Not with greed, corruption, and the thought "this time is different, it won't go the way it did before".
Tough stuff though, that video of the US military cargo plane leaving with all the people running along side it, jumping on to later fall off, anything to flee, can't even imagine what it is like where you decide your best option is to grab onto the outside of a plane.
Nope, it was a giant waste of time 20 years ago and billions just went poof. Disconnect with my friends. The Older/Vets/GOP buds were super pissed and calling Dems weak on security, while the Younger/Underemployed/Dem buds didn't care since they want to afford rent/housing and the situation there don't help their livelihoods.
Damn shame, awful for Afghanis who might have had some hope of emerging from the tribal stone age, and US vets that sacrificed so much during the engagement. Disastrous exit strategy when dealing with an "enemy" that is clearly willing and able to play the very long game.
@YMO: Not billions. Trillions. I feel for the freedom loving people of Afganistan. The situation makes me want to hurl. But hey, the Taliban was willing to fight, and that's what wins at the end. No different from the idealized world of Star Trek's Federation.
"I think there's nothing more dangerous than mislearning lessons of history, and we do it perpetually. After the '30s, we said, 'no more Munichs.' And it got us in a lot of problems. Then we said, 'No more Vietnams.' Now if we say, 'No more Iraqs,' the next one won't be an Iraq. It will be something different. You can't learn lessons." — Brent Scowcroft
@rott I think they are just following the treaty. Unless they negotiated another treaty. I dunno. I agree it is something we probably should not have gotten involved with unless we were going to see it all the way through,.
American's of almost all types - left, right, middle, really do believe that deep deep down their won Classically Liberal beliefs about what it means to be human are universal and what "everyone" wants.
Until this presupposition is critically examined (on a cultural level) we will continue to "spread democracy" when we can afford it, and even when we can't.
It's the double-edged sword - if you don't get involved, you potentially lose a strategic sphere of influence (vs. Iran/China/Russia), but once you're in it, you better be in it for the long haul. Oh, and to fight terrorism. But history shows that the Middle East region is too volatile to be shaped or controlled by "outsiders". (Like I'm some kind of expert as is everyone else on the Interwebs..)
Think of the good we could have done with all that money. We could have built schools and infrastructure in Afghanistan with a fraction of that money and at least they’d have something beneficial and withstanding. And we could use it to invest in the US. Meanwhile Congress squabbles over fractions of the cost of this useless war that will go towards benefiting and helping Americans mostly poor and middle class.
The arms dealers and war profiteers in board rooms got exactly what they wanted out of it. Once the situation was no longer profitable for them, they set up the pullout.
The way that we initially took Afghanistan (population centers I mean..we never took the Hindu Kush) was very telling and should have allowed us to predict exactly this. A small band of green berets went in and teamed up with some Afghanis. There was some fighting but mostly there was just reaching agreements with mullahs and whatnot to hand over the keys to the city.
That all happened in a very short amount of time and this is exactly what just happened with the Taliban. They’ve been reaching agreements for the last few months with relatively little fighing culminating with Kabul. This is how their culture operates. Just like Vietnam we went in with little understanding of the people and culture and then left just the same.
I’m also pretty sure that much like Vietnam, history will not view this as one man or another’s flub. Just like Vietnam was a long term problem that became worse and worse under multiple presidents from both parties, Afghanistan was a bipartisan effort. Started by Bush, Obama had 8 years to do something, Trump cut the deal with the Taliban and Biden made good on that deal.
@dasman66 when it fell that smoothly in a freaking days then you didn't do shit for 20 years. So yes I feel sorry for your wasted efforts, money and sacrifices.
Taliban is a bigger and tougher enemy than what the west is willing to deal with. I say leave them for China maybe a conflict can spark something but again I think China is too pussy to invade another country let alone Afghanistan.
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