Afghan mission creep begins. (Insider Report).During the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice (now the president's national security advisor A National Security Advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. He or she is not usually a member of the cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. ) suggested that it was time to withdraw U.S. forces from peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo. More than a year into the Bush II presidency, our troops remain mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in Balkans peacekeeping duty, even as the "war on terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act " demands manpower and materiel ma·te·ri·el or ma·té·ri·el n. The equipment, apparatus, and supplies of a military force or other organization. See Synonyms at equipment. . The U.S. mission to Afghanistan is now threatening to become another permanent entanglement. Following the September 11th attacks On September 11, 2001, in the deadliest case of domestic Terrorism in the history of the United States, a group of 19 terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners for use as missiles against targets in New York City and Washington, D.C. , the president and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld emphasized that U.S. troops in Afghanistan would not be used for "peacekeeping" or "nation-building." However, with a civil war looming among Afghan warlords," the Bush administration is examining options for a deeper and more protracted pro·tract tr.v. pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts 1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations. 2. mission. According to a February 22nd AP story, Rumsfeld "refused ... to rule out any American role in keeping order in Afghanistan -- including the possibility of sending 30,000 U.S. soldiers to 'police the whole country.'" As in previous peacekeeping missions in the Balkans, Haiti, and Somalia, U.S. troops in Afghanistan would be expected to carry out "de-weaponization" initiatives -- that is, seizing firearms from former antagonists. In Somalia, recall, U.S. involvement in creating a UN-imposed central government and disarming its opponents led to the infamous "Battle of Mogadishu There have been several Battles of Mogadishu:
On February 21st, deadly fighting broke out in the Afghan village of Quetta when residents refused to turn in their guns. Forces loyal to GuI Agha Serzai, the governor of Kandahar province, "have launched a campaign to disarm the people in Kandahar and other areas of the province," reported Pakistan's Dawn newspaper. "[The] Kandahar administration has already decided not to allow anybody to possess weapons," explained Afghan Foreign Office spokesman Zalmay Khan. "A group of local people refused to hand over their weapons and resisted, which resulted in fighting." |
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