US military presence in Afghanistan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

US military presence in Afghanistan - Essay Example However, these doubts and confusions pertaining to the US led military action in Afghanistan simply cannot dilute the fact that in a post 9/11 scenario, the ground realities in the US were such that it was somewhat imperative for the US to engage in some kind of military action to allay the falling public moral and confidence. The 9/11 incident amounted to an attack on the United States of America and it was somewhat imperative on the nation to trace and attack the terrorist bases situated in Afghanistan. However, the thing that needs to be regretted is that the US presence in Afghanistan instead of culminating into a logical conclusion rather got prolonged. Somehow the US got entangled in the situation in Afghanistan and in the present context; it is an issue of debate whether the US should withdraw its military from Afghanistan or whether it should keep it troops stationed there until the envisaged objectives are achieved. It will be really insightful to analyze the reasons both su pportive of and critical of the premise that US military should leave Afghanistan. The thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the US attack on Afghanistan was backed by valid and justifiable tactical and strategic reasons. Many people tend to think that in the post 9/11 scenario, United States sent its military to Afghanistan to avenge the 9/11 attacks. Yes, this is true, but it was not the only reason why the US sent its forces to Afghanistan. Rather the US invasion of Afghanistan was based on more elaborate and detailed strategic considerations that were backed by valid doubts that if not militarily engaged and neutralized, the terrorist groups that targeted US may do so again (Goodson 7). So the objective of the US lead invasion was to trace and annihilate the groups stationed in Afghanistan that were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and to neutralize their capacity to again launch such attacks on the US and the other Western democracies. Thereby, the posting of the US milit ary in Afghanistan was not senseless, but rather happened to be a strategic necessity. In the light of this fact the thing that needs to be considered is that the US objective of invading Afghanistan has still not completely been achieved. Though the US military has freed large parts of Afghanistan from the hold of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, still it is a fact that the Taliban and the Al Qaeda continue to have bases in Afghanistan and have managed to retain a significant chunk of their capacity to plan and engage in acts of terrorism and carnage. Thereby the US must stay put its military in Afghanistan until the Taliban are conclusively annihilated. Otherwise, there exists a valid possibility that the Taliban may reorganize them self and may once again give way to a 9/11 like action. The argument that the US should continue to retain military presence in Afghanistan to avoid a redo of the 9/11 like mayhem is indeed valid and logical. The veracity of this argument is proved by the gro und realities. Irrespective of the engagement with a heavy US military deployment the Taliban have time and again proven their capacity by attacking the US and ally basis within Afghanistan. The