American Way Of War Essay
Mario Germes Ruiz
A00749087 LPL’07
Mtra. Paola Navarrete Hernández
Gobierno y Opinión Pública
ITESM Campus Ciudad de México
12 de Mayo 2010
Introduction to the Current War in Afghanistan
On September 11th, 2001 the American Way of Life changed drastically. The American people were under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist attacks that killed thousands of American citizens. The victims were in their offices and airplanes; they were average Americans carrying out their jobs in what seemed like a regular Tuesday. However, not only had thousands of lives been ended by the biggest terrorist attack on United States (US) soil, but also the foreign policy of the US had a major shift. Before 9/11 it is probable that few Americans …show more content…
N=1,079 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3. LV = likely voters.
(Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Bush -Approval.aspx on May 9th, 2010)
With this unprecedented popularity (previously showed in the second graphic), President Bush went forward to wage two simultaneous armed conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq (though, at very different times due to the UN’s pressure towards the invasion of Iraq). However, because the focus of this essay is to analyze the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq will not be thoroughly addressed.
The invasion of Afghanistan can be divided in two phases. The first one, began in October 7, 2001 when the US, together with the United Kingdom (UK) and the Northern Alliance (an Afghan umbrella organization that has focused on fighting the Taliban since 1996) launched the military operation, Enduring Freedom. Its main objective was to remove Afghan territory as a safe shelter for Al-Qaeda and its bases of operation for terrorist activities. The stated aims of the invasion were: * To find Osama Bin Laden and other high-ranking Al Qaeda members to be put on trial. * To remove the Taliban regime which supported and gave shelter to Al …show more content…
The civil aspect is shaped in the form of resistance. “No State has the right to war in order to achieve rational–not reasonable–interests.” After the war versus the Soviets–a war initiated in part by the leftist party in power in Afghanistan at the time (1979) in order to obtain moral and strategic support from the USSR–Afghanistan entered a cruel and prolonged civil war. The many distinct tribes contended for power and the Taliban succeeded. Although there and they were the triumphant and the unfortunate, the conservative and extremely tribal thought was present in any side. The success of some did not destroy the present, the constant thought of the immediate past. The Taliban concept (with a central government exiled in its own country) is present in form of support and a sense of misplaced nostalgia by the periphery. The support that ideological hegemony brings (once found by the US troops in Iraq) does exist, though in rachitic quantities in
A00749087 LPL’07
Mtra. Paola Navarrete Hernández
Gobierno y Opinión Pública
ITESM Campus Ciudad de México
12 de Mayo 2010
Introduction to the Current War in Afghanistan
On September 11th, 2001 the American Way of Life changed drastically. The American people were under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist attacks that killed thousands of American citizens. The victims were in their offices and airplanes; they were average Americans carrying out their jobs in what seemed like a regular Tuesday. However, not only had thousands of lives been ended by the biggest terrorist attack on United States (US) soil, but also the foreign policy of the US had a major shift. Before 9/11 it is probable that few Americans …show more content…
N=1,079 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3. LV = likely voters.
(Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Bush -Approval.aspx on May 9th, 2010)
With this unprecedented popularity (previously showed in the second graphic), President Bush went forward to wage two simultaneous armed conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq (though, at very different times due to the UN’s pressure towards the invasion of Iraq). However, because the focus of this essay is to analyze the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq will not be thoroughly addressed.
The invasion of Afghanistan can be divided in two phases. The first one, began in October 7, 2001 when the US, together with the United Kingdom (UK) and the Northern Alliance (an Afghan umbrella organization that has focused on fighting the Taliban since 1996) launched the military operation, Enduring Freedom. Its main objective was to remove Afghan territory as a safe shelter for Al-Qaeda and its bases of operation for terrorist activities. The stated aims of the invasion were: * To find Osama Bin Laden and other high-ranking Al Qaeda members to be put on trial. * To remove the Taliban regime which supported and gave shelter to Al …show more content…
The civil aspect is shaped in the form of resistance. “No State has the right to war in order to achieve rational–not reasonable–interests.” After the war versus the Soviets–a war initiated in part by the leftist party in power in Afghanistan at the time (1979) in order to obtain moral and strategic support from the USSR–Afghanistan entered a cruel and prolonged civil war. The many distinct tribes contended for power and the Taliban succeeded. Although there and they were the triumphant and the unfortunate, the conservative and extremely tribal thought was present in any side. The success of some did not destroy the present, the constant thought of the immediate past. The Taliban concept (with a central government exiled in its own country) is present in form of support and a sense of misplaced nostalgia by the periphery. The support that ideological hegemony brings (once found by the US troops in Iraq) does exist, though in rachitic quantities in