Nearly 11 years have passed since the United States began Operation Enduring Freedom, just a few days after Osama bin Laden orchestrated the deadliest terrorist attacks against America. After more than a decade, our nation is still entangled in a complicated counterinsurgency with no clear end in sight. U.S. and coalition forces still seem to be on the counterattack, and a clear offensive operation has yet to be established. Day after day, news reports are filled with North Atlantic Treaty Organization reactions to Taliban and Al-Qaeda attacks. The war in Afghanistan needs to come to an end, for the sake of more than just our pocketbooks.
Since the start of OEF the United States has had to deal with a myriad of enemy tactics, ranging from suicide bombers and car bombs, to roadside bombs, snipers and complex ambushes. All of these attacks do more than just create casualties. They are carefully planned psychological attacks against our soldiers who are fighting on the frontlines in Afghanistan. These attacks are designed to lower morale and are mentally exhausting to troops, who must constantly be alert for the smallest indicator of an enemy assault. While all of these schemes are clever, none of them hold a matchstick to the latest method the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have employed against coalition forces in Afghanistan.
“Green-on-Blue” attacks, named after color designations given to Afghani and NATO forces, have been on the rise over the last year, and have had devastating effects. According to an article published on Sept. 2 by Angelo Young, a writer for International Business Times, in 2012 there have been 34 such attacks that have resulted in the killing of 45 NATO troops. According to the Associated Press, at least 12 of these attacks have occurred within the last month, resulting in 15 NATO troops being killed in action. All of the attackers have been wearing uniforms that designate them as friendly police or military forces, and have ambushed unsuspecting NATO partners during patrols and other combat operations.
Several news sources reported that the U.S. has temporarily ordered training to cease for roughly 1,000 Afghan Local Police while intelligence analysts delve deeper into the recruits’ background. Eventually NATO forces are planning more extensive background research on all of the estimated 350,000 current Afghan force. While this is a step in the right direction, I believe that more must be done to ensure the safety of NATO forces during training.
“With this increased interest in the insider threat, everybody started looking at it and saying: ‘What can we do to make sure that all of our vetting processes are in place?’ We’re going through and looking at everything,” Lt. Col. Todd Harrell, a spokesman for the U.S. special operations forces in Afghanistan, said during an interview with the Associated Press. “It may take a month, it may take two months, we don’t know.”
The latest Green-on-Blue attack resulted in the deaths of three Australian soldiers in the Uruzgan province of Afghanistan last Wednesday, according to the IBT. NATO efforts again come in response to newly devised plans put in action by enemy forces, and I believe these latest attacks should be a catalyst for ending U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. Friendly attacks are devastating to troop morale, and our soldiers have given us their all for far too long.
Operation Enduring Freedom was a swift and justified response to Al-Qaeda’s underhanded and disgusting attack against innocent civilians on Sept. 11, 2001. Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the supporting Taliban government in Afghanistan received the full force of American military power for their respective parts in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. However, with bin Laden now dead, many Al-Qaeda operatives in hiding and a Taliban force that has been reduced to implementing internal attacks, the U.S. and NATO must quickly transfer authority to the current ruling government and halt combat operations in Afghanistan. The cost of the war is becoming too great to justify a military presence.
According to a February 2011 article by Agence France-Presse, the Pentagon reported that operation costs for OEF were around $300 million USD a day, a drop from previous years when the U.S. was embroiled in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
As stated by the AFP article, the Pentagon’s proposed fiscal year 2012 budget for Afghanistan calls for a staggering $107.3 billion, a drop from the 2011 bill that requested $113.5 billion. The Afghanistan war is costing the U.S. billions of dollars. Even after combat operations cease, the U.S. will still need to funnel money to military personnel remaining in theater as advisers to the newly emplaced military and government officials, similar to operations in Iraq.
Far more important than the financial strain these two wars in Asia have cost our country is the emotional strain. Thousands of soldiers have given their lives in support of OIF and OEF. According to iCasualties.org, 2,109 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan to date, and 4,486 men and women serving in our armed forces died in support of OIF. Many troops have also been permanently disabled by injuries sustained overseas.
Combat fatalities are only a portion of the story. In addition to those wounded physically, many men and women bear invisible scars as a result from their time in combat, afflicted with mental trauma like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other severe anxiety disorders. In a recent USA Today article, the Army reports that suicide rates in July were at an all-time high for one month tallies, totaling 38 in July 2012. Our military is tired. They’ve fought hard for over 10 years now, and it is time that we give them a much deserved break.
Withdrawal from a region that has been plagued by violence for centuries is not an admission of defeat. Knowing when you’re involved in a fight that will never end and deciding to cut losses is usually identified as being smart. A counterinsurgency is a war that can never be won, because there will always be pissed-off zealots who hate ruling authorities. Look no further than Iraq for evidence.
According to a New York Times topics article, in June 2012 more than 150 Iraqis were killed and hundreds more were wounded in several different acts of sectarian violence over the course of one week. Keep in mind this is only one report from one month, the total amount of ongoing violence is much greater.
Since the removal of Saddam Hussein and a centralized government, the country has once again splintered into several different tribal regions, each one vying for power. Afghanistan is comprised of similar tribal regions and provinces, with many of its citizens loyal to blood lines and tribal affiliations, not ruling governments.
Our goal in Afghanistan was to bring the mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to justice. The last time I checked he had been served with two rounds to the chest and one to the head and dumped off a boat in the Atlantic. Sounds like we won. It is time to bring our serving men and women home to a hero’s welcome. It’s exactly what they deserve.
David Adams can be reached at david.adams@spartans.ut.edu
Osama Bin Laden was a hero.
A man born into wealth and privilege who gave this all up to fight for what he believed in.
1. That America supports the brutalizing of his brothers in Palestine
2. That americas presence in Saudia Arabia is propping up a puppet government against the ordinary people and an affront to the sanctity of the religious centers there.
Yes he fought an asymmetrical war and had to use gorilla tactics
but can someone point out where he was mistaken in his beliefs.