resources and terrorizing its own people.

This state of anarchy lasted for a couple years until the infamous leader of the Taliban, Osama bin Laden came to power and launched a war against the “West”. In August of 1996, bin Laden issued a “Declaration of War” on America for its support of Israel and its use of air bases in Saudi Arabia8. A few months later, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Osama bin Laden colluded and finalized a plan to attack the United States using suicide bombers and planes9. This was the start of the 9/11 attacks. Months later, on September 11, 2001, the world was shocked by the deadliest terrorist attack in history. On September 20, 2001, President Bush addressed the United States Congress, declaring a “War on Terror” and warned that this war would start with Al-Qaeda but would not end there10. This was the start of major military campaigns – first against Afghanistan and then, against Iraq. Bush kicked off the campaign by attacking the Taliban in Afghanistan for hiding Osama bin Laden.

Over a decade and a half after the 9/11 attacks, after multiple state leaders, and exorbitant expenditure of taxpayer funds, the United States has not been successful in the war with Afghanistan. A headline from the Journal of Foreign Policy reads, “one year after President Donald Trump announced a new strategy for winning the war in Afghanistan, the United States appears to be no closer to stabilizing the country…”11. In fact, it is commonly believed that, “The Trump administration is now using Henry Kissinger’s “decent interval” process of abandonment to end the U.S. war in Afghanistan.”12. Trump’s strategy to pull out of Afghanistan is simple; come to a peace agreement and withdraw. This would include the removal of both troops and foreign aid.

Options

While the United States is committed to protecting Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorist groups while supporting its economic and social growth. Both of these objectives require a strong military presence and foreign aid. However, it is also necessary for the United States to consider both internal and external repercussions of such an effort. After 19 years of continuous engagement, there needs to be a new course of action that will fulfill the U.S commitment to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and alleviate the U. S’s involvement. To do this, the current administration has three possible options:

1. Maintain the status quo (decrease military presence and sign peace deal); or
2. Reallocate resources on more impactful reconstruction initiatives.

Analysis

Since President Trump was elected to office, his policy toward Afghanistan shifted from increasing the forces to decreasing military forces13, with a long-term goal to abandon Afghanistan altogether14. In December 2018, Trump ordered the Pentagon to “withdraw nearly half of the 14,000 troops”15. While this “status quo” situation would eventually result in an expedient removal of U.S. forces, it neglects