I spent 2 months as a patient there - I was friends with the entire staff including the chief of surgery who was one of a handful of Americans working there - RIP. We should get out of there and leave it to the savages. It is not a strategic country.
The Russians can have it back, for all I care.
It may not be strategic, but if you’ll notice the region of Pakistan has been somewhat bettered during this process.
If Afghanistan is allowed to sink back into the muck, it will spill over into Pakistan, which is brittle enough on it’s own.
The Taliban will gain in strength, and within five years we’ll be back to nuclear showdowns between Pakistan and India.
If that sort of calamity were to take place, who knows how it could spill over into other nations.
I think we sometimes lose sight of the positive things we do at times. I know the region is problematic at best, and just deeply troubling at worst.
We have kept the Taliban occupied. What comes next after we leave isn’t going to be something we’re going to be happy with either.
Sorry for your loss if you know some of the people lost. Sad sad event...