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NEWSDESK
US legacy in Afghanistan: What 11 years of war has accomplished
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- Written by Content Manager
- Category: In Other News
This article, written by Scott Baldauf, appeared on The Christian Science Monitor on June 10,2012
It has become the longest war in US history – nearly 11 years. It has consumed $57 billion in American development aid. The US military has spent more than $517 billion trying to subdue and secure one of the most invaded countries in human history. What, in the end, has the United States achieved after all this time and treasury spent in Afghanistan?
It's a valid question to ask, especially in an election year. And it's a question that many Afghans themselves are asking in earnest, as the US considers withdrawing troops by 2014.
Answering this question is tricky. US military spokesmen point to the dismantling of Al Qaeda and the buildup of an Afghan National Army increasingly capable of protecting the country from its internal and external enemies. Aid donors point to increased political freedoms, improved economic opportunities, thousands of newly built girls' schools, and rising survival rates for newborn infants and their mothers.
READ MORE AT The Christian Science Monitor
*Photo Credit: The U.S. Army
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