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THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan’s annual economic pro-

duction is just over $1,000, about 2
WHAT SHOULD AMERICA’S POLICY BE? percent of U.S. output. Agriculture re-
mains the principal contributor to the
national economy, with food items like
Wikimedia Commons

pomegranates and apricots enjoying

special prominence while the country
works slowly to restore its once-great
production of grapes.
For the most part, Afghanistan’s
considerable natural resources re-
main untapped, since Afghanistan
has lacked the roads, railways, and
other infrastructure necessary to
drive significant mineral exports.
Still, Afghanistan’s mining industry
may hold promise for the future: The
nation’s total deposits of extractable
metals are estimated to be worth
around $1 trillion. It remains to be
seen whether such vast wealth will
An Apache helicopter circles American troops in Afghanistan in 2005. benefit Afghanistan as a nation or
drive armed conflict among warring
Afghan tribes.
UNDER TWO DIFFERENT COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF, THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN The official Afghan economy is
AT WAR IN AFGHANISTAN FOR THE PAST 13 YEARS, MAKING IT THE LONGEST WAR
often overshadowed by the black
IN U.S. HISTORY. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ANNOUNCED THIS YEAR THAT U.S.
FORCES WILL WITHDRAW FROM THAT COUNTRY BY THE END OF 2016. IN THE market, especially for drugs like
WAKE OF THE PRESIDENT’S ANNOUNCEMENT, AMERICANS ARE DEBATING THE opium, of which Afghanistan is the
PROPER COURSE OF ACTION GOING FORWARD AND TRYING TO DRAW LESSONS world’s greatest producer. Opium
FROM THE WAR. and hashish provide significant
A country roughly the size of Baloch, each with their own ancestry sources of income for Afghan farm-
Texas, Afghanistan is located in Central and culture. None of these groups is ers, who grow them for the illegal
Asia. This landlocked nation shares a exclusive to Afghanistan. In fact, sig- drug trade. The national government
border with Iran (to the west), Pakistan nificant populations of all of them bans the production and sale of
(to the southeast), China (to the far live in neighboring countries as well. drugs, but anti-government forces
northeast), and the former Soviet states In many cases, ethnic groups participate enthusiastically. In other
of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and speak their own languages. The two words, the government prevents
Tajikistan (to the north). Largely official languages of Afghanistan are many poor Afghan farmers from
mountainous and dry, Afghanistan can Pashto, the language of the Pashtuns, growing and selling certain crops
experience freezing winters and in- and Dari, a dialect of Persian. Most (sometimes even burning fields of
tensely hot summers, depending on communication between ethnic opium poppies), while terrorists and
the location. Its land holds a great va- groups is done in Dari, as many insurgent fighters pay good money
riety of natural resources: fuels like Afghans speak two or more languages. for the same crops.
coal and natural gas, metals like cop- Nearly all Afghans are Muslim.
per and lithium, and rare earth-ele- About 90 percent of them follow Conquest and Resistance
ments used in the production of many Sunni Islam, as do most other Mus- Over the centuries, the people of
modern-day technologies. lims in the world. The remaining mi- Afghanistan have encountered many
The people of Afghanistan, nority adheres to Shia Islam (which armies of foreign powers. The nation
known as Afghans, comprise a num- is also the state religion of Iran). is situated along a historic trade route
ber of ethnic groups. The largest Afghanistan’s laws and government, linking Iran to China and the Indian
group is the Pashtuns, who also live the Islamic Republic, are informed by subcontinent. As a result, Afghanistan
in northwestern Pakistan. The sec- the teachings of the Quran, the holy is of vital strategic importance, not
ond largest is the Tajiks, who also book of Islam. only to East Asian and Middle East-
live in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Economically, Afghanistan is one ern nations, but also to various im-
Other groups include Hazara, of the world’s poorest and least perial powers attempting to establish
Uzbeks, Aimaks, Turkmen, and developed countries. For each Afghan, influence in the region. In antiquity,

10 CURRENT ISSUE
Afghanistan fell to the Macedonian
Empire under Alexander the Great,
the Mauryan Empire of India, and the
Parthian Empire of ancient Persia.
Islam was introduced to Afghanistan
in the seventh century by Muslim
Arabs, who conquered much of
Afghanistan, but were ultimately ex-
pelled by native Afghans in 683. Later,
in the ninth century, an empire of Per-
sian Muslims called the Saffarids

United States Air Force

brought Afghanistan under Islamic rule.
During this time, however, the country
remained religiously pluralistic, with
large populations of Hindus and Bud-
dhists as well as some Jews and Zoroas-
trians. Most of these were converted to Britain’s sphere of influence. Follow- the mujahideen groups vying for con-
Islam in the 10th century by the Ghaz- ing the third war, Afghanistan gained trol of Afghanistan after the Soviet
navids, new rulers of Turkic and Persian its independence in 1919. withdrawal and collapse. Pashtun by
ancestry. In the years to come, Islam ethnicity, the Taliban was financed
would prove to be a unifying force in Cold War Involvement early on by Inter-Services Intelligence
an otherwise diverse and fragmented A military coup brought commu- (ISI), the main intelligence agency of
nation, but Afghanistan would remain nism to Afghanistan in 1978. For the the Pakistan government. Although
a hotly contested imperial battleground. previous five years, the nation had the Sunni Taliban was opposed by
been ruled by Mohammad Daud Shi’ite Iran (who funded rival
European Entanglements Khan, who had seized power and im- groups), it was supported by fellow
It was not until the 18th century plemented an ambitious program for Sunnis in the Saudi Arabian govern-
that Afghanistan drove out all foreign modernizing Afghanistan’s economy ment. In a violent and chaotic nation,
occupiers and established its own and military. But his policies had the highly religious and well-orga-
government under Mir Wais Hotak, a failed to deliver any material results nized Taliban fighters appeared to
Pashtun who led an Afghan revolt for Afghans. represent order and stability. Unfor-
against the reigning Persians. When The Soviet Union, which bor- tunately, their ultimate victory estab-
Persians sent an army to take back dered Afghanistan, supported the new lished a violent and repressive regime
their imperial possession, Hotak’s communist regime, while the U.S. and based on a radical reading of the Is-
forces persevered and routed the in- its allies sought to undermine lamic legal system called Sharia.
vaders. Under Hotak’s brief reign, Afghanistan’s government as part of the Sharia prescribes correct gover-
Afghanistan governed its own affairs. Cold War. Amid renewed chaos within nance in politics, economics, and
To this day, Afghans celebrate Hotak Afghanistan, the Soviets dispatched even personal conduct. Following
as a national hero, for his stand troops in 1979 to keep the communists their own interpretation of Sharia, the
against foreign occupiers and his rule in power. Simultaneously, the U.S., Pak- Taliban introduced laws restricting
over an independent Afghanistan. istan, and others armed and supported dress, grooming, and speech, prohib-
Independence, however, did not anti-Soviet forces called the mu- ited the education and employment
mean peace. Afghanistan established jahideen, Islamic fighters. Ten years of women in most circumstances,
an empire of its own, fighting for terri- later, these fighters had succeeded in and persecuted ethnic and religious
tory against Persian and Indian forces. expelling Soviet military forces, but the minorities. After a rise to power that
In the 19th century, Afghanistan found Soviet Union continued to support the included numerous massacres and
itself caught in the middle of the communist government financially. ethnic cleansing campaigns, the Tal-
“Great Game,” a contest for imperial iban’s reign in Afghanistan was
supremacy between the British and The Rise of the Taliban marred by widespread sex trafficking
Russian empires. Britain sought to ex- When the Soviet Union collapsed of girls and women, public beatings
pand its rule from India, using in 1991, Afghanistan established a and stoning, and the assassination of
Afghanistan as a bulwark in Central post-Communist Islamic state. But a international aid workers.
Asia against the Russians. The British civil war erupted between militias
fought three wars to gain control of representing various ethnic groups, The U.S. War on Terror
Afghanistan, winning the second and and foreign powers supported differ- On September 11, 2001, terrorists
securing an agreement with the Rus- ent militias. The Taliban was one of flew commercial passenger jets into
sians that Afghanistan fell within
CURRENT ISSUE 11
the World Trade Center in New York Although this is a considerable ex- civic culture threatens to make the
City and the Pentagon in Washing- pense, it falls far short of at least one promise of its Constitution a dead let-
ton, D.C., killing nearly 3,000 people. historical precedent: the (inflation- ter. Meanwhile, Taliban insurgents
These attacks were orchestrated by adjusted) $160 billion spent by the are fighting the government to re-
al-Qaeda, a terrorist group led by a U.S. after World War II to rebuild Eu- claim power for themselves. The Tal-
Saudi national named Osama bin rope under the Marshall Plan. iban has an unofficial safe haven in
Laden. Basing his operations in Women in particular have made Pakistan’s Federally Administered
Afghanistan, bin Laden planned al- significant gains over the past 13 Tribal Areas, a loosely governed
Qaeda attacks and trained al-Qaeda years. The Taliban had outlawed even Pashtun area that borders
terrorists. The Taliban, which bin the home-schooling of females. Afghanistan. The insurgents may
Laden had praised as an exemplary Nearly 40 percent of today’s Afghan even have foreign assistance from
Islamic state, refused to extradite students are girls and women. The their original patrons in Pakistan’s
him, both before and after the attacks Taliban had barred women from ISI, although American and Pakistani
of September 11. working in most jobs and from par- government officials deny such assis-
The United States was shocked by ticipating in politics. Today, Afghan tance. Nevertheless, President Barack
the scale and lethality of the attacks, women work in a number of differ- Obama has committed the U.S. to
which were unprecedented in Amer- ent occupations, including police, ending combat operations this year,
ican history. People in the U.S. rallied military, and political office. with a full withdrawal of U.S. forces
behind President George W. Bush, taking place in 2016.
who issued the following policy in Women in particular
the aftermath of 9/11: The United have made significant The Debate Over Withdrawal
States will “make no distinction be- Opponents of the planned U.S.
tween terrorists and the nations that gains over the past withdrawal from Afghanistan argue
harbor them,” and will “hold both to 13 years. The Taliban that progress in Afghanistan is fragile
account.” Given this principle, the and that the country may unravel
Taliban’s refusal to extradite bin had outlawed even the without a continued U.S. military
Laden implicated it in an act of war home-schooling presence. Afghanistan and its military
against the United States. remain fractured along ethnic lines,
In response, the U.S. and its al- of females. and the central government lacks full
lies invaded Afghanistan in October In addition to proclaiming the po- control over large swaths of the coun-
2001, with the overwhelming sup- litical equality of men and women, the try. Worse, the Afghan state and mil-
port of the American people. The in- current Constitution of the Islamic Re- itary employ a number of covert
vasion had three goals. Its first and public of Afghanistan recognizes a cit- Taliban loyalists and foreign actors.
primary goal was to destroy the al- izen’s right to free speech and The phenomenon of “green-on-blue”
Qaeda network and bring to justice expression and provides for religious violence incidents, in which Afghan
the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack. minorities’ free exercise of religion. The soldiers attack allied Western forces,
The second goal was to depose the Constitution provides for the peaceful underlines the gravity of the problem.
Taliban in order to deny terrorist settling of political differences between The result of such an unraveling
groups safe haven in Afghanistan. regional and ethnic groups. A federal would be profound for national-secu-
And the final goal was to provide the government presides over a number of rity interests. The Taliban could re-
security and humanitarian assistance smaller provinces headed by local gov- gain power and once again provide a
necessary to enable Afghans to gov- ernors. Similar to the U.S., Afghanistan safe base of operations for extremist
ern themselves. now has a bicameral legislative branch, Islamic terrorists. If that were to
Nearly 13 years later, the U.S. has a judicial branch led by a supreme occur, the U.S. occupation would
accomplished many of its objectives: court, and an executive branch headed have failed to accomplish its long-
The Taliban has been deposed, al- by the president. Each of these has its term objectives. These events would
Qaeda has been reduced to a shell of own set of powers and prerogatives. not be without precedent. The U.S.
its former self, and Osama bin Laden Despite this progress, the situation withdrawal from Iraq was followed
is dead, killed in a 2011 special-oper- in Afghanistan remains complicated, by an increase in sectarian violence,
ations raid in Pakistan. Moreover, the troubled, and brittle. The nation’s cur- a civil war, and the rise of ISIS, a
U.S. Agency for International Devel- rent government, led by President ruthless terrorist group seeking to es-
opment (USAID) alone has spent Hamid Karzai, was ranked in a 2013 tablish its brutal rule over Iraq and
more than $13 billion providing food, report by Transparency International neighboring Syria.
water, and medicine to Afghans as as one of the world’s most corrupt As in Iraq, the past 13 years of
well as building critical infrastructure (along with North Korea and Soma- Afghanistan’s humanitarian progress
and supporting Afghan education. lia). Afghanistan’s lack of a cohesive may hang in the balance. Like Iraq,

12 CURRENT ISSUE
Afghanistan’s deeply divided society What’s more, the U.S. military has DISCUSSION & WRITING
lacks the continuous tradition of the carried a heavy burden of the long 1. What do you think is Afghanistan’s
rule of law and individual rights, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Com- greatest strength as a nation? Great-
which underpins American democ- pared to past wars, a tiny fraction of est weakness? Explain.
racy. It remains to be seen whether the American people served in these 2. Was the U.S. right to equate al-
its current, republican form of gov- wars, resulting in many soldiers re- Qaeda (“terrorists”) with the Tal-
ernment can be sustained without turning to war in multiple tours of iban (“those who harbor them”)?
Western military occupation. If the duty. At home, the recent scandal in Explain your answer and examine
Taliban or some other group should the Department of Veterans Affairs ex- the consequences for the U.S. in-
seize control of the Afghan state, the posed the great difficulty in providing vasion of Afghanistan.
U.S. should expect the end of Afghan adequate medical care to those who 3. What obligations, if any, does the
democracy, the return of bans on served in these wars and suffered pro- U.S. have to Afghanistan, whose
women in school and the workplace, found physical and psychological government was overthrown? If
the renewed persecution of ethnic harm. In this context, withdrawal may the U.S. has obligations, have they
and religious minorities, and violent be an opportunity for the U.S. military been met? Explain your answers.
reprisals directed against anyone who to regroup and recover.
cooperated with the U.S.
The proponents of U.S. withdrawal ACTIVITY
make several arguments in favor of
ending the war in Afghanistan. First, What Should Be the U.S. Role in Afghanistan?
American military capacity has limits. In this activity, students will role play advisers to a U.S. senator on the For-
A continued, robust commitment to eign Relations Committee. The advisers will advise the senator on a policy
Afghanistan compromises the United option for Afghanistan.
States’ ability to act elsewhere. With Divide the class into small groups. Each group should:
so many of its soldiers and military
assets dedicated indefinitely to one 1. Discuss the policy options, below.
country, the U.S. loses some of its 2. Decide on a policy it favors. If the group cannot agree, students can
ability to project power or make cred- present dissenting positions.
ible threats in pursuing other inter- 3. Be prepared to present its option to the class and to argue its position,
ests in the Middle East, Eastern citing evidence from the article to support its position.
Europe, or Asia. Regroup the class and call on groups to argue for their chosen policy.
Furthermore, advocates of with- Conclude by holding a class vote on which policy to follow.
drawal argue that the United States
Policy Options
has discharged any moral duties it as-
1. Leave Afghanistan altogether, as soon as possible.
sumed in invading Afghanistan. More
2. President Obama’s proposal: Gradually withdraw troops by 2016, when
than 2,000 U.S. soldiers have lost
just a small force remains to defend the American embassy.
their lives in Afghanistan, with a great
3. Remain indefinitely in Afghanistan, staying the course until the Taliban
many more injured or disabled. In ad-
has been defeated and a stable government rules the country.
dition, the U.S. has spent more than
4. Create your own option.
$500 billion in Afghanistan, fighting
Taliban forces, providing security, and
administering humanitarian aid. After
more than a decade of U.S. sacrifice, Visit us online:
this argument suggests, it is time for
www.crf-usa.org
Afghanistan to take responsibility for
its own security and government.
Finally, to say that the U.S. should
stay in order to accomplish certain
goals is to assume that those goals can
Electronic-only Edition of
be achieved. Advocates of withdrawal
say that there is little rational basis for
Bill of Rights in Action
such a belief. Afghanistan’s sectarian
tensions are ancient, may be in-
Sign-up or switch to an electronic-only subscribtion. Your copy of
tractable, and may undermine any Bill of Rights in Action will arrive much sooner — as much as two to
prospect of long-term stability for a three weeks before the printed issue.
democratic government.
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CURRENT ISSUE 13
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Standards California History-Social Science Standard 8.5: Students analyze U.S. foreign pol-
icy in the early Republic. (1) Understand the political and economic causes
World War I and consequences of the War of 1812 and know the major battles, leaders,
National High School World History Standard 39: Understands the causes . . . of and events that led to a final peace.
World War I. Common Core Standard SL.11–12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of
California History-Social Science Standard 10.5: Students analyze the causes . . . collaborative discussions . . . with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts,
of the First World War. and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persua-
Common Core Standard SL.11–12.4: Present information, findings, and supporting sively.
evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow
the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the War in Afghanistan
organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audi- National High School Civics Standard 22: Understands how the world is organ-
ence, and a range of formal and informal tasks. ized politically into nation-states, how nation-states interact with one another,
Common Core Standard RH.11–12.3: Evaluate various explanations for actions or and issues surrounding U.S. foreign policy. (1) Understands the significance of
events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, ac- principal foreign policies and events in the United States’ relations with
knowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
the world . . . . (3) Understands the major foreign policy positions that
Common Core Standard RH.11–12.6: Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on have characterized the United States’ relations with the world . . . . (9) Un-
the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and
evidence.
derstands the current role of the United States in peacemaking and peace-
Common Core Standard RH.11–12.8: Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and ev-
keeping.
idence by corroborating or challenging them with other information. California History-Social Science Standard 10.10: Students analyze instances of na-
Common Core Standard SL.11–12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of tion-building in the contemporary world in at least two of the following regions or
collaborative discussions . . . with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, countries: the Middle East . . . . (1) Understand the challenges in the regions, in-
and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persua- cluding their geopolitical, cultural, military, and economic significance and the
sively. international relationships in which they are involved. (2) Describe the recent
history of the regions, including political divisions and systems, key leaders, re-
War of 1812 ligious issues, natural features, resources, and population patterns. (3) Discuss
National High School U.S. History Standard 9: Understands the United States ter- the important trends in the regions today and whether they appear to serve the
ritorial expansion between 1801 and 1861, and how it affected relations with exter- cause of individual freedom and democracy.
nal powers and Native Americans. (7) Understands political interests and views California History-Social Science Standard 11.9: Students analyze U.S. foreign pol-
regarding the War of 1812 (e.g., U.S. responses to shipping harassments prior icy since World War II.
to the war; interests of Native American and white settlers of the Northwest Common Core Standard SL.11–12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range
Territory during the war; congressional positions for and against the war res- of collaborative discussions . . . with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics,
olution of June 3, 1812) texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and
California History-Social Science Standard 8.2: Students analyze the political prin- persuasively.
ciples underlying the U.S. Constitution and compare the enumerated and implied
Standards reprinted with permission:
powers of the federal government. (7) Describe the principles of federalism,
dual sovereignty, separation of powers, checks and balances, the nature and National Standards © 2000 McREL, Mid-continent Research for Education
purpose of majority rule, and the ways in which the American idea of con- and Learning, 2550 S. Parker Road, Ste. 500, Aurora, CO 80014,
stitutionalism preserves individual rights. (303)337.0990.
California History-Social Science Standard 8.4: Students analyze the aspirations California Standards copyrighted by the California Dept. of Education, P.O.
and ideals of the people of the new nation.. (1) Describe the country’s physical Box 271, Sacramento, CA 95812.
landscape, political divisions, and territorial expansion during the terms of
the first four presidents.
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