1. The U.S. Invasion By: Hayden McDonnell

2. Why are our U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan The main reason our soldiers of the United States are in Afghanistan is because of the Al- Qaeda and Taliban attack in September 11,2001. The members of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban groups were willing to commit suicide by the planes they hijacked.

3. Factors leading to U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan On September 11,2001 Al-Qaeda members hijack four airplanes, and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The fourth plane crashes in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people die in these attacks. There were 19 hijackers and 15 were from Saudi Arabia

4. Outcome of attack on 9/11/01 On October 7 th,2001 a B-52 drops a load of bombs in Afghanistan. The U.S Military begins bombing various Taliban locations.

5. Outcome of attack on 9/11/01 Continued Canada, Australia, Germany, and France agree to provide some kind of help in the future. The early part of the war begins as US air strikes, and ground forces arrived on October 19 th 2001. The official fall of the Taliban is on December 9 th 2001, after the leader flees the city.

6. What has been the impact of the Afghan Population? “The UN says American drone strikes have killed many more Afghan civilians in 2012 than in the previous year. It comes as the US stepped up the use of drones as it prepares to leave war-torn Afghanistan by 2014.”(US drones killed more Afghan civilians in 2012 – UN) “According to a report by the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) unmanned aerial aircraft fired 506 times in 2012, killing 16 civilians and wounding three. In 2011, 294 weapons were launched, resulting in just one casualty.”(US drones killed more Afghan civilians in 2012 – UN)

7. What has been the impact of the Afghan Population? (continued) “The report, issued earlier in the week, found that 2,754 civilians were killed in 2012, a 12 percent decrease from 3,131 in the same period a year earlier. It was the first time in six years that the civilian death toll dropped.”(Quinn) “It said the Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 81 percent of the civilian casualties last year. It said so-called anti-government elements killed 2,179 civilians and wounded 3,952 - a 9 percent increase in such casualties from 2011. Of those, 698 were killed in targeted attacks, often against government employees. That was up from 512 in 2011.(Quinn)

8. What conditions currently exist?

9. Ending the War There is no set date for the war but the President is sending home troops at a steady pace. Most of the 68,000 troops remaining in Afghanistan will be coming home but others will stay to help train afghan soldiers. The Pentagon wants to keep between 6,000 and 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan until at least 2024 “There are less than 100 al Qaeda left in Afghanistan--but there are over 600,000 Afghan and international forces there to fight them.”(10 Facts About US Withdrawal from Afghanistan)

10. Ending the War As Vice President Joe Biden says “We are leaving in 2014, period. The primary objective is almost completed. Now, all we're doing is putting the Kabul government in a position to be able to maintain their own security. It's their responsibility, not America's.”(Biden)

11. Works Cited Page Bruno, Greg. "U.S. War in Afghanistan." Aug 2009. Council on Foreign Relations. Mar 2013. "US Drones Killed More Afghan Civilians in 2012 – UN - RT USA." US Drones Killed More Afghan Civilians in 2012 – UN. N.p., 20 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. Quinn, Patrick. "Taliban Vow to Keep Targeting Afghan Civilians | Seattle Times Newspaper." Taliban Vow to Keep Targeting Afghan Civilians | Seattle Times Newspaper. N.p., 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. "White House Says All U.S. Troops Might Leave Afghanistan by End of 2014." PBS. PBS, 9 Jan. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. "10 Facts About US Withdrawal from Afghanistan." 10 Facts About the US Withdrawal from Afghanistan. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.