of the War in Afghanistan Consequences of the War in Afghanistan

It was an illegal war. Under the United Nations charter, a country can used armed force against another country only in self-defense or when the Security Council approves. Neither of those conditions were met before the United States invaded Afghanistan; the Taliban did not attack the U.S. on 9/11. It was not the Taliban (Afghanistan’s ruling government at the time) who attacked the U.S. and there was no imminent threat that they would attack. The Security Council did not authorize the U.S. or another other UN member country to use military force against Afghanistan. Therefore, the U.S. war in Afghanistan was in fact illegal.

Taliban regime was toppled…initially… The final Taliban relinquished their control over their last remaining post in Kandahar by December 2007 and plans for interim government were put in place But the insurgency goes on into the spring of 2012 marked by suicide bombings and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and violent attacks occur around the Presidential campaign and election in the winter of 2014.

Al-Qaeda defeated…but not terrorism The target in the first place, Al-Qaeda terrorist training camps and hiding places were bombed first … Founder and head of Al-Qaeda was finally captured and killed by the U.S. on May 2, 2011 But other terrorist groups have sprung up in their place (ex. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Middle East/Western Asia) In fact, critics say that the war did little to stop or prevent terrorism. Instead it ignited the likelihood of more Now it seems like the U.S. is in a gruesome game of ‘whack-a-mole’ to defeat terrorism Will it ever end?

Afghanistan better off than before? Much of the mission in Afghanistan was providing security/protection to Afghan civilians, rebuilding their communities (schools, hospitals, etc.), establishing a democratically elected government, and supplying aid funds to do all this and other humanitarian efforts By June 2013, the Afghan army took command of all military and security operations from NATO forces Canada stayed on until March 2014 to train Afghan forces Even after NATO forces announced their withdrawal, $16 billion was pledged for civilian aid NATO promised $4.1 billion a year in funding for the country’s security force http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/harper-hails-end-of-afghanistan-mission-as- significant-milestone-1.1725254

Costly War Canada spent $1.65 billion on reconstruction and development in Afghanistan (this does not include our military commitment for over 12 years) The cost of the war for the U.S. is well into the TRILLIONS

Losses 158 Canadian Soldiers and 4 Canadian civilians perished in the war in Afghanistan Over 600 Canadian forces were wounded in action In total, nearly 3,500 coalition casualties (dead) http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/ There doesn’t seem to be an accurate death toll of Afghan civilian losses. Estimates are in the thousands. In a report released by the UN in 2013, bombs and IEDs accounted for 1/3 of civilian deaths; causing 2,959 deaths and 5,656 injuries In the same report, the UN attributed ¾ of the death toll to the Taliban

According to Science magazine, in 2013 alone, the occupying military coalition recorded 1685 Afghans killed and 3554 wounded. But these figures are from an ‘undisclosed dataset’. They say, “The number of Afghan civilians killed between 2001-2006 will never be known – no one was counting. Starting in 2007, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has noted an annual figure of civilan deaths. But beyond that, a UNAMA human rights officers said ‘we only release detailed data sets when it serves a precise humanitarian purpose. In such cases, the detailed information is not made public’”

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) According to a research publication from Parliament, “with the end of the combat operations in Afghanistan, between 25,000-35,000 military members will have been released from the Canadian Forces between 2011- 2016. At least 2,750 of them can be expected to suffer from severe PTSD, and at least 5,900 will suffer from a mental health problem diagnosed by a health professional” Global TV: Crisis in the military “Soldiers with PTSD, all described debilitating injuries and difficulty in getting treatment either initially or long-term” “Some soldiers said stigma was to blame, while others blamed systemic dysfunction in the military. Doctors blamed the media and military culture”

“The Canadian government was reviewing the New Veteran’s Charter, a document that came into force in 2006 and fundamentally changed the way veterans were compensated. It meant that soldiers being medically released from the military, including those with PTSD, would receive lump sum payments instead of a pension. Many of these veterans were also depressed, addicted to alcohol or drugs, and/or suicidal. As the crisis has taken hold among veterans, overall funding has been cut. Meanwhile, funding for programs designed to honour veterans has increased by double digits” http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/steven-ruttan-veteran- with-ptsd-feels-compensation-falls-short-1.2759920

New: Rates of Afghanistan Vet Suicide http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/veterans/article26499878/ http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/about-reports-pubs-health/report-on- suicide-mortality-caf-2015.page http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-inside- the-globe-investigation-on-suicide-rates-of-canadian-vets-in- afghanistan/article27128082/