Inside Story Americas: Have US Candidates Forgotten Afghanistan?

August 28, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

The war in Afghanistan has lasted nearly 11 years and claimed the lives of some 2,000 Americans. But, with the US presidential campaign now in full swing, neither party seems to want to discuss the conflict. Republican candidate Mitt Romney in particular seems vague on what he would do differently from Barack Obama. So why are both of them not talking about the issue? Guests Lawrence Wilkerson, Kurt Volker, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran discuss.

(more) (less)

In This Video

Afghanistan War

สงครามอัฟกานิสถาน เริ่มขึ้นเมื่อวันที่ 7 ตุลาคม พ.ศ. 2544 เมื่อกองทัพสหรัฐอเมริกา สหราชอาณาจักร ออสเตรเลียเครือจักรภพ และพันธมิตรฝ่ายเหนือเริ่มปฏิบัติการเสรีภาพยั่งยืน แรงขับสำคัญของการรุกรานมาจากวินาศกรรม 11 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2544 ต่อสหรัฐอเมริกา โดยมีเป้าหมายแถลงไว้ว่า เพื่อทำลาย... Explore this topic

US presidential election, 2012

The United States presidential election of 2012 was the 57th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The Democratic nominee, incumbent President Barack Obama, and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, were elected to a second term. Th... Explore this topic

Afghanistan troop surge

No description provided Explore this topic

Afghan National Army

The Afghan National Army is the main branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is responsible for land-based military operations and ground warfare to defend the state against foreign military incursions. It is under the Ministry of Defense in Kabul and is being trained by ... Explore this topic

Politics of the United States

The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States, Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments. The executive branch is head... Explore this topic

Afghanistan

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked sovereign state forming part of South Asia, Central Asia, and to some extent Western Asia. It has a population of around 30 million inhabiting an area of approximately 647,500 km², making it the 42nd ... Explore this topic

ISAF

The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan that was established by the United Nations Security Council in December 2001 by Resolution 1386, as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement. Its main purpose is to train the Afghan National Secur... Explore this topic

Mitt Romney

Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman who served as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. He was the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election. Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, by his parents Lenore and Geo... Explore this topic

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II (/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Illinois from January 2005 to Novemb... Explore this topic

Taliban

The Taliban, alternative spelling Taleban, is an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan. It spread into Afghanistan and formed a government, ruling as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from September 1996 until December 2001, with Kandahar as the capital. Ho... Explore this topic

Also See

Afghanistan War

US presidential election, 2012

Afghanistan troop surge

Watch Next

25:17

Inside Story Americas: Is David Petraeus Really a US War Hero?

Al Jazeera English | Nov 13

A scandalous affair has brought down a man referred to by many as one of the greatest generals in US history. But how successful have David Petraeu...