Written September 11, 2011
Coming to the Right Conclusions II
By Felicia Whatley
Ten years after 9/11, the world prays for a stronger economy, much of the Middle East is in turmoil from epic revolutions, President Barack Obama pushes for a Jobs Bill, and many liberals cry for us to withdraw our troops from the Crossroads of Central Asia. What is the cure to instability in Afghanistan? Patriotism is not dead. May we not forget why we went there in the first place and why we need to finish the job.
VFW magazine wrote “Afghanistan: Where Do We Stand After a Decade of War”? “Ten years after U.S. troops entered Afghanistan; its citizens are healthier, better educated and living longer. But with more than 1,600 U.S. dead and $40 billion in aid expended, most Americans favor leaving,” stated Tim Dyhouse.
This war is not just about Americans’ current state of affairs and interest. As much as Americans love to say that they hate Bush and that he ruined this country, he was right: this war was to be a long haul. We are not fighting individual nation states, but an infestation of terrorists that have gotten away with it for too long.
To understand some of the realities of this war we must educate ourselves about Afghanistan and the wars they have survived through. For a population of over 28 million as estimated in July of 2009 by the U.S. State Department, more than three million have moved or fled to neighboring states. Yet still, since the war on terror began in 2001 “over five million refugees have returned to Pakistan since the removal of the Taliban.”
Afghanistan is no stranger to war. One must understand a bit of history of how the country came to be and why we are there in the first place. There has always been religious tension for a country that is mostly Sunni at 80% and Shia at 19% Muslim. (By the way, Sunni and Shia hate each other).
For a nation that has been in upheaval most profoundly since 328 BC when Alexander the Great cruised in and made the area part of the Persian Empire, the wars with the Huns and Turks in 642 AD, and its development in 1747 with the ruling of Pashtun Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of what is today Afghanistan only after the former Persian ruler was assassinated.
Bringing up to speed in more modern times the Russian czar and Great Britain fought over Afghanistan in the 19th century. “British concern over Russian advances in Central Asia and growing influence in Persia precipitated two Anglo-Afghan wars in 1839 and again in 1878. The first resulted in the destruction of a British army. The latter conflict brought Amir Abdur Rahman to the Afghan throne,” stated the State Department. There were more Soviet invasions late 1980s.
“In December 1978, Moscow signed a new bilateral treaty of friendship and cooperation with Afghanistan, and the Soviet military assistance program increased significantly. The regime's survival was dependent upon Soviet assistance as the insurgency spread and the Afghan army began to collapse.” Then following was the Soviet invasion. This was when Americans were chastised for supporting and equipping the Freedom Fighters.
Many Americans have the right to wonder why so much funding is going towards the war effort when we teeter back and forth between recessions and a downgrade from AAA to AA. Our economy is in dire straits. Obama’s great bailout plans can not bail us all out. But historically during times of war it is not unusual for the economy to go through dramatic fluxes. For this reason alone economists, students, teachers, laid off citizens, and homeless (a quarter percent veterans) are pleading for us to get our troops home and invest in our country’s future. USA TODAY published in 2005, “Report: In U.S., Record Numbers are Plunged into Poverty”. |
“The gulf between rich and poor in the United States is yawning wider than ever, and the number of extremely impoverished is at a three-decade high. Based on the latest available U.S. census data from 2005, the McClatchy Newspapers analysis found that almost 16 million Americans live in ‘deep or severe poverty’ defined as a family of four with two children earning less $9,903— one half the federal poverty line figures.” Now, the unemployment rate undeclared is closer to 11 percent.
When 9/11 happened Americans and the American government rallied around the flag, swore for justice, got off the couch and went to their local military recruiting centers. They dropped everything from their busy, isolated lives and joined a bigger cause built on ideals of freedom, duty, honor, and justice. And let’s not forget: revenge.
I believe there is such a thing as a necessary war. Inclusive is all the events that preemptively led to our invasion of Afghanistan. One, being, that the country itself allowed itself to be thug ruled by the extremist Taliban making themselves a dangerous threat and liability built on actions of war throughout the years leading up to 9/11.
United States was invaded by these extremists. They had green cards, American flying licenses, student visas, and even citizenship. Our government failed us. Not only did they have applicable knowledge of when and where these attacks were going to happen, but they did very little to stop the planes from being hijacked.
I worked in a Reserve Criminal Investigation Division (CID) military unit as a clerk at the time. We did counter terrorism work. Amongst my ranks were people who worked for the FBI, CIA, DEA, and local law enforcement in Boston. We knew and did nothing. I took 70 sleeping pills a month after 9/11. I couldn’t stand knowing, just knowing we just didn’t do enough and all those people died so tragically. I wasn’t the only soldier in the unit riddled with guilt. After much of the special agents responded to the unbelievable disaster at the Pentagon, they too also tried to commit suicide. Their task was to provide security and help find the bodies. The truth haunted us. Some of them were still alive and trapped. In my heart of hearts, I truly believed it should have been prevented.
But there is hope in the American spirit and as complicated and no matter how far up the corruption went in the U.S. government, I am always awed by the simple acts of personal sacrifice. Corporal Kevin Mincio stood before his platoon at an Army base in the Iraqi desert and tried to explain why a 31-year-old Goldman Sachs Vice President had upped and enlisted in the infantry, wrote Jeff Reinking from USA TODAY. “You learn not to take for granted what we have in this country,” said Mincio who joined in the effort to fight against terror abroad and didn’t question that he was going to Iraq and not Afghanistan.
I too, deployed to Iraq. I went in 2007 imbedding and escorting Western and Iraqi Media as a Public Affairs Specialist, as well as, working closely with the Iraqi interpreters to translate Iraqi media reports and kick them up to the Pentagon. I learned which news outlets favored or hated us and why. It was an experience I will always remember. One of my best friends now is one of the interpreters. She received her visa as promised from the U.S. government and I visit her in New York whenever possible. We laugh that we are an odd pair. I am a Jewish American veteran and she is an Iraqi Shia Muslim.
Posted September 8th of 2005 in USA TODAY’s piece entitled “9/11 Recruits: They Enlisted when USA was Under Fire". “Three years ago," "I stood in disbelief on the corner of Liberty and Church streets and watched as just a half a block away, a Boeing 767 flew into the south tower of the World Trade Center.,” said Mincio. He may have wanted adjudication and justice. So he left his yacht and multi-million dollar home to enlist in the United States Army a year after 9/11.
“Some didn't even wait that long. On the day after, September 12th: Actor Sean Huze walked into the Marine recruiter's office at Sunset and La Brea in Los Angeles, expecting a line. Instead, he was the only one there. He signed up on the spot.” stated Reinking.
For the rise and fall of the Taliban, it had risen to power in the mid-1990s in reaction to the anarchy and warlordism that arose after the withdrawal of Soviet forces. Many Taliban had been educated in madrassas in Pakistan and were largely from rural southern Pashtun backgrounds. In 1994, the Taliban developed enough strength to capture the city of Kandahar from a local warlord and proceeded to expand its control throughout Afghanistan, occupying Kabul in September 1996. By the end of 1998, the Taliban occupied about 90% of the country, according to the State Department.
“Afghanistan’s future depends upon several factors. Securing strategic territorial gains and maintaining an offensive momentum is critical,” stated Dyhouse. It is important that we continue to train and expand the Afghan army and police forces. “In the end,” said Dyhouse, “the Afghans will have to secure and govern their country.”
So after ten years, what has the U.S. accomplished and how has Afghanistan progressed? Afghanistan citizens’ quality of life has dramatically gotten better since the invasion. Unlike the movie “Team America” we don’t just bomb the shit out of a place and then leave the place in rubble. Various reconstruction projects have brought a level of civilization that the poorest country in the world had never seen.
We have read about the atrocities towards women. Now there are schools where women can read and vote. According to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. has helped to build or renovate 680 schools. In 2001 less than one million Afghan children attended school. By 2009 that figure had excelled to over 7 million.
A soldier with whom I have served with in Bosnia in 2003 was in Afghanistan when they first got to vote. Public Affairs Master Sergeant Keith Johnson said it was the most amazing thing, next to watching his children get born, that he had ever seen. He is still in, bless his heart, for over 30 some odd years, and says he would go back and serve in Afghanistan again in a heartbeat.
“I have 36 years of service. I arrived in Afghanistan three days before Karzai's election. Within one week, I was standing at the base of the Buddha Statues in Bamian. My last trip was to the Panjshir Valley. In between I traveled from one end of Afghanistan to another. I was watching history being made. I was there when the first class of Afghans arrived for the National Military Academy - Afghanistan, 105 started in Feb 2005. Then 84 graduated in 2009. I traveled to the Fort, to the Alamo, to the Boneyard, to the Blue Mosque, to the Panjshir Valley. Everywhere I went the Afghans were glad we were there. They were tired of fighting. It was the highlight of my military career,” said Johnson.
The surge was a success and we have brought the Taliban to its knees. I live in an incredible time historically watching the Middle East say it has had enough of its dictatorship leadership. From Tanzania, to Egypt, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and even Iran, they are revolting for the thirst of freedom and democracy. I can’t express how jubilant I feel that after ten years of this war on terror, the Iraqi people hanged Saddam Hussein and our Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden.
And let’s not forget the real reason we are there- to rid the Taliban. It was damn time. After the strike on the Marine Barracks in Lebanon, USS Cole, and other attempts at bringing down the World Trade Center, this was the final straw. For the 2,752 American victims who died that fateful day; it was high time we got even.
And as for the volunteer troops that have lost their lives fighting, it was for a cause bigger than themselves. The 1,180 service members’ deaths in Afghanistan are not in vain. They will be remembered as heroes. But we aren’t finished yet. I just medically honorably retired with 11 years in the military. My unit is going to Afghanistan soon. I want to go, but perhaps this time it isn’t my fight. Is it yours? I have coined the term "Conscious observers". They observe, complain, and do nothing. I want to invoke Americans to get involved to make a difference somehow and respect that this war is important.
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