NATOs War on Terror: Is it working?

By Declan Canavan

Since 2001 troops from many countries have been in Afghanistan and Iraq, countries like the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany to name a few. The countries that are in Afghanistan fighting against the terrorists are collectively known as NATO. NATO entered Afghanistan after the terrible events that happened on the 11th of September 2001. On September 11th, Al-Qaeda hijacked 4 Commercial passenger jets. Two of these Passenger jets were intestinally crashed them into both of the World-Trade Centers. One of the Jets was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon Building in Virginia. The fourth planes passengers regained control of the plane and tried to get the plane onto land, the plane however crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The day after, the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, made a public announcement claiming responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. Bin Ladens motives were the support that the United States gave to the Country of Israel , the fact that United States troops were in Saudi Arabia, and finally the near-total financial and trade embargo that the United Nations Security Council on the 3thctrenation of Iraq. In total, the 9/11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people. Then, on October 7 2001, under a month after the 9/11 attacks, NATO soldiers began the war on Afghanistan. The NATO soldiers mainly consisted of United States soldiers. They initiated massive carpet Ariel bombing campaigns, targeting Taliban and Al-Qaeda bases. After the carpet bombing, they invaded Afghanistan. The overthrow of the Taliban Rule by a US-led coalition was the biggest was the second-biggest operation of the U.S. Global War on Terrorism outside of the United States, and the largest directly connected to terrorism. Throughout, the War in Afghanistan they were supposedly fighting against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, but yet since October 7th 2001, there have been 48,644 civilians injuries and nearly 20,000 deaths of civilians. After about a month one of the more important events of Afghanistan War, was the Fall of Kabul, on the night of November 12, Taliban forces fled from the city of Kabul, leaving under the cover of darkness. By the time Northern Alliance forces arrived in the afternoon of November 13, only bomb craters, burned foliage, and the burnt-out shells of Taliban gun emplacements and positions were there to greet them. A group of about twenty hard line fighters hiding in the city's park were the only remaining defenders. This Taliban group was killed in a 15-minute gun battle, being heavily outnumbered and having had little more than a telescope to shield them. After these forces were neutralized Kabul was in the hands of the U.S./NATO forces and the Northern Alliance. The fall of Kabul marked the beginning of a collapse of Taliban positions across the map. Within 24 hours, all the Afghan provinces along the Iranian border, including the key city of Herat, had fallen. Local Pashtu commanders and warlords had taken over throughout northeastern Afghanistan, including the key city of Jalalabad Taliban holdouts in the north, mainly Pakistani Volunteers fell back to the northern city of Kunduz to make a stand. By November 16, the Taliban's last stronghold in northern Afghanistan was besieged by the Northern Alliance. Nearly 10,000 Taliban fighters, led by foreign fighters, refused to

surrender and continued to put up resistance. By then, the Taliban had been forced back to their heartland in southeastern Afghanistan around Kandahar. By November 13, al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, with the possible inclusion of Osama bin Laden, had regrouped and were concentrating their forces in the Tora Bora cave complex, on the Pakistan border 50 kilometers (30 mi) southwest of Jalalabad, to prepare for a stand against the Northern Alliance and U.S./NATO forces. Nearly 2,000 al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters fortified themselves in positions within bunkers and caves, and by November 16, U.S. bombers began bombing the mountain fortress. Around the same time, CIA and Special Forces operatives were already at work in the area, enlisting and paying local warlords to join the fight and planning an attack on the Tora Bora complex. Battles like the Fall of Kabul were such examples of how the war on terror has been successful, but there are a lot of factors in the War on Terror that are wrong and borderline illegal. The United States and Britain have been known to use White Phosphorus during airstrikes. White phosphorus is an incendiary weapon. White phosphorus is toxic to humans. It can burn deep into soft tissue, it can be breathed in, or it can be ingested eaten. Over time, these can cause death. The use of incendiary weapons against civilians is forbidden since 1949. Were used by U.S. forces in Iraq in 2004. White Phosphorous was also used in the Israeli invasion of Gaza during December 2008 through January 2009. These actions were supported by the US government. The war on terror in Iraq has also been successful to an extent. It has had many successes, for example, one of the most successful operations On December 2003, the Islamic Republic News Network of Iran first reported that Saddam Hussein had been arrested. These reports were soon confirmed by other members of the Governing, by U.S. military sources, and by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In a press conference in Baghdad, shortly afterwards, the U.S. Civil Administrator in Iraq Paul Brenar officially announced the capture of Saddam by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!" He was found at around 8:30 PM Iraqi time on December 13, in an underground "spider hole at a farmhouse in ad-Dawn near his home town Tirkit, in what was called Operation Red Dawn. The first photos taken of Saddam after the soldiers found him did not look like the photos taken when he was president of Iraq. He had grown long hair and a long beard. Later on, he cut off his hair and beard. The DNA tests came back and showed that he really was Saddam Hussein. People who talked with him after the soldiers found him said he was healthy, and wanted to talk to people and do what they told him to do. Paul Bremer said that Saddam would have a trial, but that he did not know yet what kind of trial. With all the

positive things that came from Iraq, there were many consequences for all the people. Again, theyre reports of America using White Phosphorus in Bombings of Iraq; also theyre having been many records of civilian deaths. According to the Iraq Family Health Survey that there were 1,033,000 casualties as a result of the conflict.

NATOs war on terror is working to an extent, but I think that the negatives greatly outweigh the positives of this war. NATO is the ones, who are supposedly fighting terror, but they are the ones who are pouring White Phosphorus out of planes onto civilians, White Phosphorus was banned up until the war on terror. I do wish for terrorism and events like 9/11 to never happen again but the United States and the UK are using methods that are terrorist-like, and they are the ones who are meant to be protecting the Afghani and Iraqi civilians, not killing them.