By Tom Vrabel
We often hear in American political rhetoric that the war in Iraq is unjust, but that Afghanistan is the “good war”. It is important that we, as a nation, become aware that this is a false claim and that the War in Afghanistan has detrimental effects on Afghan civilian populations. It is not worth American tax-payer’s dollars and is threatening our safety as a nation. We should move towards a timetable for withdrawal of troops and reject the recent request to increase troops by 40,000.
Although it may seem tempting to send more troops to the region in an attempt to stabilize it, this would not improve the situation. Afghanistan has a history of resisting foreign occupiers. During the Soviet-Afghan war the Soviets deployed nearly 500,000 troops into Afghanistan. After ten years of a bloody war the Soviets were forced to withdraw troops. This reinforces the idea that we cannot solve the problem in Afghanistan through military means. Afghanistan has gained the nickname “The graveyard of empires” for a reason; over its history it has shown that it cannot be conquered by force. We must not go wrong where the Soviets did in the twentieth century, or where the British did in the nineteenth century.
It is at this crucial time in history that our policy on Afghanistan should be reconsidered, and we must realize that this war only empowers the Taliban. The Taliban gets considerable membership from people who have seen their houses bombed or friends die in the war. If one of America's major concerns is to dismantle the Taliban, then we cannot forget how the Taliban gained power in the mid 1990’s, by promising to end the violent power struggle between the U.S-funded Mujahedeen and other warlords. The same thing is happening now in the eastern region of Afghanistan, and is spreading all across the nation.
According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “The mere presence of foreign soldiers fighting a war in Afghanistan is probably the single most important factor in the resurgence of the Taliban”. The United States support in Afghanistan is being hindered severely by the occupation. In fact, according to a poll done by ABC News in 2005 83% of Afghans had a favorable view of America but by 2009 this number has slipped to 47%.
According to a U.S. military intelligence report, there are currently less than 100 members of Al-Qaida left in Afghanistan. It is noteworthy that there is a difference between the Taliban and Al-Qaida, contrary to popular belief. The Taliban is a nationalist organization that has little interest in international terrorism; this is far different than Al-Qaida. As Al-Qaida has been defeated in Afghanistan they have moved over across the border, into Pakistan. This is a serious problem as a stable Pakistan is in the interest of the United States and the rest of the world. Pakistan is a nation with about 100 nuclear weapons. The unintentional consequences of stabilizing Afghanistan are destabilizing Pakistan. According to Stephen Kinzer, commentator in the film, Rethink Afghanistan:
“Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world, it’s nuclear armed, and it’s highly unstable. The break up of that country and the emergence of a nuclear-armed Pashtunistan controlled by Al-Qaida would be the worst nightmare America could imagine. Therefore it should be engraved on every American diplomat: Do nothing that will further destabilize Pakistan”
There is a notion that women's rights in Afghanistan are improving because of the American occupation. Although there have been improvements in the Afghan constitution, and some female representatives have been elected to the Afghan parliament, the conditions for the average woman have stayed the same or even gotten worse.
Under former warlords who are now the ones in control of the Afghan government, women are now subjected to similar conditions that occurred under the rule of the Taliban, but are also victims living in a warzone. The majority of civilian casualties have been women. According to UNICEF, "Gender-based inequality is often exacerbated during situations of extreme violence such as armed conflict."
A new law that has been dubbed the "rape law" by the international community allows husbands to rape their wives with minimal repercussions. The law also puts restrictions on whether or not a woman can leave the house without her husband's consent. This is a grim example of how the occupation has allowed for the degradation of women's rights.
As America enters the debate on health care reform we need to also reconsider how we spend our money. According to the National Priorities Project, the United States is spending over 60 billion dollars in 2009 alone. As the number of troops increases, so will the amount of money we spend in Afghanistan. According to the same report the US could have spent this money to provide 23.5 million children in a “Head Start” program, or 50 million people could have been provided with health care for a year.
October of 2009 was the deadliest month in Afghanistan since the war started. Now is the time to end this war. I encourage everyone to call their representatives in congress and urge them introduce companion legislation to Representative McGovern's H.R. 2404, which calls for a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan by December 31, 2009. The occupation must end now, not just for the U.S. but for the sake of global security as well.
Tom Vrabel is Vice President of Buffalo State College Students for Peace
