US Out of Afghanistan!
US Out of Afghanistan
Speech given by Jennie Eisert, member of the MN Anti-War Committee, at the MN Peace Action Coalition protest on the anniversary of the start of the war on Afghanistan at Senator Klobuchar
October 5, 2018
This weekend marks 17 years of war in Afghanistan. After 9/11 a few of my friends and I started Students Against War at the U of MN – we were preparing for our first big protest on campus and to be a feeder march into a protest called by either Iraq Peace Action Coalition (now known as MPAC) or the Anti-War Committee. I remember feeling this attack on Afghanistan was bullshit and wrong, recalling a similar feeling from 6th grade during the first Gulf War. It further etched in my mind the government doesn’t represent me nor can they be trusted.
It was clear to antiwar activists, that the US government would use the media to help demonize the people of Afghanistan in order to garner support for US invasion. Their use of racist rhetoric and pictures only grew hate and fear which escalated into hate crimes against anyone perceived to be “Middle Eastern or Muslim.” In the year after 9/11, anti-Muslim hate crimes jumped 1,600 percent. In years since, various Presidents have had one form or another of a Muslim Ban. The current version of the Muslim Ban, shows this escalation of hate in service of US war.
Afghanistan, along with Iraq, and the other wars that the US government has endlessly inflicted on the world has shaped an entire generation. A child born on this date in 2001, is now old enough to fight in Afghanistan and has grown up in an environment without privacy rights, in a time that has “normalized” Islamophobia, hate, and endless US wars and occupation.
What have been the costs of this endless war and occupation in Afghanistan?
The US government and other “official” Western sources admit to at least 32,000 Afghan civilians being killed and another 30,000 being wounded directly related to the US invasion. Another source, The Cost of War Project, more credibly claims that the US invasion is responsible for at least 10 times that number of deaths, 360,000 people killed in Afghanistan because of the US invasion.
The costs to the US?
Nearly 2,400 US service personnel killed and more than 20,000 wounded. The current number of US troops is 16,000 which will cost $45 billion dollars per year, with no end in sight. Trump pledged a year ago – “We will fight to win,” and has pledged to continue the fighting six months ago, setting no time limit. He has also increased the brutality of the war by easing restrictions on drones and airstrikes. But 16,000 U.S. troops can’t defeat the Taliban; they’re fighting merely to keep the Afghan government forces from collapsing.
Right now, is a unique moment for peace in Afghanistan. The Taliban is open to negotiating and has asked for talks. We must repeat our demand, that the U.S. government end their brutal aggression on Afghanistan, and sign a peace treaty NOW!!! We must call Senators Klobuchar and Smith, and tell them that this “forever war” MUST BE STOPPED! The fact remains unchanged, the Afghanistan war continues to brutally blight the daily lives of Afghans.
The time is now, to bring the troops home and end its war on Afghanistan.
The People of Afghanistan are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, Fight back!
What do we do??? STAND UP, FIGHT BACK!!!