Afghanistan, staying there makes us less secure

The fact that the United States has troops deployed in Afghanistan right now makes me feel less secure. For one thing, we don’t even know if Osama Bin Laden is even in Afghanistan. He could be somewhere else plotting his next attack. I think deploying spies and gathering intelligence across the Middle East would be a lot more cost effective. The military spending used to station troops in Afghanistan could be used more efficiently. Secondly, having an American presence there in the form of military presence sends a terrible image to the people of Afghanistan. Al Qaeda persuades the locals to join them by saying America is a major threat to them. When you have American troops walking around with guns in the neighborhood, I doubt Afghans feel a friendly vibe from it. Add in the fact that innocent Afghans are sometimes killed from Drone attacks, and it doesn’t take Al Qaeda much to come up with a convincing argument that America is evil.

Keeping troops in Afghanistan not only makes us less secure from terrorists, but it also makes us more vulnerable to other global threats. There is the obvious fact that the troops in Afghanistan could be stationed somewhere where they could keep us safe better. I think the U.S. showed an imperialistic side to the world when it decided to keep troops there even when the rest of the world withdrew their troops. The other countries saw no need to stay in Afghanistan. While the attacks were definitely more personal for the U.S., Europe has been dealing with terrorist attacks for a long time prior to 9/11. Having other nations, especially allies, question U.S. motives can never be good for U.S. security.

The long-term presence of American troops in Afghanistan also shows the world that the U.S. may not be the all-powerful hegemon the world may thought it was. Had the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, found the criminals, and left swiftly, that would have left a strong impression of U.S. military might. I think if terrorists saw that they would be crushed if they mess with the U.S., they would be considerably less inclined to threaten it. The continued presence of American troops show weakness and inability to accomplish goals. At a time when the U.S. is trying to hold on to its economic power, showing military weakness only worsens its security in the global society.