...U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Effects The United States has been engaging in war against terrorism in Afghanistan for many years now. The war has affected Afghanistan’s relationships with other nations in the Middle East. The long-term war in Afghanistan has also affected the United States’ financial system negatively. As a result, the country announced the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan in 2012. Afghanistan is worried about America’s decisions to withdraw due to the fact that it foresees many attacks from Afghanistan militants such as the at large group, the Haqqani network. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan will negatively impact the country’s security. The withdrawal of the US from will weaken the Afghanistan...
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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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...Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan The Invasion of Afghanistan marked the beginning one of the darkest decades in Soviet political action. One of the most decisive event in the latter half of the Cold War, it raised tensions once again and put the two superpowers butting heads once again. A 10 year war that pitted the Soviets against the Mujahedeen backed by many western and fellow Arab nations. Countries had different reasons to support the fight against the Soviets such as the Americans who saw it as another Cold War struggle, to Egypt and other fellow Muslim nations it was to assist a fellow Muslim population fight back against the atheist invaders. This invasion of Afghanistan was met with a worldwide outcry for the USSR to immediately pull out and stop the fighting. The Soviet equivalent of Vietnam, this was a conflict that they realized was unwinnable far too late into the endeavor. This event brought the world to the end of Détente and created high tensions through much of the 1980’s. When the Soviet paratroopers landed over Kabul on Christmas of 1979 the time for current Prime Minister Hazifullah Amin was quickly running out. He was a very unpopular leader with many ideals that did line up with Moscow, however they decided that his time leading the nation was up. On December 27th Soviet troops stormed his palace and murdered him with most of his family. He was almost immediately replaced by Babrak Kamal, a politician who depended very heavily on the Soviet forces to stay...
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...Terrorism of 21st Century Sabeena Singh DeVry University April 20, 2014 "Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, and -- huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong." George W. Bush Addressing the Nation on September 11, 2001. (Intellectual Takeout , 2014) During the 1990s, the end of the cold war led to an entirely new global security environment, marked by a focus on internal rather than inter-state wars. In the early 21st century, new global threats emerged. The attacks of 11 September 2001 on the United States clearly demonstrated the challenge of international terrorism, while subsequent events heightened concern about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the dangers from other non-conventional weapons. The organizations of the UN system mobilized immediately in their respective spheres to step up action...
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...Romney for his choice of speech. Fox news reported, “Romney spent the day before his convention speech visiting the American Legion conference in Indianapolis, where he talked exclusively about national security and America’s veterans. President Obama, by contrast, addressed that conference in the form of a three-minute video aired at the conference site.” (News). It is said that President Obama refused the offer to visit and address the American Legion conference. The author further explained that even though Romney did not address the issue of war in his Republican Convention speech the majority of his speech at the American Legion was entirely focused on the “War on Terror”. Fox news reported, “Though Romney did not mention the war in Afghanistan on Thursday night, he focused on that issue, as well as the veterans who are returning home, in his American Legion speech.” The author of the...
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...Public opinion & Political socialization The democratic process encourages citizens to form opinions on a number of issues. They call upon voters to choose candidates in elections, to consider constitutional amendments, and to approve or reject municipal taxes and other legislative proposals. Almost any matter on which the executive or legislature has to decide may become a public issue if a significant number of people wish to make it one. In a democracy, the right of people to freely express their opinions is fundamental. Elected officials should consider public opinion when making decisions. The ways Americans express their opinions vary. They can write letters to newspapers, express, their ideas in online forums on Facebook, blogs and tweets. They vote and organize politically. In July 2011 during the debt crisis President Barak Obama and the republicans in the U.S. House Of Representatives realized how important public opinion was. Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of adult population without public opinion on certain issues, how would we know the wants and needs the public want? Political scientists have not been as concerned with what part the public opinion should play in a democratic polity and have given more attention to establishing what part it does play in actuality. With the examination of many histories of policy formation, it’s been said that no sweeping generalization can be made that will hold...
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...democratic governments, however, citizens have the power to influence their politicians, and it is necessary for those politicians to garner the support of their public by making the case of why it is necessary to engage in an international conflict. Once the decision to go to war has been made, it is important to maintain public support. Currently, the United States has been engaged in two lengthy wars with Afghanistan and Iraq. The war in Afghanistan is presently in its tenth year, and the war in Iraq has been going on for nearly eight years. At the start of both wars, public support for them was extremely high with 80 percent to 90 percent of people supporting military action in Afghanistan according to a Gallup poll taken in November 2001, and a Pew Research Center poll conducted in April 2003 showed around 74 percent of people favored the invasion of Iraq. However, as these wars have dragged on, support for them has drastically diminished. The latest poll conducted by CNN/ORC in November 2011 shows that only 35 percent of the public supports the war in Afghanistan and 29 percent supports the war in Iraq. The question has been raised: how does the American public come to support or oppose the decision of its government to engage in military conflict? This question was first presented by John Mueller (1971) when he took on the task of analyzing public opinion in relation to how the American public came to support or oppose military conflict through analysis of public opinion...
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...Jennifer Lopez Dr. Mac Fiddner PLSC 101-005 30 January 2014 State of the Union Address In President Obama’s State of the Union Address on January 28, 2014 he mentioned many important details about America’s interaction with the rest of the world. One major point he focused on was America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the beginning of Obamas presidency, there were 180,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, all troops are out of Iraq and 60,000 troops have come home from Afghanistan. Afghan forces are now leading in their own security. The United States is now supporting a unified Afghanistan as it takes responsibility for its own future. The United States has been working to defeat al Qaeda’s leadership, al Qaeda affiliates and other extremists are now taking root in different parts of the world. In Yemen Somalia, Iraq and Mali America must work with partners to disrupt and disable terrorist networks. And in Syria America supports the opposition that rejects the agenda of terrorist networks. The United States will only fight in battles that are necessary to be fought, not the battles that terrorists want us to fight. The United States will not feed into extremism. America will counter terrorism not just by intelligence and military action but by standing by its constitutional ideas and setting an example for the rest of the world. America has rallied over 50 countries to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands. That is why Syria’s chemical...
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...Syrian President Bashar Assad warned against Western intervention in his country's 7-month-old uprising, saying such action would trigger an "earthquake" that "would burn the whole region." Assad comments were made against a backdrop of growing calls from anti-regime protesters for a no-fly zone over Syria and increasingly frequent clashes between government troops and army deserters, the most recent of which left at least 30 troops dead Saturday. I still think Western intervention will be appropriate if civilians continue to be hurt in the region. Syria has gone through drastic changes recently. The Arab League foreign ministers meeting approved sanctions against Syria on Nov. 27, the US Navy has dispatched an aircraft carrier for Syrian coastal waters, and the United States, Turkey and other countries have started evacuating nationals from Syria. These concerns have become the focus of world attention. Western intervention in the Syrian situation is a strategic consideration that has to do with reshaping the regional order, while the intensity of intervention mainly depends on the development and evolution of the state of affairs. The Western countries, represented by the United States, have increasingly intensified regional intervention to avoid becoming the biggest loser in the wave of the Middle East, and taken different treatments and multiple standards among the Middle Eastern countries according to their needs. The situations inside and outside Syria have undergone...
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... Was Kunduz a War Crime? In the early hours of October 3, 2015, an Afghan hospital, run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Kunduz, Afghanistan was repeatedly attacked, bombed and obliterated by an American airship which left 30 people dead, including 13 MSF staff. In their Internal Report, MSF has stated that the attack was not only premeditated but targeted. Per their protocol, they were weapons free and were in constant contact with Afghan and U.S. military groups and had recently sent the GPS coordinates as to their location. Communications prior to the airstrike were that all was calm within the hospital compound. Yet the U.S. Airship that bombed the hospital believed it was a Taliban headquarters and was being used as a human shield. How could there be such a miscommunication? MSF believes that the air strikes were an aggressive violation of the International Humanitarian Laws and the Geneva Conventions. To date there are ongoing NATO, US Military and Afghan Military investigations. MSF ultimately claims this was a war crime committed by the United States of America, and is asking President Obama for an independent impartial investigation conducted by the International Humanitarian Fact Finding Commission. Who is Medecins Sans Frontieres and what were they doing in Kunduz, Afghanistan? Why was there fighting going on between the Afghan Army and the Taliban? And, what role does the United States Military play in this horrible incident? These...
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...In the past decades, Social Security Administration has had annual revenue that excesses the amount it pays to beneficiaries. However, U.S. economy situation has created a long-term effect in many of the public organizations and departments. Social Security Administration is one of many departments that will face some economy issues during U.S. economy recovery. Social security will post nearly $600 billion in deficits over the next decade as the economy struggles to recover and millions of baby boomers stand at the brink of retirement, according to new congressional projections, (Ohlemancher, 2011). The funds that Social Security has save to payout their beneficiaries have an expiration date. In the upcoming years more people will be eligible for retirement, however, many of them will only be pay 78 percent of their benefits, (Ohlemancher, 2011). The government needs to find solutions for the upcoming deficits and be able to help Social Security Administration to no run out of funds. Issues In 2011, Social security administration will collect about 4.6 million retirement, survivor, and Medicare claims. 3.3 million Social Security and SSI claims and 326,000 SSI aged claims, (Social Security, 2011). These claims have to go to procedures that can take months to be approval. During these procedures, many more applicants are eligible to apply for social security and more money is pay to beneficiaries. In 2011, social security will collect $45 million less in payroll that it pays...
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...operational power, but the war continued, as U.S. and coalition forces attempted to defeat a Taliban insurgency campaign based in neighboring Pakistan. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, with a final withdrawal of U.S. forces tentatively scheduled for...
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...Converting Afghanistan into a democracy should be a major priority of the United States for many reason, one being, it would open up trade with the country. Democratic states tend to be more open to trade, trade to a greater extent, and have less trade barriers. This is because democratically elected leaders open up trade as it benefits the people they govern, which boosts their popularity1. Afghanistan is one of the wealthiest countries when natural resources are considered. Recently, large veins of valuable minerals such as copper, iron, and gold have been discovered across the country. It is estimated that Afghanistan also sits on nearly 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves2. Afghanistan also supplies the world with nearly 90 percent of all opium supplies which is used to create painkillers and heroin for medical purposes3. The wealth of Afghanistan is important to the United States as 12 percent of US natural gas reserves are imported and consumption of natural gas in the US is expected to increase by 11 percent by the year 20304. The United States imports 100 percent of 18 select minerals such as aluminum and magnesium, and imports 50 percent of 41 other minerals such as cobalt and copper5. If the United States managed to convert Afghanistan into a democracy, it would allow them to reap the benefits of their abundance of resources6. The attacks on US soil on 9/11 were conducted by a terror group known as al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is one of the more dominant terrorist...
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...January 27, 2010 War on Afghanistan We are all humans, and as other creatures we are imperfect and full of sin. We might have wrong thoughts, unique beliefs, or even dour doctrines. However, all these features shouldn’t drag us to be authoritarians under any circumstance. These words precisely illustrate the situation that was ongoing in Afghanistan under the rule of Taliban government. I tended to think that killing cannot be justified in defense of the innocent against unjust attack, whether the victim deserves it or not. But that right is not absolute; someone can forfeit that right if they willfully threaten or taken the lives of innocent people. Therefore, the American involvement in Afghanistan was fair and justified in order to bring the Afghan’s sorrow, tyranny, and violation of rights to an end. Historically, the country of Afghanistan was devastated by the successive wars. The people were exhausted from the consecutive occupations and tyranny. As a result, it summed in an enormous human and economic toll. After the Soviet withdrawal, the government steadily lost ground to the extremist forces. In early 1992, Kabul was captured, and Al-Qaeda militia men set up a new government consisting of a 50-member ruling council. The new brutal government started imposing their extremist, strict beliefs on people. They used radio broadcasts to coerce residents into adhering to their strict edicts. The extremists spread fear and despair among the Afghans by their brutal...
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...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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