Why is us in afghanistan

In , the US got involved in the Iraq war , hoping that the Karzai administration, with support from Western forces, would quell a nascent insurgency and put Afghanistan on the path of progress. From onward, US officials continued to accuse Pakistan of providing sanctuaries to Taliban militants.

But Washington never put enough pressure on Islamabad to deal with the issue. The resurgence of the Taliban in the second half of the s saw a spike in violence in the country. Suicide bomb attacks became a routine, and civilians paid a heavy price. There had been daily attacks and armed clashes in our area," Wali said. We had lost our homes and everything that we owned. The US should have looked for other solutions after the invasion," he said.

Their understanding of Afghan society was flawed, certainly not sufficient to run the government," Arife said, adding that the changes were not organic and therefore didn't last after the US forces exited the country. Their return to power has raised many questions about the two-decade-long US military presence in Afghanistan.

For instance, what did the US achieve in Afghanistan after spending so much time and money in the war-ravaged country? Although the Taliban's comeback is a setback to Western intervention in Afghanistan, from the Afghan perspective, the US invasion was not an utter failure.

Experts say Afghan society has changed tremendously since the US invasion — so much so that the Taliban also feel the need to present a "benign" and "moderate" face to their compatriots and the international community.

After capturing Kabul, the militant group said it would form an inclusive government, and that the new regime would be qualitatively different from the one established before the US invasion. The middle class has expanded in the country, and the number of educated people and entrepreneurs has also grown in the past two decades.

Different groups — including women, academics and common citizens — are protesting the Taliban rule in different parts of the country. As female employees in Kabul were reportedly told to stay home, some staged a protest against the latest restrictions on women by the new Taliban government.

Visit the new DW website Take a look at the beta version of dw. Go to the new dw. But some lawmakers, such as the committee's top Republican, Senator Jim Inhofe, were unconvinced. Search Search. Home United States U. Latest show. VOA Africa Listen live. VOA Newscasts Latest program. VOA Newscasts. Previous Next. September 28, PM. Jeff Seldin. More US Stories. More than , U. Second, the war is getting worse, and fast. Casualty figures for Afghan security forces and civilians have broken new records.

The Taliban controls more territory than ever before. Drug production, which finances much of the insurgency, has reached unprecedented levels. Third, conditions have never been better for talks. President Donald Trump, who desperately wants a peace deal to give him cover for a withdrawal, is fully on board.

The Taliban, showing its own seriousness, has sent top officials to the talks — including a founding leader and a chief of staff to supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada. Washington owes it to the Afghan people to try to negotiate a deal with the Taliban. But if it fails, Washington owes it to America — which has spent billions of dollars and lost nearly 2, lives — to accept its losses and head for the exits.

Afghanistan is vital to US geo-strategic interests and a critical test of its leadership. As pressures grow for the United States to extricate itself from a year-long conflict in Afghanistan, a war-weary American public and an impatient president are increasingly questioning U. Outright military victory over the Taliban insurgency now seems impossible, and a sustainable, comprehensive peace agreement improbable. With the U. There are conflicts in international affairs for which there are likely to be no conclusive outcomes and, given the alternatives, are at best managed.

The continuing U. Stability can buy time in which the Afghan government may be able to provide improved security, economic opportunities, and needed justice reform. With these gains, there exists an opportunity, however challenging, to outlast the insurgency. Through a gradual process of reintegration, incentivized Taliban commanders and their fighters, convinced that time is on the side of the state, can be reabsorbed into Afghan society.

A premature departure by U. The flight of millions of Afghan refugees would threaten regional stability. Disengagement reduces the U. It also forfeits the leverage the U. With the vacuum the U. The Afghan theater offers, then, a critical test for the extent to which the U.

Marvin G. He is also a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The US should aim for a responsible drawdown and an Afghan-backed political roadmap. When asked about U.