In an effort to stop terrorist organizations such as the Taliban and ISIS, the United States and Afghan government have been utilizing airstrikes in Afghanistan as a way to stop the terrorist organizations’ advances; however, these airstrikes have been killing and wounding innocent civilians. Following 9/11, the United States sent troops to Afghanistan which sparked the beginning of these aerial attacks. Since then, citizens of Afghanistan have been dying as a result, but with terrorist acts on rise, so is the death toll. In the past six months, the number of deaths have increased by 52 percent. With the increase in deaths, Afghans have been becoming intolerant. On March 12, just two days before they began fasting for Ramadan, more than 65 Afghans marched across 6 provinces in an effort to display their discontent. The peace march lasted for 38 days, and had amazing success. One of the marchers disclosed that he talked to more than 100,000 people during the 38 days, and everyone supported the peace protest. Even members of the Taliban joined in and expressed that they wanted peace in Afghanistan. After the march was complete, the Taliban and government agreed to ceasefire for three days. Unfortunately, after the three days, Afghanistan returned to their original conflict. The peace protests in Afghanistan are similar to those in the United States during the Vietnam Era. The nationwide protests in the United States displayed a lack of American support of the war which influenced the government to withdraw troops from Vietnam. The same could hold true for Afghanistan. In a perfect world, both the terrorist organizations and the Afghan government would agree to ceasefire for the good of the innocent civilians, but this negotiation is far more complicated. While it was easy for the United States to disconnect themselves from Vietnam, it would take mutual agreement and trust between two enemies, the Afghan government and the terrorist groups which is unlikely. If the Afghan government and the United States stop implementing airstrikes, then the terrorist organizations could gain power which would most likely result in even more civilian deaths. While it would be ideal for this conflict to end, there is no realistic solution to this problem that could benefit everyone involved.
