1. AFGHANISTAN
UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES
KALEB BOURNE

2. BEGINNINGS
НАЧАЛЬНАЯ СТАДИЯ
In 1979 the USSR would invade Afghanistan, a move welcomed by
the Afghani government but despised by their people.
To combat this spread of Communism, the US engaged in a Proxy
War, supplying Afghani rebels – Mujahedeen – with weapons,
including FIM-92 Stinger missiles.
A Proxy War is a war in which a country indirectly combats another
country, through allies or organizations with common interests.
By 1989 the soviets would end their invasion, leaving ruins,
lawlessness, and devastation; the US would not help rebuild, but
instead spread their military power to sacred lands of Islam,
angering those the US supplied…

3. STUDENTS
The Taliban, or students, would be the result of the Soviet War in
Afghanistan. Mujahedeen and scholars would shift from simple
teachings and unorganized warfare to a non-secular political &
military entity that would place strict Islamic & Sharia law on the
Afghani people during their rule from 1996 to 2001.
The US overthrew the Taliban government from power in 2001 after
the 9/11 attacks, forcing them to flee to Pakistan.
Today, the Taliban is an insurgency group trying to regain control of
Afghanistan.

4. “It's my sixth sense, but I feel it coming. This is going to be the big one.”
THE BASE - CIA Director George J. Tenet
After the Soviet invasion, bin Laden was expelled
Osama bin Laden, a from Saudi Arabia by US
leader of the Mujahedeen and Saudi officials; he
movements against the would set up his base of
Soviets, moved back to his operations in
homeland of Saudi Arabia Afghanistan with open
and worked with terrorist arms by the Taliban until
organizations to create Al- their collapse in 2001.
Qaida, a group whose
purpose was to eradicate Al-Qaida was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The
all American influence Taliban captured bin Laden and was open to
from Islamic countries. negotiations with the US, but US refused to
“negotiate with terrorists.” Today, Al-Qaida is in
dismay and their relation with the Taliban is strained.

5. OPERATION
ENDURING FREEDOM
2001-PRESENT
In response to 9/11, then President George Bush Jr. launched combat
operations in Afghanistan, the Philippines, and specific parts of
Africa starting in October 2001. Led by the US, its goals were to
eliminate or capture Osama bin Laden, defeat terrorism, and
stabilize the Middle East.
The shift in focus from Afghanistan to Iraq in 2003 greatly hurt
stability and progress in Afghanistan.
11 years and counting, the War in Afghanistan alone has cost the US
over 1.4 trillion dollars, making it the most costly war in her short
history; The US Defense budget yearly is 950 billion dollars, making
it 4 times bigger than the Education budget.

6. MODERN WARFARE
The USA has the most technologically advanced weapons and vehicles in
the world.
• Unmanned drones are a key part in the US’ strategy against terrorism in the Middle East.
• They have precision unmatched by anything and everything, with the ability to directly hit a
person’s chest in a moving vehicle. Drones have been highly controversial due to civilian
casualties, but have also been extremely effective in killing top Al-Qaida operatives and
leaders.
• Smart weapons are the future, and they’re being deployed today.
• The XM-25, a grenade launcher with a laser rangefinder, is capable of detecting the distance
of an object, and then launching a smart grenade that explodes at a user-set distance from the
object. This eliminates cover, completely.
• “From the dawn of direct-fire weapons, Soldiers have always been taught if you’re getting shot at or something is
being thrown at you, get behind cover, whether it is your shield or a wall. We are essentially taking cover away
from the enemy forever.”
• A gun with no moving parts, with the ability to destroy anything in its way, rail guns are
currently being tested by the US Navy.
• Rail guns use electromagnetic charges to push large objects capable of Mach speeds, creating
deadly forces of kinetic energy.

7. CYBER WARFARE
The Obama Administration is the first to enable the use cyber
attacks against terrorist forces in the Middle East.
• Attacks include using propaganda against such forces, showing the
reality of the “achievements” of these forces, denial of service, and
viruses.
• Stuxnet and Flame, two viruses used to sabotage Iran’s systems, have
gotten loose and have been discovered to be created by the US and
Israeli governments. Much controversy has stirred from this, showing
the influence the US has in cyberspace.

8. OPINION
This war is one of the most complicated in US history. Our
involvement in Afghanistan has lasted for over 30 years and still it
continues today. We supplied terrorists with guns and RPGs and now
they are using them against us. We go in with little knowledge of
what’s going on and are lied to about the Middle East having
weapons capable of mass destruction. We spend more money on this
war than Education. We are set to leave by 2014, 13 years later, but
with growing concerns of the Afghani’s ability to maintain their
country it is unclear - and dangerous - to leave them with these
responsibilities.
All they wanted from us was to go away, to not taint their sacred
lands, but instead we welcomed ourselves for our own interests. If
we weren’t so scared of the Soviets, the consequences that is modern
terrorism wouldn’t exist today.

9. CITATIONS
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"An Introduction of the Taliban." Kawun Kakar, Institute for Afghan Studies. Web. <http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/AFGHAN%20CONFLICT/TALIBAN/intro_kakar.htm>.
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"No Hiding Place from New U.S. Army Rifles That Use Radio-controlled Smart Bullets." Mail Online. Web. 05 June 2012. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1334114/New-US-
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PBS. PBS. Web. 05 June 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07272007/alqaeda.html>.
"Report: Tab for 'War on Terrorism' Tops $1 Trillion." CNN. 20 July 2010. Web. 05 June 2012. <http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-20/politics/war.costs_1_war-costs-terror-attacks-costs-of-military-
operations?_s=PM:POLITICS>.
"US Federal Budget Analyst." US Federal Budget FY12 Estimated Spending Breakdown. Web. 05 June 2012.
<http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_budget_detail_fy12bs12012n_303150>.
"US Military Equipment in Afghanistan." WikiLeaks. Web. 05 June 2012. <http://wikileaks.org/wiki/US_Military_Equipment_in_Afghanistan>.
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Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T-62_withdraws_from_Afghanistan.JPEG>.
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