Lying to the People

Since September 11, 2001, when the both of the World Trade Centers were attacked in New York City, the United States has made a prominent effort at putting an end to all terrorism to make a point that such an event can never happen again. Troops have been continuously deployed throughout Afghanistan and Iraq in hopes to reduce the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorist groups presence. While this seems to be a good thing for the United States and its people, how much of it is really real? Recently, The Washington Post released a document containing, quoted, “thousands of pages” (Neff 1) of details and any other information about the war on terror in Afghanistan. This information was released by top United States officials that had previously stated information that differentiated with the information that has come to light now. 

The United States and it’s officials had been lying to its citizens, there is no other way around this fact. For most of the duration of the war in Afghanistan and much of the war in Iraq, it was stated by the same United States officials that “progress was being made” (Neff 4). However, the documents that were obtained by The Washington Post show and state that this is simply not true. In fact, one official when interviewed even stated “it was impossible to create good metrics … the metrics were always manipulated for the duration of the war” (Neff 7). 

This is a very impactful moment in the history of the United States, where citizens have actual proof that their government has been lying to them. Lack of trust of the government by the people would not a surprising nor unrealistic result from these actions and allegations. The people of the United States deserve to know the truth and reality of the status of their country, no matter what, and this incident could create a sort of metaphorical wall that some citizens may put up due to their newfound distrust in their government. Consequently, the number of troops eager to join the military as well as the regular civilians that help manufacture, supply, and aid troops may decrease as well. Would you want to live in or help a country that has been lying to the public for years? It would be smart of the United States government to come out and make a statement summarizing the past and current events that have taken place in both Afghanistan and Iraq, to better regain the trust that may have been lost by the people. Transparency is key in times like this, honesty as well, and may be the only solution to stop or decrease the growing tensions after the announcement of this news. 

Works Cited

“Confidential Documents Reveal U.S. Officials Failed to Tell the Truth about the War in Afghanistan.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Dec. 2019, http://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/.Gibbons-neff, Thomas. “Documents Reveal Misleading Public Statements on Afghan War.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Dec. 2019, http://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/world/asia/afghanistan-war-documents.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage.