In case you are having trouble with the research component of Project III, I've provided addresses below for a number of articles/editorials that you might find useful. Of course, you are not required to use any of these articles, but I thought they would be a good starting point for those of you who do not regularly read the news online.
Editorials in support of the war:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2009/1202/p08s05-comv.html
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/11/12/seth-jones-afghanistan-obama-taliban-al-qaeda/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/02/AR2009090203083.html
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-afghanistan_0222edi.State.Edition1.276092f.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/opinion/08mon1.html
Editorials opposed to the war or how it is being fought:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Vietnamization-means-defeat-in-the-Afghan-war-8227567-59063827.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/11/AR2009121102596.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2009/08/afghanistan-british-qaeda
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/31/AR2009083102912.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/12/AR2009111209823.html
Recent military statements about the state of the war:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030801693.html?hpid=moreheadlines
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/03/1284817/petraeus-predicts-a-hard-year.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/08/gates-afghanistan-sees-hard-days-ahead/
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghan-petraeus22-2010feb22,0,1993789.story
Articles about the U.S. military's recent offensive in the Afghan town of Marja:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/weekinreview/21filkins.html?hp
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/01/89623/marjahs-residents-wary-of-us-after.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8554332.stm
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0304/Afghanistan-war-NATO-unfolds-blueprint-to-rebuild-Marjah
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2010/0214/Marjah-offensive-a-test-of-Obama-s-broader-Afghanistan-strategy
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588225,00.html
Articles about civilian casualties in the war:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/nov/19/afghanistan-civilian-casualties-statistics-data
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0223/Afghanistan-war-As-civilian-deaths-rise-NATO-says-Sorry.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2010/0222/Afghanistan-war-challenge-civilian-deaths-from-NATO-airstrike
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/world/asia/07afghan.html
Relations between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-extremist-wedge12-2010mar12,0,2270910.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/10/AR2009111019644.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60P4A320100126
Recent articles about Pakistan and its role in the war:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/world/asia/17intel.html?hp
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0224/Half-of-Afghanistan-Taliban-leadership-arrested-in-Pakistan/%28page%29/2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/06/AR2010030601284.html?hpid=moreheadlines
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8550725.stm
Articles about Afghan governmental corruption:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902500.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8357689.stm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/23/AR2009082300411.html
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/02/16/1753055/us-must-show-that-a-central-government.html
Articles about Afghanistan's opium industry:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0305/Can-Afghanistan-economy-thrive-without-poppy
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,545548,00.html
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/01/12/82165/us-turns-to-afghan-farmers-to.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
We have been at war with the insurgents of Afghanistan for eight years. Not much progress has been made, and although many Americans disagree, it seems necessary to keep sending troops over to Afghanistan to continue the war. We have spent and keep spending billons of dollars on this war, and can’t afford to not win or just surrender. In a column for the Washington Post, it is said that, “stabilizing [Afghanistan] will require many years of patient effort and the pain of continued American casualties” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/02/AR2009090203083.html). With this being said though, the Afghan people are depending on us for their reason to hope and we in America are depending on this war to keep the Taliban from nuclear weapons.
First, we must prevent the Taliban and Al Qaeda from taking over Pakistan and its nuclear weapons. It is estimated that Pakistan possesses about 100 of these weapons; if the weapons get into the wrong hands, it could be a world disaster. Mark Thompson reports in TIME that “Al Qaeda continues efforts to acquire chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials and wouldn’t hesitate to use such weapons as the group develops sufficient capabilities” (http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1893685,00.html). “The day a nuclear device ends up in Al Qaeda’s hands will be a catastrophic day for the world… it could be used to blackmail the US, for example, forcing it out of Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the entire Muslim world”(http://www.upiasia.com/Security/2009/04/03/security_of_pakistans_nuclear_weapons/9705/). The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Obama has set the US on a mission to create a nuclear-free world,” this goal isn’t obtainable if we don’t stabilize both Pakistan and Afghanistan (http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2009/1202/p08s05-comv.html). Although this is a great thing, Pakistan is concerned about the elimination of their weapons because they consider an essential deterrent to aggression by nuclear-armed India (http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100319/wl_mcclatchy/3455587_1).
Second, we need to give the Afghan people a reason to hope, and by us being there to help them they have a chance. Since we have there the US has set up many schools and hospitals, “the number of children in school has grown from 1 to 8 million” (http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2009/1202/p08s05-comv.html). Along with necessary schools and hospitals, it is reported in Christian Science Monitor that “Obama plans a surge of US civilian aid focused on the types of agriculture that can wean farmers off the lucrative opium trade which helps fund the Taliban” (http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2009/1202/p08s05-comv.html). By teaching them to grow things other than opium they have a way to support themselves and possibly have a chance at a decent life.
People who are against the war need to reconsider, not only do the Afghan people need us the world can not trust Al Qaeda or the Taliban holding Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Even though the war is expensive, it is the right thing to do. If we were in their position we would want someone to help us. The chance at a decent life has been given to us; it is time for others to share that same opportunity. To win this war we need to continue sending troops to overcome the enemy.
Post a Comment