The War in Afghanistan is the longest in US history and the most expensive, at $1 million per soldier and over $100 billion annually. There have been over 2,300 US and coalition casualties, and tens of thousands of Afghan civilian deaths. Nearly 600 US troops are wounded every month. So it comes as little surprise that opposition to the war is growing: 51 percent of Americans now think the US should not be involved in Afghanistan; a stunning 72 percent—including 61 percent of Republicans—favor Congressional action this year to speed up the withdrawal of troops.
And now, the main justification articulated for
continuing the war—to prevent the Taliban from establishing a safe haven for Al
Qaeda—is once again undermined by a just-released report from NYU’s Center on
International Cooperation. According to the New York Times, the report
concludes, “The Afghan Taliban have been wrongly perceived as close ideological
allies of Al Qaeda, and they could be persuaded to renounce the global
terrorist group.”
The authors—Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix
Kuehn—are researchers and writers based in Kandahar. They have worked in
Afghanistan since 2006, focusing on the Taliban insurgency and the history of
southern Afghanistan over the past four decades.
The authors argue that “the Taliban and al-Qaeda remain
distinct groups with different goals, ideologies, and sources of recruits;
there was considerable friction between them before September 11, 2001, and
today that friction persists.” One key difference between the groups is that
“the leaders of the Afghan Taliban do not see themselves in a conflict that
extends beyond the borders of Afghanistan….Calls to jihad have been limited to
assets or troops within Afghanistan.”
But the report cautions that current US policy in
Afghanistan—especially night raids and attempts to fragment the Taliban—are
inadvertently creating opportunities for Al Qaeda by making the Taliban younger
and more radicalized.
A wiser policy, according to the report, would be to
engage older Taliban leaders and pursue a negotiated settlement: “Many Taliban
leaders of the older generation are still potential partners for a negotiated
settlement. They are not implacably opposed to the US or the West in general
but to specific actions or policies in Afghanistan….They are not seeking a
return to the failed interactions between the Taliban and the international
community of the 1990s. At present they still represent the movement.”
But without such a change in course, a war that seems
increasingly without purpose continues to rage.
For a closer look at what soldiers are experiencing right now—the sheer
madness of what is being asked of them and the costs to Afghans as well—take
thirty minutes to check out this extraordinary episode of BBC’s Panorama: “The
Battle for Bomb Alley.”
Watch what the US 3rd Battalion 5th Marines “Lima
Company” experiences as they attempt to move by foot just 900 meters over 3
days on Pharmacy Road. The road is described by some as “the most lethal in the
world,” riddled with IEDs. It was cleared by the British only 14 months ago—one
soldier cleared 31 IEDs in a single day only to be killed a few days later doing
the same thing—and now US troops have returned to do it again.
They attempt to avoid the IEDs by blasting through
buildings along a route parallel to Pharmacy Road. Most of the buildings aren’t
abandoned, and translators attempt to communicate to Afghans how they can be
compensated for their homes. One Marine gives a man cash as his home is
demolished.
“You won’t see this in any hearts and minds manual,” says
reporter Ben Anderson.
“Most people in the world probably wouldn’t understand,”
says the Commanding Officer, Captain Matt Peterson, “you’re trying to build a
country up by destroying it. But those are people who’ve not been to
Afghanistan.”
The Marines try to stick to rooftops where possible
because the IEDs are less prevalent. But they find them there too.
Lance Corporal Blake Hancock, 21 years old, describes his
experiences with IEDs. “I hate going into alleyways, choke points,
intersections. Most every intersection we’ve either found IEDs or been hit by
IEDs. Pretty much scares the crap out of
you. With IEDs it’s all luck. I’ve
been really lucky I haven’t stepped on one.”
Watch the documentary, and then forward the link to your
friends and family as well. If you were silent in your opposition to the war
before you probably won’t be anymore.