The Afghanistan Crisis

Today I am talking about one of the longest and most embarrassing American mistakes, Afghanistan. Now, let me start off by saying that I do not believe any of the presidents of the past four terms, Democrat or Republican, handled the situation in Afghanistan well. At the time of entering Afghanistan, America had a clear and well-defined goal. Twenty years later, that goal is all but forgotten. 9/11 is the most tragic recent event in American history, and it was absolutely necessary to retaliate against Al-Qaeda after such a tragic event. However, 10 years into the fight, our progress was erased when Isis was formed. An organization posing the same threats as it’s predecessor. Isis developed into further branches, meanwhile, the turmoil in Afghanistan caused the Taliban to become more powerful than it had since the 90s. Despite our good intentions, more problems were being created than we could handle. It is simply not realistic to continue fighting a fight that has nothing to do with America, it isn’t realistic to put the lives of American soldiers at risk to help a country that has no benefit to us as an ally or threat to us as an enemy. Of course, there are women, children, and men that need help in Afghanistan. That help should not be denied to these people, there should be humanitarian efforts by the UN and its member countries to help the people in Afghanistan; including the United States. However, it is not realistic for America to be fighting a full-fledged war for these people. With all this being said, the United States has truly made a mistake with its handling of Afghanistan in the past month. Although I do believe it was the right decision to end the war in Afghanistan, I do not think it was necessary to pull everyone out instantly and chaotically. I believe this decision was driven purely out of policy, not evidence or hope for an easy transition. President Biden promised to take troops out of Afghanistan, so he did, without regard to the repercussions. This mistake has caused a humanitarian crisis and is a perfect example of how America often creates more problems than it solves through its intervention. Are the thousands of people, American soldiers saved thanking us now? Is anyone in Afghanistan grateful for American help, as its soldiers flee the borders, leaving them at the mercy of the Taliban? I think not. However, is Biden purely to blame for this? Absolutely not. If America had handled the situation well, Biden would not have had a war in Afghanistan to end. This 20-year long war, which clearly didn’t do much to build up Afghanistan‘s government, was absolutely unnecessary. The actions of presidents Obama, Bush, and Trump lead to the situation. President Bush started this war without thinking how it might affect America and Afghanistan down the line, President Obama sent thousands of troops, prolonging the war, and President Trump signed shady deals which weakened the Afghanistan government and strengthened the Taliban. Biden was handed a messy war, messy border, horrific pandemic, and shaky international relations. This is not an easy situation to fix. And if everyone had been screaming, “Don’t take all the troops out!” President Biden would not have. The American government is to blame, its presidents, but also its people. The civilians of this country, who indirectly affect policy, also allowed this to happen.