Why is there a war in Afghanistan?

November 6, 2008 5:13 AM

Why is the United States fighting in Afghanistan? What are they protecting?

I'm reading the news and I'm not understanding why the US is in Afghanistan at all. Please explain to my why there is a war being fought there. Is it so women can reveal their faces from under burkas or is there something else going on that I need to be made aware of?

posted by watercarrier to Law & Government (18 answers total)

Even a small amount of research could answer this pretty easily. Start with this article from the LA Times yesterday. Also, this smells like RantFilter.
posted by nitsuj at 5:19 AM on November 6, 2008

There's a pretty decent primer on Wikipedia if you need the basics. Are you really just getting around to hearing about this now?
posted by bcwinters at 5:22 AM on November 6, 2008

They are protecting your freedom.
posted by caddis at 5:53 AM on November 6, 2008

It isn't what they are protecting, it is what they trying to get rid of. Although the precepts of the Iraq invasion were entirely baseless, the Afghan invasion had some merit. I assume you have heard of the Taliban and the training camps they gave terrorists who were responsible for 9/11?
posted by JJ86 at 6:09 AM on November 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Also read up on how Afghanistan got to be the way it is now - specifically how the US supported Afghan troops in the war against the Soviet Union, which became essentially the same to them as Vietnam was to us (a long, costly, and ultimately disastrous war). The fight is one of the contributing factors that bankrupted the Soviet Union, helping to bring the Cold War to a close - as glorified in the recent Tom Hanks movie "Charlie Wilson's War" - but it also left Afghanistan destroyed, open to takeover by religious zealots, many of whom had been trained in warfare by the US.

In many ways we're in Afghanistan because some of our chickens came home to roost, and once again we find ourselves spending a lot of time, money and lives trying to clean up a mess we made a long time ago.

Also, since nobody else said it yet, and it seems dumbfoundingly obvious to anyone who has been paying attention to anything at all domestically or internationally over the last 7 years, THAT'S WHERE OSAMA BIN LADEN WAS HIDING AFTER THE 9/11 ATTACKS. Our misguided President spent most of the last 5 years focusing on Iraq, basically ignored Afghanistan after running the Taliban into hiding, and oh surprise with us not paying them any attention they came back. If you really didn't know this, may I suggest watching news somewhere other than Fox. The BBC for example still reports the actual news, instead of propaganda.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Is it so women can reveal their faces from under burkas or is there something else going on that I need to be made aware of?

The American people needed blood after 9/11, so Afghanistan was invaded. Al Qaeda's operations were disrupted and the Taliban who had ruled the country were deposed. The remnants of Al Qaeda are now in Pakistan and the Taliban are trying to retake the country.

If you mean, what might a victory in Afghanistan look like? Maybe it would be a stable state with no meaningful guerilla violence, and be suitable for pipeline transit and strategic American power projection. This is possible but will probably require a negotiated settlement with the Taliban (politically impossible in the United States).

If the goal is instead to introduce feminism to the Afghan population - not just in the cities where the Soviets did it - and to make it into a liberal democracy, then it will never happen.
posted by atrazine at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2008

Response by poster: I'm just getting to this now because of the disturbing news coming out of there regarding civilian deaths - and there is no known apparent reason for the war.
posted by watercarrier at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2008

"I'm just getting to this now because of the disturbing news coming out of there regarding civilian deaths - and there is no known apparent reason for the war."

Except that there is. The folks who did 9/11 were connected to the Taliban and Al Qaida, who were based in Afganistan. Afganistan couldn't get rid of them, so we went in to take out the people who attacked us.
posted by gjc at 6:26 AM on November 6, 2008 [2 favorites]

In addition to, perhaps above and beyond everything else:

UNOCAL
CentGas

To see it the way global oil interests do- Afghanistan's in the way.
posted by mkultra at 6:47 AM on November 6, 2008

Act 1, Scene 1 - The US supported the "Freedom Fighters" in Afghanistan.
Act 1, Scene 2 - OK, Soviets out. US pats self on back.
Act 1, Scene 3 - The Taliban, like every other religious fundamentalist government, begins oppressing the ever living fuck out of the locals. Think Myanmar only with less state run media and more brutal executions.
Act 1, Scene 4 - Like many other militant groups, the "Freedom Fighters" described above decide what they're really into is being violent and xenophobic. (Poke around the web for cases of IRA and Orangmen militants who couldn't deal with a peaceful Ireland and took jobs wacking folks in more troubled parts of the world.)

Cliff Notes for act 1: The enemy of my enemy is not my friend.

Act 2, Scene 1 - Assorted acts of terrorism directed against the US (Cole bombing, embassy bombings, et al.) and others (attempted assassination of President Mubarak in Egypt for example). Sudan expels Bin Laden so he goes back to Afghanistan.
Act 2, Scene 2 - Clinton tries to take out Bin Laden with cruise missiles. Republicans scream "wag the dog".
Act 2, Scene 3 - Bush gets elected. Sept. 11th. Afghanistan immediately says, "Hey, not us!", are asked to hand over Bin Laden, say, "Hey, we took away his cell phone, what more do you want."

Act 3, Scene 1 - US invades. Many locals seem somewhat pleased. Taliban folds unbelievably fast given their tenacity vs the Soviets.
Act 3, Scene 2 - Bush, with the cool, calculating hand of a crack baby decides nobody can find Afghanistan on a map, so invades Iraq too. Promptly forgets Afghanistan.
Act 3, Scene 3 - Taliban recovering. Military discovers that it's hard to fight an enemy that looks just like the civilians. Bush pushed for invasion of Iran.
Act 3, Scene 4 - Taliban starts retaking control of bits of Afghanistan. Bush says, "OMG Iran will have nukes any day now!" Rinse. Repeat. The US Army starts saying things that sound a lot like Kerrigan's dialog at the end of the last Terran mission in Star Craft. Bush vaguely notices he's used up all his Vespene gas making battle cruisers and wraiths and that what he really needs are siege tanks.

Act 4 - ?
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2008 [9 favorites]

Also worth noting that the US was roundly blamed for giving up on Afghanistan after the Soviets pulled out... allowing the Taliban to rise... which created a safe haven for 9/11.

Now the Taliban is resurgent, and the US is fighting to protect the fledgling Afghan government, to keep an allied government in the region and protect US security interests.
posted by BobbyVan at 7:12 AM on November 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

We are fighting in Afghanistan to capture and/or kill those who were responsible for attacking us on September 11, 2001, as well as those who offered them aid or support.

Thousands of innocent, dead American citizens is our reason.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 7:53 AM on November 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

There is a very interesting and very recent (footage from the last couple weeks) Frontline show on Afghanistan called "The War Briefing". I highly recommend this episode, even for those that are already well versed in the subject.
posted by sharkfu at 8:21 AM on November 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

- and there is no known apparent reason for the war

Are you serious? The Taliban ran the country and gave refuge to Al Qaeda who attacked the United States. Why are we still there? That might be a valid question but if you don't really know why this war started then you are really ignorant. I think rather that this question was just a joke on your part. The whole thread should just be deleted.
posted by caddis at 8:25 AM on November 6, 2008 [5 favorites]

Paul Rogers, Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University, writes on international security at openDemocracy and has been analysing the Afghan war inter alia for many years.
posted by Abiezer at 8:36 AM on November 6, 2008

As explained above (and very easily Googlable), there were good reasons to invade Afghanistan after they attacked us (oh, sorry: after they directly helped al Qaeda, who weren't technically part of the Afghan government but might as well have been, attack us). And once you invade, there must be some moral obligation to stay around and make sure the country doesn't fall apart or go to hell as the result of your actions.

Also, as the country that harbored al Qaeda, and considering that the Taliban is still around and that things generally aren't going well in Afghanistan, there are pretty straightforward national security reasons (in addition to the moral ones) for us to stay involved even years after 9/11.

Now, it's fine to argue the other way and say the cost-benefit analysis still favors just up and leaving, but you're asking about the argument in favor of staying, so there you go.
posted by Jaltcoh at 9:09 AM on November 6, 2008

and there is no known apparent reason for the war.

Yeah this is the part where I flagged your question as well. That is an incredibly, and I mean INCREDIBLY callous and thick-headed thing to say.

I don't care that you are "just getting to this now" (which is pretty inane in and of itself, what kind of giant rock have you been sleeping under anyway?).

I know of exactly 2,974 reasons for this fucking war. That's how many people died about a mile south of where I'm typing this, one clear, quiet Tuesday morning, at the hands of 19 Islamic fundamentalists who hated America enough to ruin the lives of 2,974 families.

2,974 reasons we are in Afganistan. Trying to prevent such murderous terrorism from ever happening again, here in NYC, in the US, or anywhere else in the world. I don't care what your race is, your nationality, your political affiliation, your position on Iraq, or your hate level for George W. Bush. We should be in Afganistan right now and we shouldn't leave until the last member of Al Queda is killed or captured. Its our responsibility to the world to be there doing what we are doing right now.

2,974 reasons this thread should be deleted.
posted by allkindsoftime at 9:23 AM on November 6, 2008 [2 favorites]

It is entirely reasonable to bring up US involvement is Afghanistan during the cold war, but that's hardly the beginning of it. Read up on the "Great Game," the rivalry between thrle Russian empire and the British empire for contol of central Asia. To degree the US has been drawn into the area ceeded during the decline of the British Empire.
posted by Good Brain at 9:48 AM on November 6, 2008