Why are we in Afghanistan? Searching for the Boogie Man or guarding the opium?

I’ve been wondering that myself!!! I have absolutely no clue so I’m going to go with your opium theory.

There are still some brown people left, and they are consuming things like air and water.

probably the opium. We’re not going to retreat out of the middle east, I’m sure we’ll be there for good.

Also, to make it safe to build a pipeline for the oil companies.

The same reason Canadian troops are there: the “war on terror”. Well, more specifically, America went and Canada came along too. We aren’t just killing people though, Canadians are well known as peacekeepers and rebuilders, and we are helping to rebuild the country in various ways including giving microloans to women and removing mines.

Public opinion of this is very low, to the point where even if Obama requested our troops stay, 65 percent of Canadians would say no. I also don’t support the idea of the war, but I do support the Canadian troops.

While I think most of us forgot this a long time ago, we went to Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 in response to the attacks on 9/11. We were after Bin Laden. Bush got side tracked with his daddy’s unfinished Iraq war, we got Saddam, destroyed the Iraqi way of life, and forgot about Afghanistan. If you agree with the notion of war (and I’m not saying I do or don’t, the attacks on 9/11 warranted an immediate response…), the war in Afghanistan to find Bin Laden and all his operatives is the war we should be fighting. Not Iraq.

Shouldn’t the question be why are you in Iraq? America entered Afghanistan as retalionation for the attack on the World Trade Center. That was the war on terror. Then, Bush got side tracked and thought that Iraq was sending weapons of mass destruction to Afghanistan, so they went there. Then, when they found nothing, they thought Afghanistan was not a threat because there were WMDs. so they just left it alone. I hear in the news every week about Canadian soldiers dying in Afghanistan, but I don’t hear about the U.S.‘s involvement there. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the real places where terrorists are hiding. However, Pakistan has nuclear weapons, and it would be a struggle to invade. That’s why the U.S. is currently discussing a partnership with the Pakistani government so that the Pakistanis could go after Bin Laden.

@mtl_zack: Thus the reason Obama says he’ll withdraw troops from Iraq, and increase troops in Afghanistan. We had no business to go to Iraq.

To be honest, I think we’re in Afghanistan to keep our eye on Pakistan. Affairs there remain unstable, and the country could turn against us in a hurry. If so, our troops are already on the border.

A military policeman told me they have a huge oil reserves. link

Ahh sorry, just noticed @kevbo‘s answer.

@Mtl_zack & @shamroch, we are already in Pakistan.