Department of Defense Environmental Policy in Afghanistan During Operation Enduring Freedom
Abstract
Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, the United States has conducted military operations in Afghanistan, a nation whose environment has been ravaged by decades of conflict and governmental instability. Afghanistan's fragile environment justifies scrutiny of the policies developed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for its Afghan operations, especially in light of DoD's lackluster environmental record during the Cold War. This thesis examines the general inapplicability of domestic U.S. environmental law to DoD's overseas contingency operations, the discretion afforded DoD in developing environmental policies for such operations, the contours of the policies that have been developed for operations in Afghanistan, and the potential impact of Afghanistan's 2007 Environmental Law. The thesis finds that DoD's Afghan environmental policies are protective of the environment, and that DoD will eventually have to take Afghan law into account when managing environmental matters in Afghanistan.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 31, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA485860
Entities
People
- Steven G. Loertscher
Organizations
- George Washington University