today because if we left the Taliban would grow strong again and begin letting in terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and would pave the path for another 9/11.
It’s not good for the price we are paying but if the only way we are going to have victory is to send more troops, then send them. For most every good, there is a price. We have to be willing to pay that price. We must do what is necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. It is the Afghan people’s problem to control their own country and they have failed miserably (corruption being one cause), but if they cannot and if it means preventing our country from being attacked, then it is definitely our problem. We should protect ourselves.
The US should remain in Afghanistan until the Taliban and Al Queda are no longer a threat to the rest of the world. If the US were to withdraw before this point, these terrorist groups would be better enabled to attack the rest of the world with their terrorists actions.
Though keeping the troops in Afghanistan would be beneficial, a self-sufficient, uncorrupted Afghanistan is ideal. The US should remain supporting Afghanistan with troops and funds until it can support itself.
It would be easy to pull out of Afghanistan. The simplest thing to do would be to withdraw all the troupes and leave Afghanistan to fend for itself. However the consequences of withdrawal are disastrous. If we were to take out all our troups their already fragile government would succumb to taliban rule, and anything we had built up while there would be destroyed. Although it is frustrating and annoying, we have no choice but to remain in Afghanistan.
Whether we like it or not, Afghanistan has a huge effect on America. If such a powerful country, with so many resources, were to fall to the hands of the Taliban, where we could have prevented it, America would find itself without oil from Afghanistan. And most likely at war with Al Qaeda. We have to find a more efficient and demanding way to stabilize the Afghan government, because us being their is taking up to many resources. We have to demand efficient use of the money we are poring into their government, and make sure that they are stable before the US runs out of resources to provide for them.
My dad was in the military for a long time and was deployed twice to war combat zones. Not the front of the line, no he was to valuable for that but he still saw combat. While my dad may have never made it to the font line I know plenty of others that did. My family still has lots of friends in the military that could be at risk for a deployment to Afghanistan. Even though I think we should remain in Afghanistan to help rid them of the Taliban and their corrupt government I've seen people that have come back from the front line. The people that come back are jumpy and scarred emotionally. There are always bombs and gun shots going off and if you don't have great reaction time you are dead. I wouldn't wish such a horror on anyone, but the soldiers that go signed up into the USA military for a reason, and they know what to expect.
Unlike the civilians that have no training or protection in Afghanistan. The women and children and the young girls that get bombed on their way to or from school. Those people are the reason we are in Afghanistan so the women can be free to uncover their faces and the girls can go to school without fear of harm. So yes our soldiers might come back scarred but they are their for a reason not just some useless war.
This is an exteremely sensitive issue. On one hand, it isn't really our problem any more, but on the other hand, Afghanistan started this problem and we need to make sure that this cycle doesn't repeat.
If the U.s. immediately withdrew all forces, the Taliban would return in force with nothing to oppose it and the region would descend into utter chaos, because we are the only ones maintaining order in this war-torn area. The Taliban would continue to house terrorists, the terrorists would launch another attack on the U.S., and we would have to invade all over again. It doesn't matter whose problem it is at this point: Whether we like it or not, we're in it for the long haul.
Immediate withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan would not help anything and just create chaos. The US needs to stop funding Afghanistan they way we are now because it is expensive and many troops are dying unnecessarily. I think that the US should continue funding until their government and military is strong enough to deal with the Taliban and Al Queda.
The threat of terrorism is not only Afghanistan's problem but everybody's. Afghanistan may harbor the terrorists but they can attack anybody. The immediate consequences of another attack would be bad but if we continue on funding this way there will be more long term consequences.
The US should take our troops out but now yet. Taking our troops out now would be detrimental for the Afghanistan infastructure. Afghanishtan has become dependent on the US to provide money and support in rebuilding their economy and in keeping the Taliban and Al Queda at bay. If we took our troops out now, the Taliban would come back into power and Al Queda would gain more support and power also. The Taliban would cause lots of problems for Afghanistan citizens (especially women) and Al Queda could possibly plan another attack like 9/11.
But we also have to consider the fact that our country is in a recession. Right now we have so many people who don't have jobs because we don't have enough money in our economy. The recession could be helped so much if we weren't sending billions of dollars over to Afghanistan.
In conclusion, we need to get our troops out of Afghanistan but we need to restore Afghanistan's infrastructure and help their economy a little bit longer. Pulling out now would be a pointless act and would make everything we have done and every person who has died in this war pointless.
Meaghan James
I think The US needs to stay in Afghanistan for primarily for reestablishing the corrupt government. Firstly by making sure all of our funds are going to the people not the rulers pocket books. Also we need to find better jobs for the people. Some of the Afghanistan citizens are joining the Taliban for a good source of income. If we gave them stable jobs the economy and public would be in a better state. Once the government is more stable, sound, and has a working military then we can start to withdraw our funds and troops. However we will still need to keep some military body in Afghanistan until the conflict is resolved.
If the US and the European union withdrew the Taliban and Al Queda would most definitely gain control over the county again. This Would be bad for everyone the US and Europe. All of our money, recourses, and troops would just be gone for nothing, no end benefit.
I believe that a troop surge is just the thing we need. I have this belief for many reasons. First of all i believe we should clean up the mess we have created. We created it by not remembering to get our weapons back from the freedom fighters. And when the soviets left we left with them immediately and just left the Afghani to their own devices.
Also i think we should bring in more troops because this is the war we should have been fighting all along. In Afghanistan their are actual known terrorist groups which are operating openly. Here is where we can make a stand and show the world that this behavior and illegal activity will not be tollerated. Now is when we need to be sure not to pull out again because that will send the wrong message. Because we started this conflict and because we need to send a clear message, I think we should send in more troops.
I think that the US should in time take the troops out of Afghanistan. Fighting the Al Queda is part of our concern because they were the suicide bombers who destroyed the twin towers. We need to help Afghanistan establish and keep a better government than the Taliban. If we pull out now, Afghanistan would be corrupted forever. If the Taliban got powerful enough, they could become like the Nazis and try to make everyone Muslim by using force. It will become our concern if that happens. We should help stop it now. In conclusion, I think that we should help Afghanistan as much as we can and as soon as possible, pull out of there.
The ramifications of an immediate withdrawal of US forces would be negative. It shows weakness that terrorist groups would use to their advantage when recruiting new members. I can visualize the posters now. Leaving would also result in riots in Afghanistan. Without an authority present, the chaos is unimaginable. Leaving would also allow the Taliban to take power and set up training bases. This is not good for anyone, especially America. The effects of leaving the middle east at once would be unfortunate at best.
The results of a strong Taliban are not good for anyone. It would make life in Afghanistan extremely difficult. Many undesirable ancient religious practices would become law. A direct consequence of this would be very little, if any, rights for women. The Taliban would also set up a safe haven for Al Qadia. This could mean more attacks on US soil. The Taliban means more death and more trouble for everyone.
This is the Afghan people's problem, but it could become one of America's greatest issues. In the short term, it doesn't matter to us what's going on in the middle east. They're very far, and what they do doesn't concern us. This would change if the Taliban came to power. They would make threats and scare people. The government would be forced to respond because its people would be afraid. This is everyone's problem.
~Joe Roessler P1
I believe that although the American troops in afghanistan may not be entirely necessary, it will be very helpful to the economic and political structure of Afghanistan while it is in its fragile state. I think as the USA we need to take the role in helping Afghanistan help itself. Although many would argue that americans are dyeing every day, we need to remember that we signed our selves up for this. It is important that we don't leave the country in worse shape than it was to begin with. We have made some progress but there is still a ways to go before we can withdraw our troops. If we withdrawal now afghanistan will be left with a corrupt government and a ruined country and the USA will be in constant fear of another 9/11.
When 9/11 occurred their problems slowly started to turn into problems of our own. When we invaded, these problems were reinforced. We have partially created these problems for ourselves, now it is time we get out the mop and clean them up!
I as very back and fourth on this issue. I believe that we should not send more troops to Afghanistan because it is a waste of money and lives. Even though i think that, i still need to realize that we have created a mess over there and need to start cleaning it up, which will take time. If we were to leave right now, the Taliban could take over again and plan another attack on the US, thus sending troops over there again to try and fix things. This cycle could keep repeating itself which does not solve anything.
Before we leave Afghanistan, i think somehow we need to help them build a stable government. It does make sense to put more troops over there to help do that. So in the end, i have absolutely no idea how this is all gonna work! Bottom line is i think we should finish what we started and dig ourselves out of this mess that wasn't even ours to begin with. If we can do it with the men we have there, great. If not...maybe sending more troops over would be necessary.
US troops should stay in Afghanistan until we are positive that we have installed a stable government that can protect itself from the Taliban and Al Qaeda, no matter how many years it takes. If the US sends its troops back home immediatley the Taliban will rise back into power and become a serious international threat. I would usually say that we shouldnt have been involved in this at all but we already are so we can't just leave a mess we already made. I believe that the more troops we have in Afghanistan, the faster we will get the job done.
However, I don't agree that the US government should be sending billions of dollars a year to the Afghanistan Government if it doesn't funnel down to programs that help the Afgan people. Instad we should either send money to directly to the Afgan people or wait for troops to stabilize the government so money doesn't end up in corrupt polititians' pockets.
I think that withdrawal of some US troops is necessary, but we shouldn't do it quite yet. Once our troops have helped rebuild infrastructure and helped get people affected by the Taliban back on their feet in several hugely influenced areas, then we should begin withdrawing troops. It should be a slow process, or else it will cause chaos and more destruction. But these US soldiers have families and friends that they need to return to.
The US should definitely keep a small number of troops in Afghanistan, and they should be very movable so our soldiers can quickly get to affected areas. While these troops are repairing towns and helping citizens, a smaller group should go after Al Qaeda and try to stop any terrorism that they might be planning. This way both threatening groups are covered by a smaller number of soldiers. The important thing to remember is that our country should still be active in Afghanistan, but we don't need to be as present as we have been.
I think that the U.S. needs to stay in Afghanistan and get rid of the terrorist safe havens there. I also believe that we need to have some timetable to get out of there though, but for right now we need to be there. It is in the best interests of the U.S. to stay in Afghanistan and fight the corrupt government there. If the Taliban were to come back to power it would most likely have great consequences on the U.S. homeland security. There also has to be some sort of limit on how much time and money we keep sending over there. That is why I agree with prime minister Merkel and think that 2013 would be a good time to get out of there. Right now the United States can’t safely leave Afghanistan without major implications.
This topic has caused quite a bit of controversy. We should take our troops out of Afghanistan, but not just yet. At first the plan was clear, and it seemed a reasonable amount to accomplish, but over the past few years public support has fallen. It wouldn't be so bad if we were actually getting somewhere. There has been an escalation in violence and a steady stream of casualties in the past few years. Especially in the past twelve months has support fallen, and recently polls have showed that more people favor bringing the troops home, even if it isn't the right time.
Much of this comes down to the question of whether this is our problem or the Afghanistan people's problem. We can't be playing world police for every problem that goes on in the world, but we can't leave the country in worse shape than it was. We probably wouldn't have involved ourselves if our country hadn't been in danger. If we are going to involve ourselves we need to be specific. We need to have a detailed purpose for what we are going to accomplish. Going along with that, we need to assign a time table and an exit strategy. This is the only way we are going to accomplish anything.
Immediately leaving Afghanistan would have some serious ramifications. For one the Taliban would be able to grow stronger because there would be nothing to restrict them. Also violence rates and casualties in Afghanistan would rise. To add to that, because no one would be trying to set up a new and better form of government, then their present government would only become more corrupt. The system there right now is bad enough, but if we immediately leave it will only get worse.
The consequences of having a strong Taliban would be similar. They would not only be able to basically run free and do as they wish, but also they would be able to continue causing destruction and violence. This might not be limited to just Afghanistan, and there is the very likely possibility that the Taliban may target other countries.
In a way, I agree with both sides.
Firstly, I think that it was not our business going to Afghanistan to try to overthrow the Taliban. We should not send our own men and women- people's family members- to fight in a different country, for someone else's cause.
On the other hand, I agree that we need to stop the Taliban and set up a less biased country because we are one of the only countries that is currently both willing to help and able to help. We also need to find the Al Qaeda terrorists and stop them somehow so we don't have another 9/11, or so another country doesn't experience the same thing.
I don't think we should pull out immediately now that we are involved. Instead, we should keep from sending too many more soldiers over there and slowly try to help the country fix itself by teaching the people how to run a country that is less biased and more democratic. Then we should withdraw from different parts of the country carefully, without harming anyone or collapsing any infrastructure.
At this point, we can not take our troops out of Afghanistan. We are a very powerful country, and if we were to remove our troops, so would all the European countries. This is not and issue we can just let go of. If the Taliban have no opposition then they can carry out any attacks that they want, and no one will be able to stop them. If they stage another attack like 9/11 on us, then were just going to fight them again anyways. Either way we have to send troops to Afghanistan. If we keep our existing troops there and possibly add more, it is less likely we will have another tragedy.
Also, its not like the citizens of Afghanistan actually want a corrupt government. For many people, we are their only hope. We must change their government for the good of the citizens. Sure it may raise our taxes to pay for the war, but when it comes down to it, what's more important: getting a new car, buying a big house, or going on a vacation... or spending some of the money we don't really need on people who do need it. Yes, it's our money and we worked hard for it, but its not like the citizens of Afghanistan are lazy, they just have absolutely no way to change their way of life. The government controls them. We could be saving lives right now, all we have to do is pay a little extra.
Basically yes, i do think that we need to add more troops in Afghanistan. I hate the thought of Americans dying, but by adding more troops we could be saving so many peoples lives.
At this point, we can not take our troops out of Afghanistan. We are a very powerful country, and if we were to remove our troops, so would all the European countries. This is not and issue we can just let go of. If the Taliban have no opposition then they can carry out any attacks that they want, and no one will be able to stop them. If they stage another attack like 9/11 on us, then were just going to fight them again anyways. Either way we have to send troops to Afghanistan. If we keep our existing troops there and possibly add more, it is less likely we will have another tragedy.
Also, its not like the citizens of Afghanistan actually want a corrupt government. For many people, we are their only hope. We must change their government for the good of the citizens. Sure it may raise our taxes to pay for the war, but when it comes down to it, what's more important: getting a new car, buying a big house, or going on a vacation... or spending some of the money we don't really need on people who do need it. Yes, it's our money and we worked hard for it, but its not like the citizens of Afghanistan are lazy, they just have absolutely no way to change their way of life. The government controls them. We could be saving lives right now, all we have to do is pay a little extra.
Basically yes, i do think that we need to add more troops in Afghanistan. I hate the thought of Americans dying, but by adding more troops we could be saving so many peoples lives.
This is a very difficult situation. Pulling all of our troops out of Afghanistan at once is not an option. We should definitely pull some troops out, but some must remain in Afghanistan to help stabilize the country. A strong Taliban is not an option. Some may argue that it is not our problem and therefore we shouldn't have any troups in Afghanistan. I disagree. As arguably the most powerful country in the world, it is our duty to use our resources to help other countries. Afghanistan is in need of a lot of help.
Currently, though, America is spending too much money on Afghanistan. Our own country needs a lot of work before we can commit to spending outrageous amounts of money on another country. Our troops and money are not doing the job.There is no point in having all of these troops when they aren't helping. We should keep a small number of troops in Afghanistan, but that's it. I agree with Vice President Biden's plan.
I strongly believe that we should take the troops out of Afghanistan, but unfortunately we probably shouldn't do it yet. We should leave them in Afghanistan for about another year to try to calm things down between Afghanistan and America. I don't believe that it is our duty and responsibility to do this but if we don't it could lead to future conflicts. I think if we gradually take out soldiers from Afghanistan and stop giving them money slower throughout the year, then it would probably be much more efficient then just taking them out in all and taking all the money away.
The money that we are giving to them is a given not a right, they should learn that and start respecting that. I don't think that we should give them money, for they are spending it irresponsibly. If they actually spend it on fixing the government then that is one thing, but if they spend it on in expanding their army I do not think that is right. This whole thing is a hard situation but I think if we bring the troops home and stop giving them money over the year then that would be a wise choice.
I think that wesould withdraw our troops as soon as possible. I belive that this conflict is not our problem and I think that we're not making a difrence in why we went into Afghanistan in the first place. If we're going to stay in Afghanistan then we need to find another way of fighting the Taliban because, the way we are fighting is obviously not working.If 830 american lives have already been lost and we're sending over another 100,000 troops and a couple billion dollars where is that money going anyway? What is going to happen to the goverment now that the same dictator was just elected back into power. It is aweful that the taliban are hurting so many innocent people so no reason at all but we should eaither find an effective way to fix that or, withdraw our troops from Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan was always going to take time. It is impossible to rebuild the infrastructure in a short amount of time, because it involves building schools/hospitals/etc, rebuilding the government and limiting its corruption, reeducating people, training troops/etc. This takes years and years.
If we immediately leave, not only will what's left of Afghanistan's infrastructure collapse, but there is a very high chance that the Taliban will take power. This means that if we don't stay and finish this war, we will have to combat terrorism again, which was our original problem.
We need to figure out a more efficient way to provide money to Afghanistan so that the money actually helps rebuild the infrastructure and isn't going to just the corrupt people in power.
Although this concerns the Afghan people, it is our problem now because we are in Afghanistan. It would be irresponsible to leave, because at this point, without our support, Afghanistan's infrastructure would be destroyed.
I agree that we definitely need to get out. War in Afghanistan is very costly because of the lives and resources it consumes. But we need to realize that before we can get out, we have to finish what we started.
The US should keep sending troops and money over to Afghanistan for several reasons. The first is that if the Taliban regain control in Afghanistan(which will happen eventually) then Al Quaeda has another base to mount and even larger attack on the US, Britain, France and many other western countries. These plots would kill a lot more people than the number of troops in Afghanistan right now.
Another point is that the Afghan people would be left with almost no protection from Al Queada and the Taliban, so if they invade, or try to take the country by force, the Taliban and Al Queada would take complete control and once again abuse the Afghan people.
Many people ask why this is our problem, and why the Afghan people should just take care of it themselves. There are several answers to this. The first is that the majority of people in Afghanistan are so poor because their government keeps all of their money, if they left their job, they could very easily not be able to support their family at all. Another point is that this concerns us greatly because of how much of threat Al Quaeda could make to us if they got the support they once had in Afghanistan again, and could mount and even bigger attck on the US, or any other western country.
The US should take troops out of Afghanistan but first we must put an amount of money into the traing of an independent army of natives to the area who can keep the Taliban at bay because the longer we stay in the country the more the people are becoming resistant to us a news report recently quoted and afghan native saying that because of the system we are creating it has become harder to live getting food is no longer just slipping one official a bribe the system of government the US has made is even more corrupted. As you can see from this man the natives of the area do not like are presence but withdrawing cold turkey would be a mistake which is why we need to first create the group to fight the Taliban if we don't the Taliban will immediately seize power and seek revenge on the US. However if we first train the afghan army then they would be able to keep the Taliban at bay and then we could leave the people to find a system that works for them instead of forcing one one them.
I didn't know much about the war until I read this article, and I didn't really think that we should have had troops in Afghanistan of Iraq. After reading the article I think that a presence of troops is required and I believe that if some of the European troops leave, it would probably be a good idea to send more U.S. troops. I think that it is killing innocent U.S. troops but if we were to take them out now, it would just make matters worse.
We should wait until the government stabilizes more before taking our troops out, otherwise the terrorist groups and Taliban could gain more control. They mainly want us out of their country and maybe that would make them happier. There is always the chance that they would attack us afterwards, so we should try to take them out slowly, less disruptive to the countries we are in since our troops do have a major affect on their countries.
i Think that if it is necessary to send over more troops to Afghanistan, then we should sent some, but not 10,000. We want to make a stable internal government for Afghanistan, but if it is going to cost so many lives, we should reconsider. Even though there are 830 US deaths and more than 150 coalition deaths, that is nothing compared to haw many Afghans have died in this war. For those who think that its a bad idea to send more money and troops, and for those who think its a good idea, decide on a compromise between the two.
the united states have gviin the afgan people more then enough recourses to start building their own democracy. the taliban is a strong force that we cannot continue to fight for ever.
further more, it is a waist of U.S. dollars and U.S. time and most of all U.S. blood. the united states should pull the troops out of the war and focus on paying off our debt
e situation is a lose lose. Either thousands of troops are sent to Afghanistan or the Taliban continues to gain territory and Al Queda gets more room to train and plan. If the government pulls out the troops now things will be as bad as ever or possibly worse in Afghanistan and there is always the problem of Al Queda. But sending over 10 thousand more troops seems unreasonable. Many of them will die fighting a war that isn't even totally ours.
The war is both the United States and Afghanistan's. The Taliban hurts the Afghans but also help a threat to the United States.
As soon as the US military and NATO get involved in the affairs of other countries, they ensure that they're stuck. The disbanding of the Taliban is indubitably important, but sending thousands of troops is not the way to do it. The Afghani people need to learn how to set up their own functioning, fair government system. By getting involved the way we have, we send off the impression of OCD control freaks who can't finish what they started, and it isn't making us any friends. Dozens of people have died in what seems to be a pointless fight, and more will if we don't do something. If the Afghani government hadn't been sheltering dangerous terrorists, we could've simply given things a shove in a good direction and then let events run their course.
The question of the prevention of terrorism is a whole other issue. Allowing extremists who are willing to kill run loose is a hazard for everyone. Who knows who they'll be blowing up next? As previously stated, the Afghani government is not an issue. It's the people who are willing to take their own lives to destroy others that are wrong. The time has come to target TERRORISTS. We need to withdraw as many troops and funds as possible, as soon as possible, and concentrate on the real problem: killers who are unwilling to reason.
War is not pretty and obviously people are going to have to die. The deaths of our military people and those from other countries are distressing to say the least, but so is the oppression on women, the suicide-bombing attacks, and the terrorist groups building up strength. If an even more horrendous war in the future with Al Queda and the Taliban is to be avoided, the U.S. should do what they can now, while we are still wrapped up in this whole mess, to help abolish both.
Not only are the Afghan civilians being blown to pieces every day affected, but think if we leave now: the Taliban would grow stronger and supply Al Queda what they need to plan attacks here at home, and think about everyone who will be affected then.
It might seem like the business of the Afghan people, but if it is not now, it definitely will become our business in the future if we don't finish what we started now. Then we can withdraw our troops and money, knowing that we did what we came there to do.
U.S. troops shoudl pull out of Afghanistan, but not all at once. If they are pulled out all at once, the government in Afghanistan will not be able to handle things the way we want them to with democracy, etc. It doesn't make sense to stay and spend tons of U.S. dollars, but the military cannot leave completely yet if they want to at least lead Afghanistan towards the right direction. Their government needs help, but the U.S. should not have to do it all by themselves. It is not their country to run, but the Afghanistan government is corrupt enough that they do need help fixing it.
The Taliban having more control could lead to more terrorism and targeting the terrorism to the U.S. It is both Afghanistan's problem and America's problem, because Afghanistan needs a strong government, and if it is not fixed it could harm the U.S. with terrorism along with harming other parts of the globe.
~Brynn Conroy
There is no way that everyone can leave Afghanistan alone, but the involvement at the moment is a bit extreme. The large numbers of troops from many countries is overwhelming the society and lifestyle, causing people to act out in violent ways. Even though there is this problem it would not be feasible to remove all the troops at once. It would cause chaos and even a possible overthrow of power by the more radical groups such as Al Queda. The troops would have to be removed in small groups at a time to keep order and civility through the country. There is no need to send more soldiers as they would just complicate the mission further.
There is a government set up but it really has no power outside of Kabul. The issue with leaving is that the Taliban would take control and literally send the country back to the dark ages. There would be constant oppression and democracy would be a far off dream. The question on many countries minds is how much of this is our problem. Should we just let them deal with their own issues or try to help them develop a civilized society. The threat of terror attacks on outside countries makes this an important question. I don’t know if we can make an educated decision on the next course of action to betaken in Afghanistan at this point in time.
Instead of sending more troupes to Afghanistan, we should be withdrawing soldiers from the war. Because as Joe Biden said, we will be fighting this war forever and more american soldiers and innocent civilians will die because of it. I also agree with Biden that we should send a smaller elite group of soldiers just seeking out Al Qaeda.
Citizens of the United States are unhappy with the high taxes that the government is taxing us. Not only because they’re losing money, but also because they are paying money that supports thousands of people dying. Instead of paying taxes that take lives, we could be supporting something better. Such as health insurance, welfare, and public school funds. Maybe we will have the same ammount of taxes, but if so we will be using it for a better cause that will help humanity and the United States grow.
I have mixed feelings on this debate. I think it is important we help the world when it is in need. What the women in Afghanistan are going through is absolutely awful and i understand that we are just trying to help, but it is hardly working and we are wasting lives and money. Everywhere on the world, there is some issue. Mexico seems to be increasing on drug problems, for instance. Though we are one of the most powerful countries, we can't babysit the rest of the world if it means wasting billions of dollars and many lives on it.
A strong Taliban would cause troubles because there would always be a scare that there could be an invasion. The US is doing so much in its power to help the world and keep from having more attacks on the country.
It isn't our problem with the Afghan people, but we still have so much power and it is amazing that we are trying to help. We are spending too much money, time, and lives on this and it isn't working out for either of our countries.
--alex davie
I don't think we should take the troops out yet because the Taliban has the potential to become stronger. backing will also allow them to take advantage and become a bigger threat. we also have to clean up the mess we started, if we back out now that will only increase the chances of having more terrorist attacks like 9/11. on the other hand sending in more troops seems like a waste of money and people's lives. so i think that we should continue to support Afghanistan until they can support themselves.
There is no perfect solution to this problem. On one hand it would be great to say that this is Afghanistan's problem and none of our money or troops being there will ever do any good. It would also be nice to say that by us being there we can just go in, take down the Taliban, and get our troops out. Clearly neither is possible. We can't just immediately withdrawl our troops. They need to stay there until we are sure that their government is at least a little more stable to the point where the Taliban isn't running it, and Al Qaeda doesn't have the ability to run terrorist attacks. This is obviously going to take alot of time, and at some point we will be able to start slowly backing the troops out, but for the time being there is no way we can just leave the way it is. That will just open us up for another 9/11 and isn't keeping our country safe.
-Hannah Rieth
Oh geesh, I’m caught right in the middle on this issue.
I believe America has its own dept to pay off and that we're wasting a lot of money, time, and too many lives for a country other than our own. We are going through our own recession and I feel like we should put our country first and dig ourselves out of our own holes before we start fixing up others.
On the flip side, the Afghani people need us there as well. If we leave now, the Taliban could take over again and plan another horrific attack on the USA and then result to sending our troops over there again to fix things. It could potentially become a domino effect and repeat over and over again. It is also important to do our deed of fixing up and clean up this mess that we’ve created. It’s important before leaving, to help create a government for Afghanistan that is independent and stable.
Unfortunately, the solution to this convoluted mess is not easy and will take many years to complete. But hey, when it all comes down to things, we’re some small planet in a huge universe going through a typical issue. It’s part of life; creating, fixing, and learning from issues like these.
Kyle Havlick
We absolutely cannot afford to half ass Afghanistan like we did Iraq. Our sneaky politics at the end of the cold war is the reason that Afghanistan collapsed the way it did. If we had finished with a strong end game, we would not be in this situation. That is our single biggest ally in the middle east excluding, Israel.
When we entered Iraq, they were absolutely no threat no our national security. If we pull out of Afghanistan and the Taliban regains control, then Al Queda regains power, and we all see the problem there. Afghanistan is a problem in the middle east that we can finally fix, but we must commit. In twenty years, the world will be a better place because of what were doing in the middle east today.
I believe that there would be serious consequences if we had an immediate withdraw from Afghanistan. NOT only would it just null all our efforts in the past all our troops that died would have died in vain. All lives lost would have meant nothing if we couldn't fix the country we wrongly invaded. It would also let the Taliban recrte more members and eventuall lead to an attack on one or more of many countries.
I can also understand why Euopes forces would be angry. We got us into thins mess and now the U.N has to clean it up. More people are dieing, both innocent, our troops the U.N.s troops, and the enemy along with others. SO I don't want our troops to be there but we can't take them out .
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