The Wars We'd Rather Forget

afghanistan (Photo credit: The U.S. Army)

When American soldiers invaded Afghanistan shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, no one dreamed that we'd still be talking about this war in 2012, or that the commitment would last well past the end of the fighting.

But that's where we are on the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death.  President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan (considering it's still a war zone, any kind of visit by an American official would have to be a surprise) to high-five the soldiers, and to tell the prime time TV audience back in the States that military operations are winding down.  Fighting will cease in 2014, to be followed by ten more years of supporting the Afghan army.  So when Obama leaves the White House (sooner or later), U.S. forces will still be there.

This war was originally fought with the intention of flushing out Bin Laden and his compatriots, who were believed to be hiding and plotting attacks in the Afghan mountains.  Then two things happened: (A) President George W. Bush decided to start another war in Iraq, with disastrous results.  (B) Bin Laden slipped into Pakistan, certain in the knowledge that there was no way the Americans would ever get him there.  Or so he thought.

Now it's become a glorified civil war, with the U.S. and its allies sacrificing nearly three thousand soldiers (according to CNN.com) to help keep the Afghans from the evil clutches of the Taliban.  What doesn't help the situation is President Hamid Karzai's tendency toward corruption, as well as some American soldiers going rogue on the beliefs of the Afghan people.  And Pakistan's none too happy about being kept out of the loop when the raid on Bin Laden's palace took place.

Obama hasn't been shy about using the killing of Bin Laden for political purposes.  The President dared to suggest that Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, would not have taken the kind of measures he did.  That's light years from when Bush didn't think capturing Bin Laden was a big priority.

Are we any safer now than when Bin Laden was alive?  That's hard to say.  Even though U.S. drones have been picking off some of al-Qaeda's leaders, the organization is still capable of doing damage in its barely breathing state.  In newly released documents, Bin Laden wanted to assassinate Obama and put Vice President Joe Biden in charge because he thought Biden would not be an effective President.  There have also been reports of the possibility of al-Qaeda members boarding planes as "body bombs".  And don't forget about the "lone wolves", a quintessentially American form of terrorist.

Out of the ashes of the Twin Towers on 9/11, which was the catalyst for these wars in the first place, a phoenix is rising.  The Freedom Tower at One World Trade Center just became the tallest structure in New York, and will be one of the highest skyscrapers in the world when finished.  It will also become an attractive terrorist target.

Maybe the killing of Osama bin Laden had its pluses and minuses.  But as the economy has taken center stage in this political year, the man who was once the world's best known terrorist has been forgotten by those of us who don't protect the country for a living.  As are the two wars he helped create.  It's time to move on.