General Assembly
The Conflict in Afghanistan
On October 7, 2001, the U.S. government, in response to an uncooperative Taliban regime, launched military campaigns in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime, despite pressure from the Bush administration and international powers, refused to discontinue their policy of sheltering Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization assumed responsible for the terrorist attacks on September 11th. The U.S. government, still recovering from the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center, made the war on terrorism a priority and demanded that action be taken against Al Qaeda. It was stated that the purpose of these military campaigns was to intervene with Taliban control of Afghanistan. Very recently, President Barack Obama declared that US military involvement in Afghanistan would increase, with 30,000 soldiers being deployed over a six-month period.
The question at hand is whether or not increased military action is an appropriate response to the situation in Afghanistan. While the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan replaced the Taliban government in December 2001, many parts of the country still serve as a breeding ground for terrorism. The regrouping of the Taliban and resurgence of Al Qaeda has caused much alarm in Afghanistan and throughout the world. Members of Al Qaeda continually violate human rights against innocent citizens, especially discriminating and committing acts of violence towards women and children. Unfortunately, many Afghani schools are paid for by the Taliban. This enables terrorists to train children for violence from a young age. A large portion of the Taliban’s funding is from the opium trade in Afghanistan. Opium, a drug derived from poppy flowers, is widely popular in the Middle East. While the growing of opium poppies is illegal, with support from the Taliban, the drug trade continues and the money from it supports terrorist activities. Taliban violence continues to terrorize Afghani civilians, with 595 civilians killed by Taliban explosions or violence in the first six months of the year 2009 alone.
A survey of Afghani citizens conducted by the BBC in September, 2009 had these findings: 50% say that corruption among government officials or the police has increased in the last year, 90% saying they are opposed to the Taliban, 69% of people still support the overthrow of the Taliban by foreign forces , but only 32% think US forces are doing a good or excellent job now, compared with 68% in 2005. The task at hand is for the General Assembly to draft a plan for Afghanistan that helps prevent the spread of terrorism, and keeps the best interest of the innocent Afghani citizens at heart.