In the past year the "war on terrorism" has been on the forefronts of our national and international agenda. This "war on terrorism" was largely motivated by the horrific attacks that terrorists perpetrated on September 11 against the US. The attack was terrible and those responsible for it should definitely be punished. .
However, it makes me wonder. Why would some foreigners in the ruins of Afghanistan be interested in hurting the US? Are they simply lunatics bent on shedding innocent blood? Are they attacking us only because they are against the American lifestyle? .
The answer to these questions is multifaceted. But, I believe that American foreign policy is short sighted; it is often based on our selfish, national desires; it has at times hurt innocent lives; and it is partially responsible for the events of September 11. .
Let me give you some examples that prove this point. .
In 1979 Afghanistan fought to get Russian troops out of their country. Ultimately they succeeded, but then Afghanistan fell apart in a civil war that lasted approximately up to last year. Foreign powers were very important in sustaining the civil war. Eventually, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the US provided money, weapons, and military training to a group called the Taliban. Iran, India, and Russia provided resources to the anti-Taliban coalition. .
The American government was one of the Taliban's supporters. Unfortunately, our government provided ten billion dollars worth of supplies to the Afghans, without questioning their policies or caring about their human rights violations (18). There were political reasons for why we wanted to support the Taliban, for example, we wanted to oppose Iran and this was one way of doing it (46). Another reason we wanted a stable, friendly Afghanistan was so that we could create oil pipelines (161).
Initially, we even tolerated the Taliban's murder of innocent people, and their oppression of women.
