This amazingly intense footage of US troops in a wintery Afghanistan shows just how hairy it can get when combing an Afghan town.
The US Army invaded Afghanistan in late 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, with the aims of uprooting Al Qaeda, and removing the Taliban from power. The US was supported by the UK, Canada, and Germany from the start of the invasion, and was later joined by NATO that took the helm of the International Security Assistance Force.
Even after 16 years and thousands of lives, there is no clear goal in sight. Possibly America’s longest war ever, the country has continued to send troops to Afghanistan to prevent terrorist organizations from taking control. Besides the US Army, there are NATO troops that train, advise, and assist the Afghan forces. The war is costly, and billions of dollars have already been spent, but none of the U.S. Presidents have been able to end it.
Together with the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other insurgents, terrorist organizations keep launching terrorist attacks, and prolonging the war.
Soldiers hunting down the enemy (YouTube)
Moreover, the corruption in Afghanistan has also made it harder to tackle the war. The Afghan army lacks morale and equipment, and without the assistance of other countries, they are not capable of defending themselves against the insurgency.
In 2002, the U.S. managed to remove the Taliban from power. Experts claim that if the US had left Afghanistan soon after instead of shifting focus to Iraq, the Taliban wouldn’t have been able to regroup and rise again. Other experts claim Saddam Hussein and his sons in Iraq were also a major threat to America and the United States made the right choice in doing something about that. Other individuals believe America did not have a sound plan on how to deal with a post-Saddam Iraq.
Searching for Taliban fighters (YouTube)
Even though the Taliban has been diminished today, the insurgency is still strong, and the U.S. does not intend to leave the country until it destroys the ‘safe-haven element’ of Afghanistan. The U.S. also does not want to leave Afghan soil and let the Taliban plan something like the 9/11 attacks again.
Returning fire at the enemy (YouTube)
The Trump team has agreed to deploy more troops to Afghanistan. Senior researchers claim that the only possible solution would be a ‘negotiated end’ to the war but it’s hard to imagine why the Taliban would want to quit when they have other agendas.
Check out the video to see what the U.S. was doing on the ground in Afghanistan:
