...Summer Assignment Part B- Military thwarted president seeking choice in Afghanistan Essay In his article entitled Military thwarted president seeking choice in Afghanistan, Bob Woodward depicts the decision making process President Obama endured when it came to military actions regarding the movement of additional troops into Afghanistan in 2009. Through his account of the events which occurred, the reader is offered great insight as to what the most important factors were to Obama as he made his decision concerning foreign policy in Afghanistan, his management style while dealing with this military matter, and the powers of the Commander...
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...In the mid 20th century, Afghanistan was going through a political crisis. It was divided into different ethnic groups with different ideologies, thus producing a disorganized and weak country. At 1979, the Soviet Union decide to support the socialist party for their own interest by sending thousands of troops to fight against the Afghan resistance; an anti-communism movement(Office of Historian) . This movement was called the mujahideen movement who are fighting against non-Muslims forces and they were heavily supported by the U.S, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, and Egypt(The Institute for the Study of War). As the conflict grew into a cold war, mujahideen was powered financially not only from the countries above, but also from Osama Bin Laden. He...
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...Introduction: Afghanistan has a history of a high degree of decentralization, and resistance to foreign invasion and occupation. Some have termed it the “graveyard of empires.” Afghanistan is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east. Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered brutal civil war in addition to foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the 2001 U.S. invasion. The strategic interests of the great powers of the day in Afghanistan pitched against the potential threat of terrorism, religious extremism, smuggling and drug trafficking substantiates the assertion that Afghan security situation has the potential to generate effects far beyond its borders. Afghanistan had experienced several coups since 1973, when the Afghan monarchy was overthrown by Daud Khan, who was sympathetic to Soviet overtures. Subsequent coups reflected struggles within Afghanistan among factions with different ideas about how Afghanistan should be governed and whether it should be communist, and with degrees warmth toward the Soviet Union. The Soviets intervened following the overthrow of a pro-communist leader. In late December 1979, after several months of evident military preparation, they invaded Afganistan. At that time, the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in the Cold War, a global competition for the fealty of other nations. The United States was, thus, deeply interested...
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...Afghanistan : The Reality Why US is failing in Afghanistan and what should be its response National Strategy. There are a numerous strategic errors committed by US in Afghanistan in the past and these errors are haunting them now. The strategic errors committed are difficult to undo. But , correcting them will be worse. It’s like leaving Saddam in power after the first Gulf war and then tried correcting it with Gulf War II...with worse results and losing all the goodwill and invincibility they had built after the first gulf war. The coalition forces were welcomed by Afghanis when Taliban was dismantled because they looked powerful, asserting and someone who could improve lives of normal Afghani. Today, things seem different. They look powerless, difficult and worse something which is making ordinary Afghani life more difficult than it was under Taliban. For coalition forces , If someone like Taliban can make them look like novice in war-fighting then they have to take a hard look at their national, operational and tactical strategy. I would like to start with what is AIM of coalition forces....is it making life of ordinary Afghani more prosperous and peaceful or ensuring security of US. These aims look different but actually they are co-terminus. One will lead to the other but start point has to be to develop Afghanistan and not the other way around which Secretary of State Hillary enunciated a few days back. If the strategy is making Afghanistan prosperous and peaceful...
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...Since 1996, the Taliban has created an environment of terror and disorder within the country of Afghanistan. Although terrorists within Afghanistan and of the Islam religion believe that they are justified in their actions, it is made clearly apparent that Terrorism must be stopped altogether. Terrorism is translated to mean ‘army in the shadows’ and is defined as the threat or use of violence to win certain rewards or goals (Dictionary.com, 2010). The earliest known Terrorist organization similar to those of today was the Zealots of Judea, formed when fanatics of the Jewish faith revolted against the of the Roman oppression. They carried on an underground campaign wherein they assassinated Roman occupation forces and Jews that they believed had collaborated with the Romans. However, the first time that the word ‘terrorism’ was used was during the French Revolution which is referred to as the ‘Reign of terror’. During this time the Jacobins who ruled with violence at that time, would sometimes refer to themselves as ‘terrorists’ (terrorism-research.com). Since then, there have been other leaders and people seeking power using terrorism as a weapon. These include the Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler, a man responsible for the murder of over 6 million people. The Taliban itself took control of Afghanistan in 1996 and were in power until 2001. During this time however, they were not accepted by the world’s community because their policies were considered...
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...POTUS" Introduction Barrack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America on January 20th, 2009. He is the first African American to take office and with his presidency he promised to make changes to America that would liberate the American people from crisis into a bright new beginning. In his Inauguration speech, he claimed to mend the financial crisis by stimulating jobs and laying a “new foundation for growth” (Naughton, “Inauguration speech”). He promised to rebuild the Nation’s foundations such as roads, bridges, electric grids, and digital lines, to revive the prosperity and importance of science, to increase the care and lower the cost of health care, to mend the threat of global warming, to enact peace with Afghanistan, to withdraw from Iraq, and to transform the educational system to meet the conditions of a new era (Naughton, “Inauguration speech”). Throughout his first year as president Obama has enacted many policies and regulations such as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Health Care Bill. However, has Obama stayed true to his original promises stated throughout his campaigns, in his Inauguration speech, as well as his first State of Union speech. Has Obamba’s first year been a success or a failure? This essay will explore the history of Obama’s ascend to presidency, his success and failures, and an overall evaluation of Obama’s first year in office. The Rise of Barrack Obama Obama was born on August 4, 1961...
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...Afghanistan Introduction: Chances are most of you have heard of this place. If you turned on your T.V. to watch the nightly news or maybe you opened up your internet browser before class, you likely saw something about it. Usually, the headline reads “explosion kills 10” or “more troops on the way”. That’s right, I’m talking about Afghanistan. To most of us Afghanistan is just a name on the news, a destination for our soldiers, or a terrorist haven, but I have had the unique opportunity to go there. While serving in the US army I deployed to Afghanistan in support of operation enduring freedom. I spent 12 months there gaining first hand knowledge of the country. For the next few minutes I am going to help you think of Afghanistan as more than just a current event. You will learn that Afghanistan is a place with a rich history, diverse population and unique geography. Geography Physical location: Contrary to popular belief among Americans, Afghanistan is not a Middle Eastern nation. Don’t feel bad if you were one of them. I didn’t know either until I was preparing to go there myself. Afghanistan is located in Central Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran, and south of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Ok so that’s a lot of "stans" you have likely never heard of. One country that you have all heard of that borders a portion of Afghanistan on the east side is China. Hard to think of Afghanistan as Middle Eastern if it shares a border with...
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...President George W. Bush President George Walker Bush felt the need to invade Afghanistan after a series of events that led to the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. He felt that the people responsible for the death of thousands of innocent Americans should be brought to justice, however, this was made difficult by the lack of co-operation by the Afghanistan government. The Taliban, who ran the majority of the country, thought the accused (Osama bin Laden) was innocent and would not hand him over to the American authorities without sufficient evidence. Bush decided it was necessary to bring this man to America so he may be punished for his crimes, so he placed orders for American troops to enter Afghanistan in pursuit of Osama bin Laden. The Taliban had little or no experience in running a government and it seemed as though they didn’t see this as a priority when they took power in 1996. They demonstrated extreme single-mindedness as they focused on the achievement of law and order under their interpretation of the Sharia law. Their only aim was to create the world’s purest Islamic state; we could see this through the way the Afghan people were treated, the strict laws imposed on women and the way “corrupting influences” (television, music and films) were banned. While the Taliban was governing Afghanistan, many laws were created that controlled all aspects of women’s public and private lives and severely restricted their freedom. Their access...
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...Research Paper: Final On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda, hijacked four American planes and executed pre-engineered terrorist attacks against various targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown directly into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane then hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, DC, and the fourth and final plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Now referred to as 9/11, the attacks resulted in extensive destruction, over 3000 merciless deaths in New York City and Washington, and triggered the driving force behind major US initiatives to combat terrorism. Also, may view this horrific event as a defining moment in the presidency of George W. Bush. The first strike was on the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Flight 11, a Boeing 747 carrying 76,000 pounds of jet fuel and 92 passengers, was overtaken by five Arabic passengers, that was later discovered to have worked directly with al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden to both plan and give life to this attack. At 7:40 am the flight departed from Boston as normal, the flight maintained its course for the first thirteen minutes. Following this, the crew was not acknowledging communications with the FAA. Several attempts were made to communicate with the crew but no reply was received, with the exception of the sound of static and was thought to be a scream. Connection was finally made at 8:18am to Cary, North Carolina...
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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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...from a genuine conviction of General John R. Allen remarking what he envisioned the Afghanistan war legacy to be: ‘‘Afghan forces defending Afghan people and enabling the government of this country to serve its citizens. This is victory, this is what winning looks like, and we should not shrink from using these words.’’ Directed by the award winning journalist Ben Anderson, you quickly realizse that the title is used with great irony revealing the trulye despondent state of the country, itsher corrupt leaders and the war battered civilians that were cast innocently into this mess. Upon Rresearch preparation ing for this review involved I watchinged several other pieces covering the battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The central purpose of those war-documentaries has usually been to give the viewers some sense of what a raw state of war feels like and the gritty situations in which that the soldiers are immersed. have to immerse themselves in. ‘This is what winning looks like’ has little of that, instead Anderson directs his gaze at the Afghan army and police who will ultimately be responsible for holding back the fort fromfrom the line against what the US sees as the scourge of the Taliban. This unique perspective which peers into the future displays the long-lasting effectiveness of terrorist organization of the Taliban’s capacity . With the official withdrawal of US and allied troops scheduled for late 2014, the time available to sand of time in the hourglass of establishing...
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...The growth of terrorism and the threats of Islamic extremism are rapidly increasing. The United States should become more involved in stopping the growing threats of ISIS by sending ground troops to annihilate those threats. More than half of Americans agree to the idea of getting closer to the fight (Chumley, “Americans Unite”). It is about time the US begins to do so. Currently, the US’ approach to defeat ISIS includes that of sending air strikes and is prohibited from leaving base. This approach is almost ineffective. The US has killed more than 6,000 ISIS fighters with only those air strikes, but unfortunately we are limited to them (Weisberger, “Allies Reviewing Bomb Stockpiles”). There can be much more effect by sending ground troops to fight. Aircrafts can drop bombs and kill but having people actually there increases the chances of capturing and interrogating high-level terrorists and gather the intelligence of those who have the potential to do the worst damage....
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...support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, Iraqi government human rights abuses and an effort to spread democracy to the country. Later after investigating it was concluded that Iraq had already ended its nuclear, chemical and biological programs in 1991 and had no active programs at the time of the invasion, but that they envisioned resuming activities if the Iraq sanctions were lifted. However, when public favored increasingly for the withdrawals of the troops from Iraq and as Iraqi forces started to take responsibility for security, member nations of the Coalition withdrew their forces. Later, the U.S. decided to completely withdraw military personnel from Iraq in December 2011. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US, the US military has been continuously intervening the internal affairs Afghanistan from 2001 until today to disassemble the al-Qaeda terrorist organization and to confiscate the Taliban government from power, which at the time was controlling Afghanistan and accommodated al-Qaeda leadership. When U.S. President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind 9/11 attack and expel the al-Qaeda network that was supporting the Taliban in its...
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...Democracy is a form of government or accord by society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges. Canada exhibits a democratic government that protects the interests and demands of minority groups, who are free from discrimination and their rights and privileges are valued equally to those of the majority. Through political, human and cilvil rights, social well-fare systems, and international relations, Canada has formed a strong governmental institution that fosters an inclusive democracy. Between 1945-2014, the Canadian identity transitioned to an inclusive democratic society defined by domestic social reforms and international commitments to the global community In the last seventy years, Canada developed lawful political, human and civil rights within the nation and in the global community. In May of 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organizations, to draw up the United Nations Charter. Canada participated in the San Francisco conferences as a founding member of the Unite Nations. The Charter strived for collective security to avoid war, to develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international co-operation in solving international problems and promoting and encouraging respect for human and civil rights. Canada’s participation in the United Nations was instrumental in a global reputation of humanitarian contributions. Canada’s dedication to fundamental human rights internationally...
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