# data[].attributes.body
US soldiers fire artillery in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in June 2011. Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in October 2001 to stop the Taliban regime from providing a safe haven to al Qaeda and to stop al Qaeda's use of Afghanistan as a base of operations for terrorist activities

# data[].attributes.body
An Iconic image from the Afghan war

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Afghanistan - A war of deception | Vantage Point

# data[].attributes.body
Use the term identification standards for your introduction: Who, What, When, Where, How, & Why it is important (Thesis). Be sure to identify the type of conflict occurring and the core concerns related to it.

# data[].attributes.body
The Afghanistan War lasted from Oct 7, 2001 - Aug 30, 2021. It was a war between the Taliban, which is a political and religious power that believes in the strict interpretation and implementation of Islamic law as they want to create an Islamic state. They came into power after the USSR withdrew and the communist government of Afghanistan collapsed. A group of religious students from the south formed the Taliban and took control of the government.(Nicols, 2023. para.1) The Northern Alliance (an anti-Taliban group) is fighting alongside NATO. As they were fighting in Afghanistan they mostly fought in major cities like Kabul, Masari, Ahrif, and Kandahar as those areas are where the Taliban occupied. This war started due to the United States going to Afghanistan in 2001 to wage a necessary war of self-defense. As of September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC. This attack killed close to three thousand people, the base for al-Qaeda is in Afghanistan but the 19 hijackers are not Afghan nationals. President Bush called on the Taliban regime to ‘deliver to the United States authorities all the leaders of al-Qaeda who hide in your land’ or share in their fate. (Timeline the U.S. War in Afghanistan, para.3). As the Taliban did not deliver all the leaders of al-Qaeda on Oct 7, 2001, the U.S. military with British support, began a bombing campaign against Taliban forces, officially launching Operation Enduring Freedom. Beginning a long 10-year war against the Taliban, America and its allies in Afghanistan.

The war in Afghanistan is very important because it is America’s longest war as it was 19 years and 10 months. During the duration of the war, the U.S. government spent 2.3 trillion dollars, and the war led to the deaths of 2,324 U.S. military personnel, 3,917 U.S. contractors, and 1,144 allied troops.  (Bateman, 2022. para.1)

# data[].attributes.body
Why should American citizens be aware of this conflict? What are your future predictions for the conflict?

# data[].attributes.body
I think that American citizens should be aware of this conflict because it is one of the longest wars that America has been a part of, they also need to know that America didn’t win this war. America knew that they couldn’t win and withdrew their soldiers slowly allowing the Taliban to take control of Afghanistan. After doing further research on this topic I do think that in the future the Taliban will get stronger and possibly want revenge. As Americans withdrew their soldiers they left behind their weapons allowing the Taliban to take over Afghanistan and causing more conflict in the world. One NBC news article, states,” Weapons left behind by U.S. forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan are surfacing in another conflict, further arming militants in the disputed South Asian region of Kashmir in what experts say could be just the start of the weapons’ global journey.” (Kathju, 2023, para.1) As the Taliban has got their hands on more powerful weapons they might be able to produce the same weapons producing more causing a huge problem not only for the citizens in Afghanistan but their enemies in neighboring countries.

# data[].attributes.body
What role (if any) should the United States have in this conflict? Provide an overview of America’s role AND take a stance. What do you think America’s role should be in the conflict?

# data[].attributes.body
During the war in Afghanistan, the United States played a huge part in this conflict as they invaded Afghanistan first due to a necessary war of self-defense, after the attack on 9/11 President George W. Bush announced a comprehensive plan to seek out and stop terrorists around the world. The war in Afghanistan was a part of the Global War on Terror or the “GWOT.” Still, the term was also used to describe diplomatic, financial, and other actions taken to deny financing or safe harbor to terrorists. Coalition partners from around the world also participated in the GWOT. (George Bush Library. para. 1) Due to the GWOT America was able to fund the war allowing them to spend America was able to spend around $2 trillion on the war in Afghanistan.

I believe that America shouldn't have gone into Afghanistan, I understand that the war was due to self-defense but spending $2 trillion on a war that you didn’t/couldn’t win is crazy. The amount of people's lives that were lost in the war was too many for America not to win. The United States Institute of Peace states,” The American war in Afghanistan incurred staggering costs — for the United States, Afghans and others — over two decades. The U.S. government spent $2.3 trillion, and the war led to the deaths of 2,324 U.S. military personnel, 3,917 U.S. contractors, and 1,144 allied troops. For Afghans, the statistics are nearly unimaginable: 70,000 Afghan military and police deaths, 46,319 Afghan civilians (although that is likely a significant underestimation,) and some 53,000 opposition fighters killed. Almost 67,000 other people were killed in Pakistan in relation to the Afghan war.” (Bateman, 2022, para.1). Some soldiers and innocent civilians were killed, just for America to realize that they wouldn’t be able to win and leave Afghanistan and its civilians to the ruthless Taliban.