Afghanistan War Is Not a Just War [View all]

[rug]

Jessica Greenhalgh
Posted: 05/06/2013 9:44 am

Unbeknown to most Americans, the Afghanistan war is the longest American war in its history. More importantly, this war defies the elements of a just war as elucidated by St Augustine of Hippo 2000 years ago: First, it was not based on clear, legitimate or just aims. The war aim was to capture Osama bin Laden but he was not in Afghanistan. Second, it should not have been undertaken out of hate, greed or other base motives, ostensibly, it was taken out of punishment of the Pashtun tribes under the mistaken view of their anti-American role. Third, this war was prosecuted as a first resort instead of a last resort and finally there must have been the likelihood of success, there is no success in this war.

To date, this is the longest war ever endured by the U.S. The only other longest wars the U.S. participated in were the Vietnam War from 1964-1972, and the Iraq War from 2003-2011. Sadly, there was no true victory in either of those two wars. Unfortunately, the same unsuccessful outcome will be true with the Afghanistan War. At this point, thousands of innocent lives, women, children, and American Soldiers have lost their lives in this war. To help alleviate any further damages incurred by the war, it is essential that the U.S. withdraw their forces this year instead in 2014. Most likely, historians will mark the Afghanistan war the greatest mistake of Obama's presidency, as he labeled it, "the right war."

When evaluating why the war should end in Afghanistan, it is very important to consider the total damages sustained compared to benefits endured from the war. Let's begin by considering the costs incurred by the United States. Tragically, as of May 5, 2013, there have been 2,206 American soldiers killed , and 18,462 wounded, all young Americans between 18 -29 years of age... Additionally, during the end of 2012, the Congressional Research Service estimated that the total operations cost for the Afghanistan War was $557 billion dollars, not including costs incurred in 2013 and beyond. To put this into comparison, the current California budget deficit is $16 billion dollars , and the federal budget deficit is estimated at $845 billion for 2013. Evidently, the amount spent on the war could have paid off California's deficit 34 times over.

Furthermore, when breaking down the U.S. expenses into components, the costs are quite alarming. Just to train and send one U.S. soldier to Afghanistan, it is estimated to cost the United States $500,000. And the estimated cost to deploy one U.S. civilian government employee in Afghanistan is $425,926-$570,998. Furthermore, there is also a substantial cost for the military equipment in Afghanistan. Currently, the U.S. military equipment in Afghanistan that has accumulated over the past 10 years is estimated to be worth $36 billion dollars. In addition to that, there is an estimated $12.8 million dollars purchased equipment sitting unused and in storage. Most of it will become worthless, as much of the equipment had warranties that are soon to expire and have yet to be tested. Evidently, it was not needed. Furthermore, what the nation owes to veterans who are disabled during service has more than doubled since 2000, rising from $14.8 billion in 2000 to $39.4 billion in 2011, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this case, Afghanistan and the Iraq War were key contributors. How do these costs measure up against the benefits of the war? What benefits were there for the United States in Afghanistan war? How did the security of the United States improve by occupying numerous villages or imprisoning thousands of Pushtun villages in Afghanistan?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-greenhalgh/afghanistan-war-just-war_b_3220799.html