Military intervention in failed states such as Afghanistan is justified?

[Henrik Larsson]

Discuss

 

[CptHa]

The original intent of the US military going into Afghanistan was to capture or kill Al Qaeda leadership and to disrupt the organization as a whole by taking away it's safe haven. With Bin Laden and others now dead and Al Qaeda splintering into separate groups (no more figure head), America should start coming up with an exit from that nation.

 

[ragincaucasian]

what makes a "failed state"? Who is defining this?

 

[Henrik Larsson]

what makes a "failed state"? Who is defining this?

I didn't come up with the question. It is a debate question from uni.

I thought i would start a debate on here, gather member's thoughts on different subjects

 

[StanScratch]

what makes a "failed state"? Who is defining this?

Hence is one of the problems of a military intervention in a failed state. One, we are trusting on the judgement of outside sources of a failed state. Two, who is to say that the intervening state(s) is/are not failed? Three, what would give that intervening state the right to decide how that other country should be run? Quite a few times, when the U.S. has been involved in failed state intervention, we have not helped the situations, except to better ourselves.

 

[busaguy79]

Well I presumed we went into Afghanistan because are intellegence reports showed that the Taliban was harboring Al Qaeda so we went in to get the high ranking terrorist leaders but also end the terrorist friendly Taliban regime. Were we successful, I guess you can look at it either way but we didn't go in because it was a 'failing' country but because the leaders of the terrorist group that attacked our country was being given safe harbor there.

I don't think the US should go into every 'failing' country and try and change things. If a country needs serious help due to civil war or a total corrupt government then you have t go through the UN and decide along with other countries what the best course of action is.

 

[Sam Fisher]

I thought life was wonderful up until I was seven years old. Then...

I watched as JFK got his head blown off.
MLK shot to death.
RFK shot dead in a kitchen.
Beatnicks turning into hippies.
Looking at the Vietnam War every night on the news, filled with ideas of us winning that war.

Then, when I was twelve or so...

I watched Nixon come and go.. in shame, waving good-bye from a helicopter, so lame.
Watched as Spiro Agnew cheated his way into shame.
From that point on, I knew it would never be the same.
Watched as the Detroit Iron went from fame to shame.

Then, I went to high school...

And, I wondered why.
It just wasn't cool. They all said to stay in school.
The teachers were trying to rule.
And I was playing the fool.

Then, I decided to become a man...

So I dropped out of school, to go to Vietnam.
One year later it was over.
But I had two more years to get older.

Then, when I got out...

I decided to shout.
And once again, I dropped out.

Then...

I bought me a chopper, thinking I was Dennis Hopper.
In Tucson I laid low, never snorting the blow.
I road like the wind, day in and day out.
For exactly one year.
And then it became clear.

Then...

I said good-bye to the Arizona heat.
And rode my bike back, where I could become more complete.

 

[Mayhem]

We went to Afganistan to kill bin Laden and exact retribution on the Taliban and Al Queada. And we did a pretty bad job at it. Mission Eventually Accomplished. We would have succeeded much quicker if we hadn't devoted good fighting troops to house building and all that other civil infrastructure bullshit. All those photos and news stories of us "assisting" the Afganis always pissed me off. They like their caves and they should be kept inside of them.

 

[MrZiggles]

Well I presumed we went into Afghanistan because are intellegence reports showed that the Taliban was harboring Al Qaeda so we went in to get the high ranking terrorist leaders but also end the terrorist friendly Taliban regime. Were we successful, I guess you can look at it either way but we didn't go in because it was a 'failing' country but because the leaders of the terrorist group that attacked our country was being given safe harbor there.

I don't think the US should go into every 'failing' country and try and change things. If a country needs serious help due to civil war or a total corrupt government then you have t go through the UN and decide along with other countries what the best course of action is.

That. Except for trusting the UN.

 

[busaguy79]

That. Except for trusting the UN.

Yeah I know the UN is pretty much turning into the League of Nations but hey gotta make the other countries have their say