Stephan: Afghanistan, from start to finish has been an international geopolitical mistake. We never should have become involved, and we should have left years ago. But it was ever so profitable and the military-industrial corporations and contractors lobbied so hard to keep it going.
America needs to reconfigure its foreign policy. We will get much more mileage and respect out of fostering wellbeing than we ever will killing people.
U.S. Army soldiers return home from a 9-month deployment to Afghanistan on December 10, 2020 at Fort Drum, New York. The 10th Mountain Division soldiers who arrived this week are under orders to isolate at home or in barracks, finishing their Covid-19 quarantine just before Christmas. The troops were replaced in Afghanistan by a smaller force, as the U.S. military continues to reduce troop levels Afghanistan. Credit: John Moore/Getty
The international community’s belief in America as a steady hand on the global tiller has been deeply shaken by the chaos engulfing Afghanistan.In the early days of Joe Biden’s presidency, many world leaders feared that Biden would simply be a welcome, but temporary, reprieve from former President Donald Trump’s nativist and isolationist politics. When Biden was running for president, he had tried to assuage those concerns by saying on his first day in office he’d reach out to our NATO allies and assure them they could once again count on the US.
The Great American Empire has suffered another defeat that those in and out of government have been predicting for years. There were even a few wise ones who warned against invading to take vengeance against those who had nothing to do with 9/11. After all the many Afghans who suffered and died during the American funded Soviet war and then the American-Saudi funded civil war after the Soviets departed we have much to atone for.
This is on Biden and his disregard of the Afghan military dependency on the US created by DOD. As a small example after twenty years their air force had to use contractors to repair and maintain their aircraft. Without doubt had the effort been made Afghans themselves could have learned the skills required.
Now at the end of the day the Biden Administration is declaring that no one could have known that the house of cards would collapse so quickly. With the largest most expensive intelligence operation in world history no one knew? Or chose not to know?
Gus diZerega
on Monday, August 23, 2021 at 1:59 pm
First, while we have much to atone for, Biden has little to atone for. He entered ofice with an already existing agreement between Trump and the Taliban, an agreement that left the government of Afghanistan high and dry.
Add to that, Biden thought, correctly, that our involvement in Afghanistan was a failure and should end.
Third,while the collapse of the government was quicker than anyone apparently expected, Biden has shamed both many hawks and those involved in Vietnam policies in genuinely seeking to rescue Afghan allies. He has even said the troops may stay longer if needed to rescue them.
Save your vitriol for more deserving targets, of which there are many.
Will
on Tuesday, August 24, 2021 at 6:12 pm
Yes Gus too much vitriol it is just that I am so very disappointed in my country that once again great power is used to do great destruction. As regards the President I think our defeat and retreat could have been handled with more skill. The Germans and the Brits among others thought they were left in the lurch uninformed and unprepared.
Yes, #45 started the wheels turning for a withdrawal on May 1, 2021 and the President changed that to August 31. As I said with the most expensive intelligence and military on the planet I expected better for us and the Afghans. The Soviets handled their retreat with much more finesse and professionalism sad to say.
Turmoil is of course expected when there is such a major change in a country. Hopefully we and others will find a way to work with the Taliban to bring order and stability to what seems to be a tribal culture with an overlay of modernity. Too much killing and destruction for too many years could mean there is a fatigue, a craving for stability and reasonable safety that might encourage long time enemies to work together to their mutual benefit. That and the warlords may have been fatally damaged during the Taliban advance.
Rev. Dean
on Sunday, August 22, 2021 at 9:37 am
NO ONE has ever won a war in Afghanistan, except the Taliban, which has always grown and grown no matter how much trouble anyone has given them. Maybe they can become peaceful now that they have no one to fight, accept the Afghan’s themselves who have a chance to make peace with them now, if they try.
The Great American Empire has suffered another defeat that those in and out of government have been predicting for years. There were even a few wise ones who warned against invading to take vengeance against those who had nothing to do with 9/11. After all the many Afghans who suffered and died during the American funded Soviet war and then the American-Saudi funded civil war after the Soviets departed we have much to atone for.
This is on Biden and his disregard of the Afghan military dependency on the US created by DOD. As a small example after twenty years their air force had to use contractors to repair and maintain their aircraft. Without doubt had the effort been made Afghans themselves could have learned the skills required.
Now at the end of the day the Biden Administration is declaring that no one could have known that the house of cards would collapse so quickly. With the largest most expensive intelligence operation in world history no one knew? Or chose not to know?
First, while we have much to atone for, Biden has little to atone for. He entered ofice with an already existing agreement between Trump and the Taliban, an agreement that left the government of Afghanistan high and dry.
Add to that, Biden thought, correctly, that our involvement in Afghanistan was a failure and should end.
Third,while the collapse of the government was quicker than anyone apparently expected, Biden has shamed both many hawks and those involved in Vietnam policies in genuinely seeking to rescue Afghan allies. He has even said the troops may stay longer if needed to rescue them.
Save your vitriol for more deserving targets, of which there are many.
Yes Gus too much vitriol it is just that I am so very disappointed in my country that once again great power is used to do great destruction. As regards the President I think our defeat and retreat could have been handled with more skill. The Germans and the Brits among others thought they were left in the lurch uninformed and unprepared.
Yes, #45 started the wheels turning for a withdrawal on May 1, 2021 and the President changed that to August 31. As I said with the most expensive intelligence and military on the planet I expected better for us and the Afghans. The Soviets handled their retreat with much more finesse and professionalism sad to say.
Turmoil is of course expected when there is such a major change in a country. Hopefully we and others will find a way to work with the Taliban to bring order and stability to what seems to be a tribal culture with an overlay of modernity. Too much killing and destruction for too many years could mean there is a fatigue, a craving for stability and reasonable safety that might encourage long time enemies to work together to their mutual benefit. That and the warlords may have been fatally damaged during the Taliban advance.
NO ONE has ever won a war in Afghanistan, except the Taliban, which has always grown and grown no matter how much trouble anyone has given them. Maybe they can become peaceful now that they have no one to fight, accept the Afghan’s themselves who have a chance to make peace with them now, if they try.