This blog piece was written by one of our students, Alice. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue.
I wasn’t alive during 9/11. I will never experience the terror that so many Americans felt that day almost 20 years ago, 4 years before I was born. However, I have grown up in a post-9/11 world: increased security at airports, endless wars in the Middle East, Islamophobia. And now, 20 years later, we are finally out of Afghanistan. Which leads me, and most of America to ask, “What was that all for?”
Within 10 days of 9/11, President Bush declared a war on terror. 9/11, we later learned, was carried out by the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, headed by Osama Bin Laden. At the time, the Taliban had control of the majority of Afghanistan and took in Al-Qaeda terrorists, including Bin Laden. This was used as the justification of the US invasion. Within months both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were driven out of Afghanistan, though it took until 2011 to find and execute Bin Laden. After the first few months, the focus began to shift to rebuilding the country. So what did we actually do to help Afghanistan? We helped establish a shaky democracy in Afghanistan, provided girls the opportunity to go to school, which was forbidden under the Taliban, and started to build the Ring road- a road that connected Afghanistan’s 4 largest cities and therefore connected the country, among other (failed) infrastructure projects. What limited infrastructure America built was not sustainable after our exit from the country and withdrawal of financial support.
However, when Bush decided to invade Iraq in 2003, experienced leadership and resources shifted, and funding for the Ring Road, a vital piece of infrastructure, was cut by 1.2 billion dollars. The diverting of attention to Iraq gave the Taliban the opportunity to seize more land and control of the country. Again, this is just one of many failed policy decisions made by the US that created the situation in Afghanistan.
While Bush began the unrest and wars in the Middle East, Obama continued the process, even expanding America’s military presence in Afghanistan. He sent more and more troops into Afghanistan to attempt to defeat the Taliban. This has been referred to as, “The Surge”. It did little good. Taliban attacks increased, and the country was not any more stable. 18 months later, Obama began bringing the troops back, in an effort to, “change our mission from combat, to support.” It’s important to note, however, that during Obama’s presidency, numerous airstrikes were carried out, targeting the Taliban. This resulted in the death of civilians, and, famously, the mistaken bombing of multiple wedding parties. Needless to say, America was a foreign occupying force that, again, created no sustainable infrastructure in the country.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle agreed that the war in Afghanistan (which had lasted 20 years — the longest in US history) was long overdue. The plan to withdraw troops was complicated, however. In leaving, America would inevitably create a dangerous power vacuum. In addition to this, Afghans who helped America, as well as activists and critics of the Taliban would need to be granted a visa to live in the US. Nevertheless, Biden announced he was going to withdraw all troops by September 11, 2021, the 20 year anniversary of 9/11.
While the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was inevitably going to be messy, the speed with which Afghanistan fell, and the violence that occurred as a result was surprising to most Americans. However, some experts claim that the failure of the Biden Administration to plan for a collapse was ignorant. The unstable government that had been established clearly presented a possibility that the country could fall to the Taliban again, they claim. Others claim that the Afghan government did not put up an adequate defense, despite US support and funding. Whatever the reason, we are now faced with a crisis in Afghanistan, and Americans must do what they can to help. In addition to calling your legislators, demanding support for Afghanistan and Afghan refugees, donate, if possible, to the International Institute (in STL) or other organizations that aim to help Afghan immigrants.
