Until September 11, 2001, Afghanistan had not been on the foreign policy agendas of the countries of the world.

The terrorist attacks in the United States traumatized a part of the world’s population and increased perceptions of external threat and polarization between the West and the Muslim world.

September 11 gave Afghanistan a huge role but this Western obsession with the country has not been been reflected in any improvement in living conditions for the local population, and trends suggest consequences as disastrous as those experienced in the two decades prior to the military intervention that began on October 7, 2001. For this reason, the appropriateness of the deployment of international troops in the country in its present format is being called into question more and more.

We at Justice and Peace’s J. M. Delàs Centre for Peace Studies have been observing events with great concern. We feel that the intentions behind the intervention are neither honourable nor sincere because the rhetoric surrounding foreign military operations and Spain’s in particular do not appear compatible with facts on the ground. Accordingly, we have prepared this report in which we offer 10 reasons we are questioning foreign involvement in Afghanistan. These doubts have convinced us of the need for the withdrawal of Spanish troops and a rethinking of Spanish foreign policy in relation to Afghanistan. The implication is a rejection of Spanish military participation and a call for a real commitment by the Spanish government to working with the population through civilian and diplomatic means in accordance with the specific nature of this Central Asian country.