I bet you didn’t know that less than two weeks ago, a U.S. soldier was killed in Afghanistan. How much did you know about the oil field bombings in Saudia Arabia? When is the last time you heard anything about Yemen? How about Syria? 

So now that you realize how uneducated you really are, I’m going to give you a brief rundown on what’s been happening in all of these forgotten places.

Afghanistan

For the past 18 years we have had U.S. troops on the ground but why? The  U.S. invaded Afghanistan to strike against the Taliban who had been housing Al-Qaeda after 9/11.

When Osama Bin Laden, head of Al-Qaeda, was assassinated in 2011, the citizens of the U.S. were told that our troops would be coming home. In 2016, Trump campaigned with the idea of ‘bringing home the troops,’ but yet, they’re still there. 

After the assassination, the U.S. had eliminated one threat, but had begun a project to stabilize Afghanistan. This conflict has been ongoing with the Taliban being forever resistant and taking the lives of over 2,000 people. 

With all of this being said, I have to bring light to the recent events concerning Trump’s attempt at peace talks with the Taliban. The meeting was supposed to take place at Camp David, but was later canceled. The question then comes up as to what is Trump planning to do with the 14,000 troops still there? 

We have been turning a blind eye to the bombings and Taliban led attacks on Afghan civilians and U.S. troops. Some who have watched this unfold believe that we need more troops there to finally win this war, while others say that it is time to bring all the troops home from a war that will never be won.

Iran

As you may know, the recent drone strikes in Saudia Arabia have raised fuel prices. Saudia Arabia’s oil production was cut almost in half when Iran supplied a rebel group with drones that were used in the bombings.

Within the past two years, president Trump both abandoned and reinstated the nuclear agreement set in place by the P5+1 (US, UK, China, France, Russia, and Germany). Also in that time frame, Iran was blamed for bombing six U.S. Naval ships in the Persian Gulf

U.S. sources say that the ships were sent because of ‘escalatory indications’  concerning Iran.

Not long after that, a U,S. drone was shot down by Iranian forces. While the U.S. insists that the drone was over international waters, Iran claims that it was over their territory.

While there has been recent talk of war with Iran, headlines talk more of seeking peace than war. 

Yemen

War began in Yemen after a power crisis in 2011 which caused the president to step down from his position.

The deputy who took his place struggled to maintain a strong government and it didn’t take long for this to be taken advantage of. The Houthi Shai Muslim rebel group used his weakness to take control of the Northern Saada province and surrounding areas. The Houthis then went on to seize the capital, Saana, and force the president out of power.

This war has taken the lives of 160,000 people and left 14 million close to starvation.Back in 2015, Saudi Defense Ministry, along with the U.S.,launched Operation Restoring Hope, in an attempt to stop air strikes Saudi led groups and the U.S. are still currently fighting rebel groups, backed by Iran.

Syria

At this point, you had to have heard the debate about whether we should be hosting Syria refugees or not. No matter what your opinion on the matter may be I believe that you should know why such things are going on. 

Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad has been holding on to power for seven years even with the fighting that he has been presented with. The conflict began back in 2011 when peaceful protests began and Assad’s government responded with violence. By 2012, the conflict had progressed into a full blown civil war. 

The U.S. became involved in the civil war in 2017 after Assad’s continual use of chemical warfare against his own people. As of September, 224,948 civilians have lost their lives due to this war, 21,162 of which were children.

This war has become immensely horrific with groups like the White Helmets working to save their own people from the destruction caused by their governments.  

In Recent news, Trump has pulled all troops from Syria. This was a very controversial decision and he took criticism from both parties.

Soon after our with drawl, Turkey invaded the country. They are still currently under attack.

Now that you’ve finished this little brief, and you feel like you have just a little knowledge, go read up on what’s happening around the world. This is just the start, and these stories are becoming more elaborate every day. It’s vital to keep yourself informed, soon enough you will be the ones voting for the future of our country.