By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… My first reaction to the troop pull out from Afghanistan was that America had lost another war.
While I find our involvement in Afghanistan and other countries inappropriate this is not the issue for today. America, through covert actions of the CIA, has been militarily involved in the domestic issues of Afghanistan for decades. America originally backed the Taliban government of Afghanistan in its fight against Russian-supported rebels.
But before we discuss the specific issue of Afghanistan and the Taliban a more general study of what it means for America to actually be at war is in order. Under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress is given sole power “to declare war…” There has been no declared war in America since World War II.
The United States has actually declared war only six times in the history of the country. These include the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII and the last time in 1942, when war was declared against Axis-allied Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania as an addition to the declaration of WWII.
Since Vietnam, United States military actions have taken place in support of United Nations decisions, in the context of joint congressional resolutions, or within the confines of the War Powers Resolution.
The United States military involvement in Korea came as part of a United Nations effort.
The escalation of hostilities in Vietnam followed a joint resolution passed by Congress as requested by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
When President Obama approved the use of military force in Libya in 2011, he acted under the War Powers Resolution of 1973. There was no declaration of war in these overseas contingency as President Obama labeled them.
A declaration of war automatically brings into effect a number of statutes that confer special powers on the President. These include the granting of the power to take over American businesses and the transportation systems of America; the ability to detain foreign nationals; the power to conduct domestic spying without warrants; as well as the power to use natural resources on public lands. A joint resolution, in and of itself, does not trigger any of these powers.
This brings me back to the removal of American troops from Afghanistan without accomplishing the goals America had set for the country. My contention is that this is a war that was not a war.
On September 11, 2001, nineteen hijackers crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, the fourth – through the heroic acts of patriots on the plane – into a field in Pennsylvania.
The leader of the group was an Egyptian and the other co-conspirators were Saudis. None were Afghans. They were identified as disciples of Osama bin Laden, a Saudi who was the leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda. American intelligence agencies believed he was hiding in Afghanistan.
When the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan refused to turn over all al-Qaeda operatives in the country President Bush signed into law a joint resolution authorizing the use of force. This joint resolution was used to legitimize the invasion of Afghanistan to combat terrorism, the eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without a court order, and to set up detention camps in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Taliban was formed in the early 1990’s by Islamic guerillas to fight the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. They are made up of a major ethnic group that is spread throughout the country. The Taliban was given rule of Afghanistan in 1996 when, with the help of American CIA operatives, they defeated a Russian attempt to control the country. They remained the governing body until 2001 and controlled over 90% of the country. They were forced out of power by the American invasion. Since that time the Taliban has carried on a civil war against the American-backed puppet government.
In February, 2020, the Taliban rebels signed an agreement with President Trump to enter into peace talks. If the Taliban agreed to cut all ties with terrorist groups America would, by May 31, 2021, remove all troops from their country. However, talks were not started until after the 2020 election and at that point the Taliban put everything on hold until Joe Biden took office in January of 2021.
Even though U.S. officials feel that the Taliban has not cut ties with terrorist groups in general and specifically al-Qaeda, President Biden, in his role as Commander-In-Chief of the American military, has ordered the removal of all American troops by September 11, 2021.
Afghanistan is currently an Islamic republic led by a president and draws it legitimacy from suffrage in accordance with international laws and norms. The Taliban hopes to establish an Islamic emirate under a religious leader that would draw its legitimacy from this cleric. This is a form of government very similar to that of our arch-enemy Iran.
The Taliban presently controls 19 percent of the country. The government controls 33 percent. And the rest of the country is in contention.
Since President Biden’s order to remove all American troops from the country, the Taliban has been on the move placing more of the country under their control. The United States-trained and -armed government troops are rapidly folding like a cheap suit, surrendering not only themselves but the American-supplied military weapons as well.
While I believe that a representative form of government, elected by the people is the best form of government, I do not believe America has the right to dictate another country’s form of government. It is the role of the people of each country to establish and maintain the form of government the majority feels is right for them. I believe that every country has the government it deserves. If the people rebel, it is not the role of outsiders to intervene.
This is an issue that has recently come close to home as demonstrators have hit the streets of Havana, Cuba in protest of their government’s actions. America will be tempted to intervene. We should not!
While the American government has arrested 300 participants in the Washington, D.C. riot, and are looking for more to arrest, it is fairly hypocritical to be appalled that demonstrators are being arrested in Havana. Let me suggest that we have enough issues within our own country to worry about.
Thought of the week… History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.
– Ronald Reagan
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1 thought on “No One Asked Me But… (July 21, 2021)”
Regarding the unwise intervention in other nations’ wars or revolutions, I believe most Americans agree with Dr. Moses.
However, please recall that in 1776, a certain group of 56 colonial rebels wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence. They were, (and we are), fortunate that the government of France decided to “intervene” in the resulting American Revolutionary War. Had the French fleet, and troops ,not helped the colonists, it is probable the British would have won the war. In the last, and decisive battle at Yorktown, French troops fought with the Americans, and their fleet blockaded the British army’s supplies and reinforcements, and the result was General Washington’s victory.
Of course, the French were primarily interested in vexing the British, their traditional enemies, and not so much interested in the cause of American freedom.
No matter! Had France not intervened, it is likely that those 56 signers — Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams et al, would have been hanged as traitors by the British. And today we would all be speaking with British accents.