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Yesterday, President George W. Bush decided to forego diplomatic
efforts and live up to his promise of launching a “war on
terrorism.” Along with Great Britain, the United States began
strategically bombing areas in Afghanistan believed to be al-Qaeda
training camps and military sites affiliated with the Taliban.
Now that the United States has committed itself to a military
effort, it must ensure that the goal of this operation does not
center on trying to stop international terrorism ““ this task
is impossible. Instead, the military campaign in Afghanistan should
focus solely on retrieving Osama bin Laden and Taliban members
supporting his network and bringing them to international
justice.
Once the United States accomplishes this, it needs to withdraw
its military presence. This doesn’t mean the U.S. should
withdraw altogether; rather, it needs to ensure its main objective
is to empower the Afghan people to better their economy and
political infrastructure. Too many times, the U.S. has unilaterally
entered a country to advance its own agenda, leaving it politically
and economically unstable, as it did in Vietnam.
Repeating this pattern in Afghanistan would be a deadly mistake:
terrorizing the entire country to seek out a few men will infuriate
the people of Afghanistan and substantiate the calls for the
further counter-U.S. retaliation bin Laden’s successors will
surely call for.
Dropping food, medicine and supplies to the refugees of
Afghanistan doesn’t justify bombing their country beyond our
necessary objectives. When the dust settles and the smoke clears,
the only thing left standing will be the country’s already
existing problems. Afghanistan will still be looking for a stable
government that can reconstruct the devastation the country has
faced for the last half-century ““ both domestically and
internationally.
If the U.S. fails to extend its help, it will find that removing
the Taliban government will only make room for the next military
regime’s oppressive rule. Supporting a major recovery effort
in Afghanistan will lead to a long-lasting, stable government.
The country of Afghanistan needs to be healed ““ not hurled
into the middle of an American military agenda combatting
terrorism. A military war against terrorism cannot be won.
President Bush needs to turn away from his anti-terrorist war
efforts and re-orient his approach to eliminating terrorism through
diplomacy.
Right now, both the Senate and the House overwhelmingly support
Bush ““ and will likely support him no matter which direction
his campaign turns. While it is natural for people to turn to their
country’s leaders in times of crisis, Americans must consider
for themselves whether they support war and to what extent. And if
they don’t, it is their responsibility to make their
positions known through their protest and vote.
Finding bin Laden and the Taliban is a military effort. Ending
terrorism is a diplomatic effort. So long as we remember this,
America and Afghanistan will hopefully live securely and in
peace.