Operation Enduring Freedom America's War Where Empires Go to Die

Brief History Alexander the Great invades in 4th century BC Took several years His armies had massive casualties “Easy to march into. Hard to march out of.”

Soviet Union Soviet War (1979-1988) Soviets invade and initially have an easy time Guerilla forces stay resilient With US assistance, Aghanis (the Taliban) chase out Soviets and the Soviet Union crumbles shortly after Afghanistan has never been conquered.

September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda, based out of Afghanistan strikes the US 2,819 Americans killed in the attacks Americans quickly mobilize War still going on today

Though the acts of September 11, 2001 were horrific, the United States should immediately withdraw from Afghanistan because our involvement is causing more harm than good, there is no foreseeable end to the war, and we are actually encouraging terrorism.

Support for the war Terrorism must be stopped We should set up a Democracy in a state that supports terrorists Leaving now would make us look weak.

Stopping Terrorism Terror is a tactic rather than an opponent. There is no way to decisively beat a tactic Many Afghan insurgents are based out of nations other than Afghanistan. Killing those who come in will not stop them from being trained elsewhere. The term “terrorist” is very loosely used. Just because somebody fights Americans, he/she is not a terrorist The word is confused with “insurgent.” Many want revenge for dead family members etc.

Forcing Democracy (William Blum, author of Killing Hope: U. S Forcing Democracy (William Blum, author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions since World War II) US efforts in South America to install Democratic presidents has been disastrous Augusto Pinochet tortures and executes thousands in Chile after being installed in 1973 The government in El Salvador in 1979 kills thousands of civilians with American support who protest the government Afghanistan is not set up for a central government Tribal system

Map provided by BBC

Perception Leaving now making us look weak is irrelevant People are dying Billions are being spent Casualties are actually going up Victory is hard to define

Leaving Will Save Lives (icasualties.org) 2,819 Americans died on 9/11 In Afghanistan, 1,453 Americans have died and casualties go up every year 8,857 Afghan Soldiers and 8,813 civilians have died Between Iraq and Afghanistan, over 900,000 people have lost lives

Foreseeable Future How do you declare victory in a war declared on an ideology? How do we tackle the issue of the opium-based economy Afghanistan has a long history of successful guerilla campaigns against the most powerful nations in the world Perfectly set up for ambushes

Encouraging Terrorism How would you feel if people you didn't know about destroyed your cities, killing your family members? Are we really taking the higher ground by shooting and killing people?

Take Home Points Pride and justice are very important While we have good intentions, our means to an end do not seem effective Above all else, human life is the biggest thing to think about in this conflict.