This seminar paper deals with United States foreign policy and the fight against terrorism in
Afghanistan. Upon my seminar paper I like to discuss the thesis which promotes the idea ,that it is
necessary to combine military actions and development aid to ensure a peaceful situation in
Afghanistan. Since the war in Afghanistan is a very current issue I will do a lot of internet
researches due to the topicality of the internet. I will investigate official information provided by
government as well as non-governmental statements by journalists. The current situation in relation
to the aims of the Western allies in 2001 will be my main focus in this seminar paper.
Abstract
This seminar paper deals with United States foreign policy and the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. Upon my seminar paper I like to discuss the thesis which promotes the idea ,that it is necessary to combine military actions and development aid to ensure a peaceful situation in Afghanistan. Since the war in Afghanistan is a very current issue I will do a lot of internet researches due to the topicality of the internet. I will investigate official information provided by government as well as non-governmental statements by journalists. The current situation in relation to the aims of the Western allies in 2001 will be my main focus in this seminar paper.
Main text
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the reaction due to the terrorist attacks on America September 2001. Operation Enduring Freedom focuses on the fight against terrorism with the help of military operations. Besides the Operation pursuits the displacement of the fundamentalism leaders in Afghanistan - the Taliban. The United States lead that mission whereby 20 other nations are involved. It contains missions in Afghanistan and the guarding of maritime routes . OEF is based on Article 51 of the Charter of United Nations (UN), which guarantees the right of individual or collective self-defense. In its resolution of 12 September 2001 , the UN Security Council condemned the terrorist attacks with a reference to the self-defense law. On 7 October 2001, American and British forces started with Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan. For about 200 years, there has been war in Afghanistan. The British invasion started in 1838 and ended in 1919, when Afghanistan became independent of Great Britain. Sixty years later the Soviet invasion began, that lasted ten years. During this 200-year occupation, there were only brief periods in which there was peace in Afghanistan (Afghanistan | World news | Retrieved January 28 ,2010 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/afghanistan).
At present there are more than 110.000 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. With 68.000 troops, America represents the biggest contingent of troops. Now, nine years after invasion of Afghanistan, President of the Unites States (U.S.), Barack Obama is going to reinforce the U.S. troops by a total amount of 30.000 additional troops. Canada and the Netherlands already started to deduct their troops from Afghanistan. In contrast to that, Italy , Spain, Poland, South Korea and Georgia are going to enlarge their contingent (Der Spiegel „Friedhof der Supermächte“ Nr.4/25.1.10 page 86 ). With the end of 2009 , the U.S. have spent more than USD 300 billion for the war in Afghanistan . (Der Spiegel „Friedhof der Supermächte“ Nr.4/25.1.10 page 87 ). But the situation in Afghanistan is still dangerous. Although there are more than 110.000 troops stationed in Afghanistan , Taliban are able to launch attacks against Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. In January 2010, ninety U.S. American soldiers died due to attacks of the Taliban. Since 2001 more than 1.700 Soldiers from the coalition died and 2.400 civilians died in 2009, the highest number of civilians that had been killed since the Fall of the Taliban. Within the last weeks the number of attacks by the Taliban increased. Western forces are attacked every day, this indicates that the situation is still dangerous.
On 27 January 2010 a suicide bomber attacked an U.S. base in Afghanistan. 25 people were injured and five were killed. Some weeks before seven CIA agents were killed during their workout in a gym. A Taliban in disguise of an American solider, entered the gym and detonated his explosives. Hamid Karzai's control is limited to Kabul and its surroundings. (The Official Home of the Departmentof Defense , Retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://www.defense.gov/news/).
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- Arbeit zitieren
- Michael Wünsch (Autor:in), 2010, United States foreign policy and the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/189649
