15,000
Troops to Stay in Afghanistan
A document found and
released by NBC news states that over 15,000 troops will remain in Afghanistan
until 2024 ‘and beyond.’ The war in Afghanistan is already America’s longest
fought war, and is going to wage even longer with this new bill.
The 25-page Security and Defense Cooperation Agreement
between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,
explains how U.S. soldiers will remain in a seemingly indefinite war against
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Also, Afghani security will be trained at
pre-existing bases by American troops in order to retaliate against the Taliban
in case of any threat or emergency.
We will not only keep troops overseas, but will also
supply the Afghani Security Personnel with weapons and provisions, starting
when the bill goes into action on January 1st, 2015. All of this
will not come for free, and the whole operation is going to cost the American
taxpayer tens of billions of dollars in the next decade (The Boston Globe,
November 22, 2013).
The plan is for our military presence to assist
Afghanistan in recovering from war, as reporter James Nye says, “U.S and Afghan officials
believe the presence of American troops in the country will help the government
establish itself in the long term and reduce the chance of the country slipping
back into civil war” (The Boston Globe, November 22, 2013). Are we
really helping? Or just causing more tension by budging into another country’s
space?
The
document was mentioned by a spokesperson for the White House National Security
Council. They did not comment on the draft version of the agreement, but said
that 'the President is still reviewing options from his national security team
and has not made a decision about a possible U.S. presence after 2014’ (The
Boston Globe, November 22, 2013).
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By Leon Ochs
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