Essential Question 5
How has the War on Terror become a main part for the region?
5 Reasons behind our conflict with militant Islamic groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- During the Cold War, the United States supports Afghanistan against the Soviet Union. Once the we helped the Afghans, we withdrew our help, which angered the Afghans
- The 1993 World Trade Truck Bombing: This was a result of the United States withdrawing their forces after the Cold War
- The 1998 U.S. Truck Bombings in East Africa: This was a result of American involvement in the extradition
- 9/11: This was a result of the U.S. backing out after the end of the Cold War
- October of 2000 Suicide of Military Destroyer USS Cole in Yemen: This was planned by Al-Qaeda because of because of what the U.S. did to Afghanistan after the Cold War
Timeline of 10 events from the War in Afghanistan.
- Sept. 11, 2001: Al-Qaeda drives planes into the Twin Towers, World Trade Center, and the Pentagon
- Oct. 7, 2001: U.S. and UK launch airstrike campaigns after the Taliban refuse to give up Bin Laden
- Dec 2001: The ISAF is established to oversee all military ops in Afghanistan and to the Afghan National Security Forces
- March 2002: U.S. launches operation Anaconda, a large scale battle meant to uncover and uproot the Taliban and Al-Qaeda hideouts
- Oct. 29, 2004: Bin Laden releases a video taking responsibility for 9/11
- Sept. 2008: President Bush sends an additional 4,500 troops to Afghanistan
- February 2009: An additional 17,000 troops are sent to Afghanistan
- March 2009: President Obama reveals a new strategy for the war
- Dec 2009: Obama announces that another 30,000 troops will be sent to Afghanistan
- Oct. 16, 2014: U.S. and UK troops finally return home
5 Supporting Reasons Why Our Actions have Hurt Our Image
- Even though we killed Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are still out there terrorizing the people of Afghanistan. It's almost like we were never even in Afghanistan.
- The United States owes a lot of money from this war. Specifically, $1 Trillion since 2001. We are still paying off the debt to this day. Being in so much debt does not make the U.S. look good.
- Many of the U.S. and UK soldiers were killed in battle. Specifically 3,,487 troops. This hurts our image because the Afghans didn't even want us there in the first place.
- During the war, the U.S. has killed innocent bystanders/citizens who do not support Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. This hurts our image because the innocent bystanders have done nothing wrong, and their lives were still taken from them.
- After the war was over, the United States kept 10,00+ troops in Afghanistan. It wasn't until October 14, 2014 that the troops finally returned home. This hurts our image because we were scaring the local Afghan citizens. It's like we were taking over the country instead of freeing them.