Muslims For A Safe America

After years of neglect by the Bush Administration (which was focused on Iraq), the Obama Administration is increasing the number of American troops in Afghanistan.  But even with more American troops there, the Taliban are standing strong.  Afghanistan remains violent and unstable. American and Afghan casualties continue to mount.  American leaders say there will never be a military solution in Afghanistan, only a political solution, due to the difficulty of the fight. American allies have announced that they are not willing to leave their troops in Afghanistan indefinitely.

Should America continue to send more troops to Afghanistan?  Or should America cut its losses and begin to pull back?

Arguments By Those Who Believe That America SHOULD Send More Troops To Afghanistan

1. The 9/11 attacks originated from Afghanistan.  The Taliban government gave Al Qaeda a safe haven to plan and prepare for the 9/11 attacks.

2. If America does not completely defeat the Taliban, the Taliban will re-establish a government that will oppress the Afghan people.
   
3. If America doesn’t completely defeat the Taliban, the Taliban will allow Al Qaeda to re-establish training camps in Afghanistan to plan attacks on American cities.  In light of Al Qaeda’s many grievances about American foreign policy in the Muslim world, there will be more plots like the 2009 plot to bomb the NYC subway and the 2010 plot to bomb Times Square.

4. America must prove to friends and enemies that it doesn’t run from a fight.  America must prove to the Afghan government and others that America is a reliable ally that doesn’t abandon its friends. America must prove to the Taliban and Al Qaeda that no one gets away with attacking the American homeland.

5. America has not yet succeeded in Afghanistan, because the Bush Administration did not put in the necessary resources.  America  can defeat the Taliban, now that America has a president who has made the war against the Taliban a priority.  And America won’t be alone.  The Afghan government will continue the fight against the Taliban if Afghan President Karzai is convinced that America will not abandon Afghanistan.  The Pakistani government did have ties to the Afghan Taliban, but once the Pakistani Taliban began attacking Pakistan in an attempt to overthrow the government, the Pakistani government fully allied itself with America.

Arguments By Those Who Believe That America SHOULD NOT Send More Troops To Afghanistan

1. The 9/11 attacks did not originate from Afghanistan.  They originated from the CIA or Israeli intelligence, in order to “justify” the invasions of Muslim countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.

2. The war in Afghanistan is killing thousands of American troops and Afghan Muslims (Afghan soldiers, Afghan civilians, and Taliban).  Those deaths will stop when the war stops.

3. America has made a huge investment in building the Afghan army.   It’s time for that investment to pay off.  When American troops pull back, the Afghan army will keep the Taliban on the run. Furthermore, if there are no American troops in Afghanistan, fewer Afghans (like Najibullah Zazi, who pled guilty in the 2009 NYC subway plot) or Pakistanis (like Faisal Shahzad, who pled guilty in the 2010 Times Square plot) will try to attack American cities.  (Both Zazi and Shahzad said they planned their attacks because of American intervention in Afghanistan.)  

4. America has already proven that it will respond with severe force to an attack on the American homeland.  There is no need for American troops to stay in Afghanistan forever.

5. It is not possible for America to defeat the Taliban.  After nine years, the Taliban have proven themselves to be tough on their home turf.  There has been no progress for America thus far. Furthermore, America does not have reliable partners in the region.  The Afghan government wants to cut a powersharing deal with the Taliban (because Afghan President Karzai believes America is not a reliable ally).  The Pakistani government has been fighting the Taliban in Pakistan, but supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan (in order to maintain influence in Afghanistan).

While many Americans of various faiths have opposed the U.S. government’s domestic and international “War on Terror,” American Muslims who have expressed their criticisms and doubts about these policies have often had their loyalty questioned.

Many Americans wonder why a large number of American Muslims oppose monitoring mosques and Muslim charities, phone wiretapping and airport profiling. Is it because American Muslims are unwilling to tolerate any personal inconvenience or intrusion on their privacy, even if it makes the country safer? Is it because American Muslims sympathize with terrorists, and they don’t want terror plots disrupted?

And many Americans wonder why many American Muslims opposed the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Is it because American Muslims put the safety of their fellow Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq over the safety of their fellow Americans here at home? Is it because American Muslims want al-Qaeda to have bases it can use to strike America again? Read the rest of this entry »

Muslims For A Safe America has prepared the following comparison of John McCain’s views and Barack Obama’s views relating to the “War on Terror.” As a 501(c)(3) organization, Muslims For A Safe America does not endorse candidates. Muslims For A Safe America encourages readers to assess the policies of each candidate in terms of whether those policies would make America and the Muslim world safer.

In some ways, John McCain and Barack Obama are very similar, and they share a similar worldview, which may make some American Muslims uncomfortable. Both believe that America is threatened by some Muslim groups and that Al Qaeda is a very serious threat to America. However, they differ about the best way to fight the war against Al Qaeda.

The War on Terror is a challenging subject to discuss with Muslim audiences, because our community is divided on the issue of whether or not any Muslims were involved in 9/11 and whether Al Qaeda is real. These are significant issues, because if Muslims were not involved in 9/11, and if Al Qaeda is not real, then the “War on Terror” is misdirected. On the other hand, if Muslims were involved in 9/11, and if Al Qaeda is real, then the “War on Terror” makes more sense.

The “War On Terror” issues are presented in two main categories: foreign policy issues and civil liberties/domestic security issues. The issues are presented in alphabetical order. Read the rest of this entry »

Pakistani President/General Pervez Musharraf declared a “state of emergency” in November 2007, suspending the constitution, prohibiting public rallies, shutting down independent television stations, replacing Supreme Court justices who challenged his authority, and detaining political opponents and thousands of protesters.

The U.S. government, which has given Pakistan billions of dollars in military aid to support American military operations in Afghanistan since 9/11, has called on Musharraf to end the state of emergency and move towards democracy and the “rule of law.”

Under international pressure, Musharraf has agreed to hold parliamentary elections in early 2008, but he has not agreed to end the crackdown on the judiciary, the press, and political opponents.

If the “rule of law” is fully re-established, the removed Pakistani Supreme Court justices will be reinstated, and they will probably invalidate Musharraf’s recent presidential election victory, removing him from the presidency.

If the “rule of law” is partially re-established, the new Pakistani Supreme Court justices will remain on the bench, and they will validate Musharraf’s recent presidential election victory, allowing him to serve as president. Read the rest of this entry »

Speculation is growing about the possibility of an American attack on Iran – either a full-scale invasion (as we saw in Iraq) or air strikes and missile attacks (possibly including bunker-busting tactical nuclear weapons) against Iranian nuclear facilities, missile launch sites, and military/intelligence targets – to prevent Iran from using its nuclear program to develop nuclear weapons. Read the rest of this entry »