Afghanistan’s Security and US Presence

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Table of Contents

Introduction
A Case for Continued US Presence
Failure of US Efforts
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

Since its independence from British in 1919, Afghanistan has had a turbulence history characterized by foreign invasions, sectarian wars and poor governance. From the 1980s the Taliban, which began as a resistance group fighting against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, has played a key role in the affairs of Afghanistan.

Following the US led invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban lost the almost absolute control it held in the country. This led to Afghanistan being classified as a failing state by the international community. After the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, there was need for state-building; a term which is defined as constructing a functional state.

The US has therefore been at the forefront of rebuilding Afghanistan with a huge military presence being established in the region. Even so, incidents of insecurity continue to be high in Afghanistan. This paper shall argue that Afghanistan’s security is best served by the withdrawal of America’s troops on Afghan soils.

A Case for Continued US Presence

Failing and failed states provide safe havens for terrorist organizations some of which operate internationally. Pauly (2010) specifically cautions that nations on the brink of failure are ideal bases for terrorist groups. Afghanistan served as the safe haven for Al-Qaida it was only after the invasion of the country by US led troops and the establishment of a functional government that the country stopped serving as a hub for terrorists.

Paris and Sisk (2009) assert that international efforts were essential for the state-building efforts in post-Taliban Afghanistan. The Afghan government was installed through efforts of the US and currently, the military security and national budget of Afghanistan depends heavily on foreign funding.

For a nation to function favorably, it has to have a functional justice system. This is because a nation’s justice system has a direct bearing on the perceived legitimacy of a government by its people. Hains (2008) states that the reason for this is that the nation’s citizens are more likely to cooperate with the security apparatus if they perceive that the justice system is effective and fair.

Afghanistan’s justice system is primarily aided by the US. Should the US move out of Afghanistan, it can be assumed that the justice system would collapse therefore throwing Afghanistan into further turmoil.

Failure of US Efforts

While US led efforts to stability Afghanistan and bring about peace have been massive, they have not worked. This has mostly been because of the huge foreign military presence in Afghanistan. The presence of US military installations in Afghanistan has resulted in the radicalization of sections of the population. The Taliban have in particular used the presence of foreign troops as recruitment tools with great success (Paris and Sisk, 2010).

As a result of the increased US presence in Afghanistan, the Afghan government has been forced to demonstrate its accountability to the US instead of its citizens. This visible political intrusion has been as a result of the huge financial aid that the US gives to Afghanistan. By being accountable to its donors rather than its own people, the Afghan government has lost legitimacy in the eyes of Afghans which has resulted in increased attacks on government installations.

While the 2001 Afghanistan invasion by the US let military force may have been largely welcomed by the general Afghan public, the ensuing breakdown of security and reemergence of sectarian war largely undermined the efforts of the new government and its international backers (Ayub, Kouvo & Wareham, 2009). A decade after the dramatic fall of the Taliban, the country is full of violence, drug-related crimes and other abusive behavior that have cast a dark cloud over Afghanistan.

Conclusion

This paper has argued that the presence of the US in Afghanistan is detrimental to the security of the region. It has been shown that some of the violence that is currently perpetrated in the region is in retaliation to US presence. This paper has demonstrated that US forces help strengthen Taliban and increase sectarian wars. It can therefore be proposed that Afghanistan’s security is better served by American withdrawal from the region.

Reference

Ayub, F., Kouvo, S. & Wareham, R. (2009). “Security Sector Reform in Afghanistan.” International Center for Transitional Justice. Web.

Hains, C. M. et al. (2008). Breaking the Failed-State Cycle. RAND Corporation.

Paris, R. & Sisk, T.D. (2009). The Dilemmas of State Building: Confronting the Contradictions of Postwar Peace Operations. Taylor & Francis.

Pauly, J. R. (2010). The Ashgate Research Companion to US Foreign Policy. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

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Afghanistan’s Security and US Presence

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