...War in Afghanistan Definition of conflict A conflict may be defined as the state of discord that is caused by perceived or actual opposition of values, needs or interests. It is a broad term that encompasses revolutions, invasions, wars or other struggles (for territory, resources or power) and essentially involves the use of force for the achievement of objective. A conflict arises as a result of mutual incompatibility and subsequent expression of disagreement between the parties in the dispute over an important resource or agenda (Nicholson, 1992). The nature of the conflict is determined by the perspective of the people involved in the conflict. Though these perspectives may or may not be supported by independent evidence. It also depends to a large extend on the behaviour of the parties involved in the dispute that can potentially lead to war. Violence is one such behaviour of the parties. The definition of a war or conflict can easily be extended from specific individuals, to groups (which may be tribal, racial, ethnic or religious) or nation states as such. A conflict may involve two or more than two parties to the dispute. However, the principles of the conflict irrespective of the number of the parties to it remain the same. Causes and conditions of the conflicts The process or structure of conflicts or wars is effectively the same, whether it occurs between groups, individuals or nation states. The root causes of the conflict include among other aspects the...
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...Afghanistan: Does the United States Belong Eleven Years Later? October 20, 2012 Introduction On September 11, 2001 one of the most outrageous suicide attacks took place on the United States soil. These suicide attacks killed almost three thousand people and changed the security of the United States forever. They also started the insurgence and war against the extremist soldiers called Al Queda who ruled out of Afghanistan. This has led to the continued eleven year war in Afghanistan which is drawing more and more nationwide anti-war criticism. This criticism is being experienced across the world as well as by those serving in the military as soldiers, leaders, and representatives. The Resignation In 2009 a resignation letter written by Matthew Hoh to Ambassador Nancy J. Powell, spread like wild fire across the American political offices from Afghanistan to Washing D.C. Mr. Hoh, elegantly and with purpose explained his reasons for his resignation from his appointed position as a Political Officer in the Foreign Service and his post as the Senior Civilian Representative for the U.S. Government in Zabul Province. Mr. Hoh’s prior service to the United States as a Marine Officer and Department of Defense civilian in Iraq from 2004 – 2007, made his reason for resignation as well as his stance on the war in Afghanistan very alarming. His past experience not only made him uncomfortably close with the ideology of what it means to be a U.S. service man...
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...the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an effort to preserve the communist government and ensure its own security, but it failed due to the superior tactics of guerilla fighters in a unique landscape and the United States’ support of the Afghan rebels. This war between Soviet forces and Afghan rebels was a struggle between the communist government and its opposition. The Soviet Union was unable to adjust to the terrain and battle space and was forced to withdrawal. This struggle highlights the strategic game that the United States and the Soviet Union played to prevent control by one another during the Cold War. According to Joseph Collins’ analysis of the Soviet invasion, the motives for the Soviets to invade Afghanistan...
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...issue with Afghanistan is that it disregards all Western customs of warfare. Alexander did conquer Afghanistan in the end and set up a more Western-style culture that held for quite some time. Alexander managed to achieve this by staging a massive invasion, annihilating about 10% of the native population, deporting another mass of people and scattering them around the Middle East and Central Asia, building and settling Greek cities throughout the region, appointing his senior tactical advisor to be the military governor, and marrying the daughter of a local chieftain. Noticeably, Americans are unwilling to partake in this kind of warfare. Centuries of Christian influence has caused us to have a strong belief in righteous war, with...
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...Human Nature: In the case of the War in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda made the decision to perpetrate a terror attack after weighing the costs and benefits of doing so. Liberalism states that they sought to further their own self-interest by asserting their sovereignty which they believed to be threatened by increasing Western involvement. The US and the rest of the international community responded by seeking conflict in Afghanistan, cooperating in order to further the long-term mutual interests of NATO and the UN's member nations by reinstating the international regime of anti-terrorism established by the UN (UN Actions to Counter Terrorism). Additionally, when examining the potential long-term benefits for joint international action (something that...
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...The origin of the Taliban can be traced back to the 1979 USSR invasion of Afghanistan. Bring in over one hundred thousand soldiers to preserve the Communist Government, which they were they met with fierce resistance fighters called Mujahedeen from whom the taliban evolved. The mujahedeen was a mix of Afghan resistance fighters and refugees who had crossed into Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province at the onset of the Soviet invasion and later been recruited to fight the Soviet infidels. The mujahedeen controlled 75% of Afghanistan despite fighting the might of the world’s second most powerful military power. Cold war politics produced a strong condemnation of the invasion, and in turn sending hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ammunitions and food to Afghanistan...
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...Hand-in on Bush’s declaration of war. Sept. 20, 2001 - Bush Declares War on Terror Analytical Essay ”On September the eleventh, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country.” This is how former president George Walker Bush initiated his speech and declared war on terror. He identifies terrorists as enemies of freedom, but are they? Some people would characterize the word “terrorist” as an emotive. Some people would not know what the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter is. That makes me petrified. In 1989, USA won the cold war. Many historians and sociologist expeditiously agreed that there now was brought an end to the century of extremes, and the new world order could begin. One of them was Eric Hobsbawn, who stated USA as the, now only, superpower in the world. From 1989-2001, USA transformed the western values such as market economy and democracy to the rest of the world. In this period, USA solved many international conflicts and orderly made the world a better place. I sat down and thought about, why anyone would start this war against terror, who started it, and who was to blame for it? In this analytical essay, I will go through the main points in Bush’s speech. For instance, what does he mean, when he says: “The terrorists are traitors to their own faith”? Furthermore, I will go deeply into the consequences of the war on terror. Can the war on terror have had an effect on the globalization? If so, how big an impact has it played...
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...Contribution to Global War no. Terror after2013): 37-56 37 PAKISTAN’S CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR AFTER 9/11 Dr. Hidayat Khan∗ Abstract Pakistan’s contribution to the “War on Terror” far exceeds its strength and size. Pakistan lost more than 35000 lives to save American people from another 9/11 attack. Pakistan’s economic loss amounted to 67 billion US dollars but still the US is not satisfied with Pakistan’s performance and pressurizes it to “Do More.” In this situation what should Pakistan do as a sovereign state? At the same time what is the international community’s responsibility towards Pakistan as a partner in this global war? The United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) have been fighting against the Taliban for the last decade but the war is nowhere near its end. This study is an exploration of the question whether war is the solution or the problem? Key Words: War on Terror, World Response, Pakistan’s Contribution, Operations, Agreements. Background P akistan has always played a constructive role in the United Nations (UN) — it is one of its largest net troop contributors and its active role in the solution of world issues is internationally recognized. It borders three major strategic regions; South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, and its geographical proximity to Afghanistan has made it an important partner of the United States. Pakistan has played a significant role, both during the Cold War and as a non-NATO...
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...questions: Who are the Taliban? Where did they get their start? What differentiates the Afghan Taliban from the Pakistan Taliban (TTP)? What issue might there be? How did Mullah Akhatar Mansour come to replace Mullah Omar, founder of the Afghan Taliban, as supreme leader? Will the new leader join forces with ISIS? What does this mean for the Pakistan Taliban? The Taliban is not Afghanistan, nor is it Pakistan. It is an extremist organization bound by the vulgar misinterpretation of Islam and the Quran and should eliminated. Understanding this is will hopefully incur more compassion for the Afghan and Pakistani people fighting to live their religion in peace with the rest of the world. The Formation of the Afghan Taliban...
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...the September 11, 2001 attack. After this al Qaeda attack the president ordered the Armed Forces to Afghanistan to straighten out al Qaeda and control the Taliban regime. On September 11, 2001 approximately three thousand people were killed in those terrorist attacks. Yaser Esam Hamdi was born an American citizen in 1980 in Louisiana. He moved with family to Saudi Arabia while he was a child. By 2001 he resided in Afghanistan. He was seized by a military group who opposed the Taliban government and then was turned over to the United States military. After which he was transferred ultimately to Charleston, South Carolina. They want to detain him in the United States jail indefinitely. They however don’t have formal charges but in hopes to make the determination that access to counsel or further process is necessary. Hamdi’s father filed an habeas petition on his behalf alleging that the government was holding his son in violation of the fifth and fourteenth Amendments. He believed that the United States was not abiding by the law that "no citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress. “Hamdi objects, nevertheless, that Congress has not authorized the indefinite detention to which he is now subject. The Government responds that "the detention of enemy combatants during World War II was just as 'indefinite' while that war was being fought.”...
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...will remember September the 11th as the day their recokoning began.'' Bush spoke to members of Congress, top administration officials and relatives of some 300 victims who were there to commemorate the day six months ago that New York's World Trade Center, and the Pentagon just outside Washington, were attacked. Also present were more than 100 ambassadors, some of whom publicly restated solidarity with Bush's fight against terrorism. Jibril Aminu, Nigerian ambassador to the United States, told Bush, ``Even as you are doing what has to be done on the war front, ... it is reassuring that you are also sensitive to the need to move on, so the unpleasant past will not be allowed to oppress and retard the future.'' Sung Chul Yang, Korean ambassador to the United States, recalled how the United States defended South Korea against communist aggression. Americans lost 33,746 of their sons and daughters in the Korean War, he said. ``As we then fought side by side and...
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...When Taliban first came to the Afghanistan, people believed that they were heroes. Rahim Khan tells Amir: “When the Taliban rolled in and kicked the Alliance out of Kabul, I actually danced on that street. And, believe me, I wasn’t alone. People were celebrating at Chaman, at Deh-Mazang, greeting the Taliban in the streets, climbing their tanks and posing for pictures with them. People were so tired of the constant fighting, tired of the rockets, the gunfire, the explosions…”(p 200). People had hope that after tiring war with the Soviets, the life finally will get better. But as it turned out Taliban were cruel and not only didn’t improve the situation, but made it even worse: “In Kabul, fear is everywhere, in the streets, in the stadium,...
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...Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan A Case Study of Adaption Battle Randle, Eric J SSG SLC 25B40 Class 005-18 Abstract During Operation Anaconda MG Hagenbeck the Coalition Joint Task Force (CJTF) was able to interact with different military branches to accomplish the mission at hand. The CJTF was giving very little intelligence and information about Shahikot Valley in Afghanistan. They were giving less equipment and personnel that was not properly trained on the mission at hand. This was the first time that different DOD branches and local Afghan Troops were combined into one Coalition Joint Task Forces (CJTF). During Operation Anaconda many objectives were not met due to their inexperience and the lack of training with other Department of Defense (DOD) branches and Afghan Troops. The Coalition forces were able to adapt to the mission to accomplish the objective and learn from the overall mission failures and success. This lead to Coalition Forces to be able to be better prepared and organized for...
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...Torture For the Better The War on Terror began on September 11th, 2001, with the terrorist attack now simply referred to as 9/11. Not only have American soldiers captured countless Islamic terrorists since, but also a leader, Saddam Hussein. By battling with Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States (U.S.) has captured thousands of prisoners with the potential knowledge of upcoming terror attacks. These prisoners have been notoriously known for their intelligence of Al Qaeda operations, and the location of terrorist headquarters. When a capture is publicized, terrorists have the ability to quickly change locations and communication methods. Therefore, the intelligence available from the prisoners is only good for a short period of time. To gather the information while it is useful, should Americans be provided leniency in torturing these prisoners? To prevent future terrorism, should we be able to implement the torture that has been used by some terrorists themselves? In truth, America already has. Several doctors working for the U.S. Military violated the “ethical codes” of their profession. After a thorough investigation, it has been concluded that after 9/11, health professionals who worked with the military “designed and participated in cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment and torture of detainees,” (Boseley, 1). The only question now is: were these actions justified? Torture has been defined in U.S. courts as anything that “shocks the conscience,” (“The Debate” 4). In...
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...Russians in Afghanistan Have you ever heard about russians in Afghanistan it was apart of the cold war, and it also lead to terrorist attacks in America. Afghanistan has been in the news for awhile, but do you know what happened to start the war in the first place? In 1979 the Soviet Union sent troops to Afghanistan. Took them a decade to take over the government. After they took over the american european allies wanted the Soviet Union to leave Afghanistan. Five years earlier the prime minister launched a successful coup against king Zahir. Thousands of muslim leaders joined the Mujahideen which is a guerilla task force. The group wanted to take over the Amin government, but later the Mujahideen declared Jihad a holy war. The Soviet Union said they were their to support the Amin government, and they also said the Mujahideen were terrorist (Trueman). In 1979, December 27th...
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