There are a few common misconceptions regarding the Afghanistan War that I would like to address.
First: “Our military is fighting Taliban
terrorists.”
The Taliban our military is fighting are not
terrorists but rather enemy combatants of an insurgency that seeks to regain
control of Afghanistan. As such, when
an enemy combatant is captured they become a prisoner of war (POW) and afforded
the rights acknowledged by both U.S. and international law.
Second: “We traded 5 terrorists for 1 U.S.
soldier. We don’t negotiate with
terrorists.”
The tradition of conducting POW exchanges has
an historical precedent found throughout modern warfare. During the current Afghanistan War the
U.S. has returned over 600 Taliban POWs since 2002.
Third: “The terrorists we have released are
dangerous.”
Possibly.
This is more of an assumption than a misconception. The recently released Taliban POWs
swore to cease from hostilities for the duration of the war and must remain in Doha for the
next year with monitored, restricted liberty. One in ten released Taliban POWs have returned to fight in
the war. Will the recently
released Taliban POWs rejoin the fight?
Possible, but not probable as the Afghanistan War will likely come to a
close in the next year or two. At
that point in time, the remaining 140 Taliban POWs in Guantanamo will also be returned. This is not to be lamented but solemnly accepted as a necessary condition for the completion of a tragic period of the early 21st century.
What is to be lamented is that after nearly 13 years of war Americans still call the Taliban terrorists, demonstrating their significant lack of knowledge regarding the entering arguments for the war to begin with. I say lament, but as an Active Duty Armed Forces member, Americans' general ignorance regarding U.S. foreign policy scares the hell out of me.
