Zac+Oral

My Speech
Imagine. You are lying on your stomach near the wall of a town in a desert. Rifle in hand, you study the outskirts of the town. You see the glint of sunlight off someone’s scope. You focus in. He has seen you, and you are both staring at each other. It is sniper vs. Sniper. You think: why am I here? Why did I come to Afghanistan?

The Afghanistan war began when George bush stood up 30 days after the September 11 bombings and said that Osama bin laden was involved in the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers. He said that Osama was in Afghanistan and issued an ultimatum to the Taliban government demanding that they have Osama and a group of al-Qaeda leaders.

He also issued a group of other orders, saying that "They will hand over the terrorists or they will share in their fate". The Taliban government refused, saying that Osama was a guest in their country and there was no evidence to connect him with the bombings. On October the 7th, the Taliban offered to try Osama in an Islamic court. Bush rejected the offer and the U.S.A and Britain began the bombings in Afghanistan.

On October the 14th, the Taliban offered to surrender Osama to a third country for trial as long as the bombings halted and they were given evidence that Bin laden was involved with 9/11. Bush refused again, saying: "There's no need to discuss innocence or guilt. We know he's guilty." A pre-recorded tape of Osama Bin Laden was released shortly before the attack, condemning any attacks against Afghanistan.

One of the curious things about the war was the fact that the U.S administration did not officially declare war, and they labelled the Taliban soldiers as terrorists, denying them the protections of the Geneva Convention. Many people have challenged this, as well as Military Lawyers responsible for prosecuting prisoners.

Teams from the CIA’s Famous SAD Team were the first U.S team to enter Afghanistan and begin operations. They were soon joined by the U.S Army Special Forces and by other special soldiers. These soldiers played an important part in overthrowing the Taliban in Afghanistan. At 5pm on October the 7th, George bush addressed the U.S, saying at the same time as Taliban military and terrorists' training grounds would be targeted, food, medicine, and supplies would be dropped to "the starving and suffering men, women and children of Afghanistan.

By the beginning of November, the Taliban were bombed with Daisy Cutter bombs and barraged by AC-130 Gunships, the Taliban had no previous experience with American weapons or tactics, and often stood in plain sight, enabling ground forces to easily call in for Air Support. By the 2nd of November, the frontal assault that the Northern Alliance wanted was possible. Shortly after that, foreign fighters from Al-Qaeda took over security in many afghan cities, which showed how fragile the Taliban Leadership was.

The Search for Osama Bin Laden still goes on, and even today more people are being killed by the fighting in Afghanistan. More than sixty thousand Soldiers and civilians have been killed. Why? because:

Bush Said No.

Listen to my speech here
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