Military Involvement In Afghanistan
This war has caused a great deal of debate throughout the many years that is has been actively engaged in. Both sides say they have the weight of evidence on their side. Some say we should have pulled out years ago and that we have no business being over there at all. Others say we have an obligation to stay and help the people achieve a better way of life. For or against, there are two sizes to the debate over military involvement in Afghanistan.
The Obama administration’s plan for withdrawing from Afghan is very similar to the plan he had for pulling out of Iraq. The basis for pulling out is that so long as the new government is not on the brink of collapse it is fine to pull out and let the new government run its course and hold its own. Right now things seem to be holding fairly steady, but the fear is that once the military pulls out things could quickly collapse. Many supporters of the war say we should be there to help stamp out dictators and give people the human rights that they deserve. There is also the fear that if we pull out too soon the small remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaida could quickly spring back up and take over again. So some argue that we should stay and at the very least maintain a s mall force in the area for a while still to come.
On the flip side is the argument that we have in a way done more harm than good or at the very least just exchanged one problem for another. The region was known to be comprised of many different ethnic groups. Once the Taliban was removed and control given to the people, they now face a new challenge they have never been prepared for- all of these people groups, who have never come together, have to unite and form a political order and government. Our invasions caused many new problems for the people there that were life-altering, and we could have foreseen it if we had taken the time to look before we sprang into action. And this is not even considering the thousands of innocent lives lost during the war and our occupation. There are many who say we need to pull out and should have done so long ago!
Regardless of what side of the debate you are on, there is evidence and support for both sides. Some argue we should remain a bit longer and that we have a moral obligation as a world power to help those in need. Others say we should have never been in Afghanistan at all. There seems to be no clear decision and the debate, for now, still rages on.