U.S. Military Role in Afghanistan Today

Shania Vidro

Mr. Backman

U.S. History

30 May 2015

U.S. Military Role in Afghanistan Today

        At the present time,  many people wonder what is the U.S. military role in Afghanistan today and why we are still there after the assassination of the founder of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.  Unfortunately, there is no rational reason of our role in Afghanistan today. One of the original goals were to remove/ weaken Taliban forces and terrorist groups who were planning to overthrown the local Afghanistan government.  This had gave Osama Bin Laden a foundation from which he could launch terrorist attacks and in fact it did. In September of 2001, the World Trade Center was attacked killing nearly 3,000 innocent civilians.  As a result, we were able to drive out the Taliban from the government of Afghanistan and in May of 2011, our Navy Seals were able to locate and seize control of the compound where Osama Bin Laden was using as a hideout and had eventually killed him. So why do we remain in Afghanistan even though we gained the hate of Afghan people?         

        In 2010, the Afghan war overtook the Vietnam war and became one of the longest wars in U.S. history. Back in June of 2011 after Osama Bin Laden’s death, President Obama had announced that 10,000 troops would be withdrawn by the end of 2011 and an additional 23,000 troops would be returned by the summer of 2012. After this, the country was tumbling into chaos. Thousands were being murdered by Al-Qaeda. As of today, we are there to fight other militant groups that threaten to overthrow the Afghan government. As Operation Enduring Freedom is calming down in Afghanistan, U.S. troops are aiding the local military forces, such as the Afghan National Army, and Afghan National Police, to seize the task of securing their nation once more from Taliban and terrorist forces (CNN 2015). So essentially, the troops were there at first to secure the nation from terrorist forces. As the years passed and the terrorist groups calmed down, the U.S. started training the local military groups to take responsibility again and fight against other militant forces. Just 39 percent of Americans favor the war in Afghanistan compared to 58 percent who oppose it (Keck 2009).

        There are various reasons to why many people and I think we should end the war in Afghanistan. First reason as to why we should is because of the cost. Taxpayers have spent a ridiculous amount of money of the war in Afghanistan. The second reason is because of our economy. Our economy right now is struggling due to the rate of high unemployment. The money that has been spent on the wars in the last 10 years, could have created many different jobs.  The third reason is because of lives lost and the wounded. More than 1,700 service members have died in the war in Afghanistan. August 2011 was one of the deadliest months of the war. Over 3,000 U.S. troops have been wounded physically and mentally in Afghanistan (Huffington Post 2011). The fourth reason to why we should end the war is because of the length. Afghanistan is now one of the longest wars in American history, passing the Vietnam War. The fifth reason is because of Osama Bin Laden. Back in 2001, the United States had went to war in Afghanistan to capture and kill him. Ten years had passed and we finally brought justice to the American people. Many people believe this was enough and should have been the end of the war. Lastly, the American people strongly believe that we should bring our troops home and focus on rebuilding America and making it a better place.