War in Afghanistan and Iraq

Afghanistan

Known as Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the Afghanistan war had three major goals: to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaeda organization responsible for the 9/11 attacks; to overthrow the Taliban, Afghanistan's theocratic government that provided a haven for Al Qaeda; and to seek out and destroy the Al Qaeda structure and ranks.

President George W. Bush set the war's rhetorical agenda by challenging other nations to join the U.S. cause or risk being considered America's enemies. After military victories during the early stages of OEF, the United States had an uneven record in Afghanistan, with later developments somewhat stalemated. Al Qaeda suffered huge casualties, and the United States backed a secular government after toppling the Taliban, but as of 2012, both forces remained threats. Bin Laden found sanctuary in Pakistan, where President Barack Obama had him killed in 2011.

Transcript

• A sight unseen in Afghanistan just ten years ago. Hundreds of girls crowd the alleyways of Kabul on their way to school. It is a ride they did not have under the Taliban. Zamina Sarmadi, the principal of Totia High School, remembers when she had to risk her life to tutor girls in secret. But things have certainly changed since the US-led invasion in 2001.
• [Pashto]
• I’ve been principal of this school for a total of nine years. Girls attending my school come to study with high spirits.
• Oxfam reports that almost 3 million girls are now enrolled in school. The Afghan parliament has one of the world’s highest representations of women thanks to a 28% quota. But with the war far from won, the shadow of the Taliban still looms.
• I was a victim of many times Taliban attack. They tried to shoot on our cars and convoys, and my security people were injured.
• Fawzia Kufi has made the most out of her newfound freedom, emerging as one of the most outspoken voices in Afghanistan’s parliament. But as the government eyes negotiations with the Taliban, she is worried that her rights could be traded in for peace.
• Fawzia Kufi: I’m not scared for being killed or assassinated. I am scared to live in a situation that I’m live but I am still dead because my voice is not anywhere, my voice doesn’t go anywhere. So I’m scared for that, and that’s why I’m scared of being a woman with no rule. I’m scared of being a woman with no voice.
• A peace deal with the Taliban is still a distant prospect, but the government is facing increasing pressure as foreign combat troops prepare to leave in 2014. But advocates say women’s rights must not be up for negotiation.
• Whenever there is a talk about the deal, there needs to be strong Afghan women represented on the table. The Taliban need to be shown that Afghanistan is a different place now.
• But can Afghanistan maintain this momentum of change for its women? Many are now concerned about what the coming ten years will bring for their country.

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