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The Forever War is a book written by Dexter Filkins, a New York Times correspondent in Afghanistan. In this book, Dexter provides readers with a vibrant, psychologically searing, and extremely personal account of his experiences while covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike the other books, The Forever War allows us an instinctive insight of today’s battlefields as well as of the experiences of the inhabitants on the ground, innocents and warriors undergo. In this essay, we will be discussing various issues concerning the Afghanistan and Iraq war and its effects to the American soldiers.

The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and its Effects on the American Soldiers

The Iraq and Afghanistan wars had lasted for many years. However, it took for the intervention of the American soldiers to bring back peace in these countries. The intrusion of the American soldiers resulted to various things affecting both the soldiers and the citizens of these countries. Notably, the Afghanistan Iraq wars lasted for seven years after the intrusion of the American soldiers. Hereby are some of the effects of the war on the American soldiers and the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan (Clements).

 

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Firstly, the war affected the American soldier’s troop quality. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have obliviously had an impression on all of the Armed forces, but possibly mainly on the American Army. Recruitment, as well as maintenance of skilled recruits, has been tough, and various main indicators of troop superiority have gone down. This fall is evident in the case of the Army’s enrollment efforts. Although more intricate to measure, it moreover appears that the US Army has faced problems in some areas of recruits maintenance. Although different issues have played a role in creating a more complex recruiting as well as maintenance environment, it seems that the anxiety created by elongated and recurring deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan has been the most vital aspect.         

Secondly, the war affected the size and structure of the US Army. The Afghanistan Iraq war has led to the decision of altering the size and structure of the US army. With the force growing by 65,000 soldiers, the army had to be reorganized into a modular forced structure centered at Brigade Combat Terms.  Notably, the new structure was opted for because it would have fewer maneuver battalions and companies. Additionally, thousands of the American soldiers were killed during the war and this reduced their size literally.

Thirdly, the war affected the Afghanistan and Iraq citizens too. Noticeably, hundreds of thousands of people from the two countries died during the war.  Despite the fact that the American soldiers were aiming the Afghanistan and Iraq Jihadists alone, also the innocent citizens were caught in the actions and killed. Moreover, the citizens’ daily lives like business and education were affected. The effect on the normal lives of citizens is indicative of the immense hard economic conditions posed by the war on innocent citizens.

The perception of Americans towards Iraq and Afghanistan citizens

The Americans and the Muslim communities of Iraq and Afghanistan have always had conflicts. Regarding that, the American citizens’ perception of the Afghanistan citizens is that they are hostile. The hostility perception has led to hate between the two communities as the Americans believe the Afghanistan’s and Iraq citizens embrace war and it is hard to solve their conflict. Additionally, this negative interpretation of the Americans to the Afghanistan and Iraq citizens has led to mistrusts among them. The high level of mistrust has been significant in raising further tensions between these countries. Afghan citizens perceive Americans as torturous individuals who do not care about the lives of other people.

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 Vignettes way of trying to refute this perception

Despite the fact that the Americans hold tight on this perception, the general Muslim community is trying to refute this by organizing dialogues with the Americans to bring understanding.  The Vignettes are taking the hostility perception positively as they comment on it. According to research, the Vignettes are on a mission of improving the American-Muslim relationship as they believe they need each other to grow economically. In a gallop poll done in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Muslims were recorded saying that they admire certain things about the Americans, including freedom of speech, human rights, gender equality, open mindedness and justice. These are some of the techniques being used by the Vignettes to show that they have nothing against the Americans (Clements)

To sum that up, The Forever War is a book written by Dexter Filkins, a New York Times correspondent in Afghanistan. Dexter has written this book basing on personal experience while   covering the war. He talks about various things like the way the war affected the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. Firstly, the war affected the American soldier’s troop quality. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have obliviously had an impression on all of the Armed forces, but, possibly, mainly on the American Army. Recruitment, as well as maintenance of skilled recruits, has been tough, and various main indicators of troop superiority have gone down. Additionally, the Americans have a negative perception of the Afghanistan and Iraq citizens. The American citizens’ perception of the Afghanistan citizens is that they are hostile. Despite the fact that the Americans hold tight on this perception, the general Muslim community is trying to refute this by organizing dialogues with the Americans to bring understanding.