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No Moral Obligation in Afghanistan
Q: Eight years after the U.S. attacked Afghanistan, fighting continues. Religious extremists in the Taliban and al-Qaeda retain significant power there. What is our moral responsibility to the people of Afghanistan? If religion is part of the problem there, how can it be part of the solution?
I will never forget a woman I met last year who lives in Afghanistan. She was talking about the war being waged there, and she said, with passion, "We don't want Americans in Afghanistan. We don't want to be like Americans. We want jobs."
I didn't get a chance to ask if she was saying that she thought Afghans do not want Americans to help them improve their lot in life; if she was saying, in essence, "thanks, but no thanks."
I got the impression that what she was saying was this: What the Afghan people want more than anything is an opportunity to make a decent wage so that they can live decent lives, but what she feared was that American presence in her country meant that there would be an effort, sooner if not later, to convert Afghans to an American lifestyle.
That, she was clear, was not and is not what they want.
"We want jobs," she said bluntly. "We don't want American materialism and American greed. We want jobs."
That being said, I wonder if what she wants is what this war is all about. In terms of American interests, and the interests of the world, getting rid of terrorism is priority, and it should be. I do not know that this war is winnable. We have been in Afghanistan for eight years, and as yet, Osama bin Laden has not been found and terrorist cells are still proliferating.
It feels like Vietnam all over again: Western forces going against forces they do not understand and therefore are not optimally equipped to fight. It saddens me to think that so many American lives have been lost already and more will be lost as we fight an elusive, if ever-present enemy.
Yet, we are in a quandary. In light of 9/11 and other terrorist plots against Americans, on American soil, we cannot sit and do nothing.
I do not feel a moral obligation for this war, but I feel a military obligation. I feel a need for Americans to protect American interests. We who are Americans are glad and proud of our citizenship and we should do all we can to protect it.
But when we start talking about a moral reason to be in Afghanistan, I back away. The Afghans do not need "American morality" in order to live good lives. They need jobs; my friend said so, in no uncertain terms. The Afghans are quite content with their culture, which they well should be. I would think they would resent anyone trying to change them, which at least some of them feel, just as we would resent another nation trying to change us into a culture they deemed more worthy.
Religion, of course, plays a big part in all of this. We in America do not appreciate nor do we understand the religion of the East, in spite of how we try to pretend we do. Some Islamic people are not happy with what we would call the oppression we see in that religion, but some are fine with it. I do not see the role of America as one that tries to ply a people from their religion. They have to right to believe and to practice their religion as they see fit. We may hate it; it may go against everything we believe in, but it is their religion and they have a right to it.
When and if they want to change the way they practice religion, they will do it. The groundswell will have to come from the people themselves, not from the top down, but from the bottom up, not unlike change happened in the United States when the common black folk decided they'd had enough of oppression. People make changes in government and religion, and the powers that be follow the lead that, ultimately, the people set in motion.
I wish we could leave Afghanistan. I wish we could find a way to deal with the Taliban and al-Qaeda without this war. Militarily, though, I think we have no choice. Morally, we have no voice.
By
Susan K. Smith
|
October 7, 2009; 1:59 PM ET
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Posted by: simpsonth | October 8, 2009 10:39 PM
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Many feel the war in Afghanistan was and is a just (no war is moral) war.
Why? In early 2002, the U.S. had lately suffered the vicious 9/11 terrorist attacks plotted by al-Qaeda from the sanctuary provided by its Taliban protectors. Without a prompt American military response, there surely would have been more of the same.
Iraq on the other hand, was different. Saddam Hussein was a bloody tyrant and no friend of America, but he hadn't attacked the U.S. or its allies, and despite the dire warnings of the Bush administration there was no compelling evidence that he meant to do so, with weapons of mass destruction or without them.
Here, then, is the heart of the situation: legitimate self-defense in Afghanistan and a big question mark in Iraq. But there's more to the story than that.
What should one make of all this?
Afghanistan was a just (again, no war is moral) war at the start, and nothing has happened to change that today.
The same overriding consideration applies now that applied in early 2002 — the need to spike the terrorist threat in its heartland. American failure would be a calamitous setback for the U.S. and a godsend for al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
So as my Grandmother would say, six in one hand 1/2 dozen in the other... very tough choices for our Commander and Chief President Obama.
Posted by: tyson41 | October 8, 2009 6:19 AM
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We can't separate our action from our beliefs. We need to confront the our own morality.
hariaum
Posted by: Navin1 | October 8, 2009 2:01 AM
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I must say Ms. Smith is amazingly confused for a Yale graduate. Contrary to her assertions, we have boundless military choices we can make, and morally we have a myriad of voices, one of which is hers.
In response Tyrone41 has provided a far more direct and pithy analysis, the bulk of which I would agree with. Where I depart is in his conclusions about our current position and choices.
1. Al Qaeda is our enemy, not the Taliban, whose sin was to host Al Qaeda. The so-called "Taliban" is a political/religious organization (anyone remember our own "Moral Majority"?) which seeks power in Afghanistan (and separately, in Pakistan). Their religious beliefs are no more extreme or threatening to us than those of the Wahabi sect which dominates Saudi Arabia, a so-called "Ally" of ours. There is no reason for them to seek the return of Al Qaeda from Pakistan or elsewhere. On the contrary, this would simply invite them to become a US military target once again. Whether the Taliban participates in the political life of Afghans should be left up to the Afghans without our meddling.
2. Al Qaeda's two principle leaders are now very probably now located somewhere in the Pakistani FATA territories. The best military option we have is to locate and destroy them, declare victory, and bring all the troops home. If we offend the sovereignty of Pakistan while doing just that, tough. They will eventually get over it.