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Afghanistan: The Endless War

Source: , September 8, 2018

The U.S. war in the ‘graveyard of empires' has lasted nearly 17 years. Will it ever end? Here's everything you need to know:

What' s the country like now?

Afghanistan has changed a great deal since the U.S. entered unwantedly in December 2001 to remove the Taliban government that had given safe place to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The population of Kabul has shot up from 1.5 million to almost 6 million now, and that's bad news for the Taliban, because smart urbanites are much less likely than poor people to submit to the Taliban's harsh form of Sunni Islam. Women are badly mistreated under the Taliban, are now freer, at least in Kabul. Still, the war is everywhere, and the Taliban are on the offensive. The government controls the cities and about 60 percent of the country overall. The rest is either or under Taliban control -- which means the Taliban now rule more than they have at any time since 2001. And the Taliban have stepped up attacks this year, possibly in preparation for talks, so they can negotiate from strength. Just last month, the Taliban laid attack to the southeastern city of Ghazni for days, killing hundreds of Afghan soldiers and people not in the military.

How many U. S. troops are there?

When President Obama took office, there were 30,000 U.S. troops. Trump boosted forces from 8,400 when he took office to nearly 15,000 now, on an open-ended mission, and he reduced restrictions on the use of armed drones and bombs. Those Afghan forces number about 300,000, at different levels of training, but there is frequent desertion, and they suffer heavy losses: In 2016, nearly 7,000 soldiers and police were killed and then the government stopped releasing figures.

What about the Taliban?

The Taliban are believed to number from 20,000 to 40,000 strong, scary, and committed fighters -- about the same as ten years ago, even though Afghan forces regularly report killing more than 1,000 a month. Up to now, however, the Taliban have never worked or talked with others to reach an agreement and have rejected the terms the U.S. has set for peace: They must reject violence, break ties with al Qaeda, accept the protections of women's rights in the Afghan constitution, and work only with the Afghan government.

Why can' t the U. S. just pull out?

Because the government would surely fall. Afghanistan would once again become a Taliban-ruled, and al Qaeda and ISIS would have total freedom there to plan and carry out attacks on the U.S. The Pentagon remembers all too well that in 2011, when the U.S. pulled out of Iraq, it led to and the rise of ISIS. Most experts in the area believe that talking with the Taliban is the only way to end the conflict -- but these conversations must involve pressure and input from powerful neighbors, including India, China, Russia, Iran, and most of all, Pakistan.

Why is Pakistan so important?

Afghanistan would once again be ruled by the Taliban, and al Qaeda and ISIS would have total freedom there to plan and carry out attacks on the U.S. The Pentagon remembers all too well that in 2011, when the U.S. pulled out of Iraq, it led to a war between the groups which led to the rise of ISIS.

An exorbitant cost

Nearly 2,400 U.S. service personnel have been killed in the Afghan war, and more than 20,000 wounded, many very badly. Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, told the Senate this year that "the United States threw itself into reconstruction with rude and insulting pride, untested ideas, unreasonable expectations, and with piles of cash and tight deadlines for spending it -- too much, too fast, with too little oversight." By 2014, $109 billion had been spent on reconstruction alone -- more in today's dollars than the whole Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe -- yet Afghanistan still doesn't have good enough roads, schools, and basic equipment needed for a business to operate

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Text Dependent Questions

|In paragraph 1, the author states, “The U.S. war in the ‘graveyard of empires' has | |

|lasted nearly 17 years.” What does the author mean by graveyard of empires? Explain | |

|In paragraph 2, the author states that the population has tremendously spiked in | |

|Kabul. Why might that be bad news for the Taliban? Explain. | |

|Based on what the author has said, what can you infer about the Taliban and what they| |

|are doing to the people of Afghanistan? Use text evidence to support your answer. | |

|Why did the Taliban hide out in safe havens in Pakistan waiting for president Obamas | |

|term to end? Use text evidence to support your answer. | |

|How is the Taliban supported? Use your own words to list the many different ways they| |

|are supported. Use text evidence. | |

|Why would it be a bad idea for the United states to completely withdraw from | |

|Afghanistan? How would the withdraw of the U.S. impact the Afghanistan? Use text | |

|evidence to support your answer. | |

|In paragraph 5, the author states a way to end conflict. What does he say and what | |

|does he say is required in order for this to take place? | |

|What role has Pakistan played in this? Explain and use text evidence to support your | |

|answer. | |

|How has this war in Afghanistan affected the U.S. financially? Explain and use text | |

|evidence to support your answer. | |

|Short Response: After reading this article, in your opinion, do you think this | |

|17-year war will end? Why do you think this? | |

Possible Reflection Response Questions:

1 What are your thoughts about the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan?

• Pick a passage from the article and respond to it.

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