Posted on 12/19/2019 3:46:41 AM PST by Kaslin
Surprising no one, recent revelations demonstrate that not only is Afghanistan a hopeless wreck but our glorious foreign policy elite has been lying about it for going on two decades. Remember, these people are our betters, our moral superiors, the people we should genuflect to and obey because of their wisdom and insights and credentials. And they are lying garbage people. If it wasn’t for the ridiculous impeachment foolishness, maybe our country could focus on this endless disaster – and one that is still killing our best and our bravest.
Here’s the bottom line. Donald Trump’s instincts were right when he looked at this Seventh Century wasteland and asked (I’m paraphrasing), “What the hell are we doing still being here?”
We need to get out of Afghanistan yesterday. The 4K Trump’s supposed to be pulling out soon should be the down payment. Bring our troops all home.
The Taliban rules the countryside. The drug warlords are laughing at us. Our corrupt “allies” are raking in our cash, with trillions of our dollars spraying out of a massive spigot that the beneficiaries don’t want to cut off. But worse, our troops are dying in drips and drabs. Hell, a year ago one of my friends got shot there by somebody pretending to be our ally right up until the moment that turd decided to blast the infidels with a weapon we probably bought him. I do not presume to speak for my friend and I have no idea where he stands on the politics – like all our great soldiers, he’ll go where ordered and do his utmost – but I’m retired and I know where I stand.
I stand for lancing this festering boil of a war. End it. After nearly 20 years, it’s not worth one more American limb or life.
Were we defeated? Not in any meaningful sense. We just have nothing to gain by fighting it anymore. We came to kill al-Qaeda. We killed heaps of those scumbags. But somehow that mission morphed into making Afghanistan a place that didn’t suck. That’s crazy. It’s always sucked and it always will suck and its suckiness is not our problem.
We didn’t “win,” in the sense that we did not crush all opposition. To say we cannot win in Afghanistan is wrong. Of course we can win. What we cannot do is summon up the will to do what it would take to win. Perhaps we do not want to – and there are plenty of good reasons not to do the hard and horrendous things necessary to pacify that backwater hellhole. But we could, if we wanted to. We have the combat power. What we do not have is the will – and again, maybe we don’t want to have the will to do it. We beat Germany and Japan by, in large part, annihilating their cities. But both were existential threats to our country. Afghanistan, if it provides a refuge for jihadi degenerates again, is a threat, but hardly an existential threat.
Winning in Afghanistan means exponentially more blood and treasure. We would need to flood the country with troops, and flood it with even more money. It would take hundreds of thousands of soldiers, which we could send. But would we want to? Do we want that butcher’s bill?
As for money, well, the reports make clear that we have flooded that country with cash for two decades and all we have to show for it are rich grifters and…more rich grifters, American and Afghani. That’s it. We could have set those trillions of bucks on fire and at least we would not have had to bury a few thousand of our troops.
And to pacify the countryside means putting aside the counterinsurgency fad that’s led to two decades of treading water in a sea of American blood. Julius Caesar understood how to pacify a country. So did Curtis LeMay. You go in and wipe out your enemies. You kill them in massive quantities until they beg you to surrender. And you destroy their territory, leaving it a wasteland. We did that in World War II, not coincidentally the last war we unequivocally won.
But would we do that here? Do we want to shed that amount of blood? Let’s not dance around it – we don’t want to, as a country. We have no stomach for the kind of meat grinder warfare we used to practice, at least not in this scenario. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe the objective of a pacified Afghanistan is not worth the moral cost of victory. But there’s no need to even think about it because there is not going to be a consensus in our country to do what we would have to do to win. We’re not going for Dresden II: Pashtun Boogaloo. So let’s stop this bloody Groundhog Day of a war, after countless funerals, countless dollars, and countless years.
If a war is not important enough to win, then it’s sure as hell not important enough to not win for years and years and years.
So, what happens to our allies? Some of our “allies” are apparently less allies than parasites. They’ll be fine, and if they aren’t, too bad. The ones who truly stood with us, who fought beside our men and shed blood with them, we should take care of. That might mean arming them. That might mean bringing them here. But it does not mean running on this miserable rat wheel forever.
“But,” warn those who want to stay, “if we abandon our allies what message does that send?” Well, it sends the message that if we prop you up for two decades and you still can’t hack it, yeah, you’re on your own. That is not a bad message to send.
It’s their country. If they want to fight for it, that’s their choice. And if they don’t, that’s also their choice. But after 20 years, it’s not our problem anymore. The fact that we’ve been stupid enough to waste blood and bucks on Afghanistan for two decades – when the reason we came there in the first place was to exact vengeance on terrorists, not remake its entire primitive society – does not somehow morally obligate us to keep doing so forever.
“The terrorists might come back” is another argument. That’s true. But then we can come back too – in the form of drones or bombers or special ops guys, and we can kill them. If the Taliban takes over, that’s bad. But then the Taliban has taken over. It would have something to lose.
Might terrorists threaten us from there again even though we would hold the local warlord responsible? Maybe. But right now, Afghans are actively trying to kill Americans who are, conveniently, right there. How are we worse off removing the enemy’s targets across an ocean?
A lot of people have an interest in this fiasco continuing. The foreigners our fecklessness have made rich. The contractors cashing in on Uncle Sam’s cash. Even our military has an interest in continuing it. It’s not some sort of evil delight in war, but professionals tend to want to use their skills. Afghanistan is a mission, and our military – because it is mostly composed of aggressive achievers, except in the JAG Corps – likes having a mission. But the military works for us, and we should tell it, “Nope. Thanks, but you’re done. Pack up and redeploy.”
Some others warn, “Well, China will go in if we go out.” Oh no, that would be awful.
There is one more argument. There are folks who worry that leaving will render our sacrifices meaningless. But that’s not so. The courage and sacrifice of our warriors under unbelievable conditions was not in vain. Those who served in Afghanistan have a right to be proud; we should be proud of them. They were never defeated. They are leaving not because they were forced out but because we called them home. They should leave with their heads held high as the heroes they are.
And it’s precisely because they are heroes that we owe them this tough decision to finally end this war.
Or nuke it from orbit.
Either works for me.
AMEN !
Our nation is troubled. There were nearly 250,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S.A. in the four years from 2015 through 2018. Leftist, libertine, hippie trash people continue their war for foreign drug cartels and slavery against our people at home.
Meanwhile...
Afghanistan Military Gets 3X the Taxpayer Funding as U.S. Border Wall
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/18/afghanistan-military-3x-funding-border-wall/
...
In total, American taxpayers are forced to subsidize nearly
$4.2 billion in costs that will go towards the “Afghanistan
Security Forces Fund” to fund the Afghan National Army, the
Afghan National Police, the Afghan Air Force, and the Afghan
Special Security Forces.
Compare that funding to the less than $1.4 billion that is
explicitly allocated to build barriers at the U.S.-Mexico
border to stop the massive annual inflow of illegal
immigration that drives up foreign labor market competition
against America’s working and middle class.
...
“Well, China will go in if we go out.”
After England, Russia, and the U.S., it must be China’s turn.
Agreed.
L
Last I heard 25% of the population of Mexico is here, that should be our concern not this endless neocon war.
China can have it, for all I care.
The ChiComs deserve Afghanistan.
A good sensible read. We have nothing to gain by staying.
Trump is the president to achieve this, end it once and for all. This could be a bonus legacy he could and should create.
The media won’t admit it but Bush wanted to get in and out at Bora Bora. It was British Intel that convinced him to start this ill fated “nation building” crap.
My daughter is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan next year.
I advocate that we completely withdraw. But on the way out salt the poppy fields and destroy our bases.
Scorched Earth policy worked for the Russians in WW2.
Then a policy of containment.Zero Afghans allowed in the US. Not one to a university, training program; NOTHING.
Get The Hell Out Of Afghanistan Now
_____________________________________________
It should have been done long ago. It’s not called “The Graveyard of Civilizations” for nothing.
My Army Son did three tours in Iraq / Kuwait - a lot of his friends went to Afghanistan - all of them said the same thing, we were always outnumbered and out gunned. One guy told me we were sending in companies to fight battalions.
Get out now.
The Taliban rules the countryside. The drug warlords are laughing at us.
WRONG, WRONG and Wrong, We the United States Military RUN THE COUNTRY and the Drug Warlords, they work DIRECTLY For US, we OWN THEM and Distribute their Opium all around the World.
HEROIN USE HAS EXPLODED since we took over the Opium Production in Afghanistan
Seeds of Terror
How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda.
http://failuremag.com/feature/article/seeds_of_terror/#ixzz35QhbgQ8K
Drug shipments off of Africa have “significantly increased since 2009”
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/international/2014/June/international_June26.xml§ion=international
Drug trafficking, kidnapping fund al Qaeda
By Rachel Ehrenfeld, Special to CNN -May 4, 2011
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/03/ehrenfeld.al.qaeda.funding/
Qatar used as transit point by drug traffickers: Expert 2013
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/qatar/253421/qatar-used-as-transit-point-by-drug-traffickers-expert-
Obama secretly released high risk Taliban terrorists to the care of Qatar. (Qatar is where the US established for Taliban headquarters in 2011.)
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-offers-the-taliban-a-new-mideast-headquarters-2011-9
Islamic Revolutionaries under any name you google are tied to the Heroin trade along with most other drugs, as well as human trafficking.
http://www.newsweek.com/2013/06/12/talibans-new-role-afghanistans-drug-mafia-237524.html
Heroin production hits record levels in Afghanistan - study
http://rt.com/news/156128-afghanistan-drugs-usa-heroin/
Drug War? American Troops Are Protecting Afghan Opium. U.S. Occupation Leads to All-Time High Heroin Production
http://www.globalresearch.ca/drug-war-american-troops-are-protecting-afghan-opium-u-s-occupation-leads-to-all-time-high-heroin-production/5358053
Terrorists in “Americas Back Yard”
State Department Reports Hezbollah Increasing Drug and Terrorism in South America 2013
http://interamericansecuritywatch.com/exporting-terror-in-americas-backyard/
“There has indeed been a “marked resurgence” of Iranian state sponsorship of terrorism over the past 18 months. But as the new Nisman report drives home, here’s an even more disturbing fact — Iran has run intelligence networks in the United States’ backyard to “sponsor, foster and execute terrorist attacks” for decades.”
“Criminal plans” by Iran could be under way in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, the report said.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/world/americas/iran-latin-america/
Mexican Cartels Buying Afghan Heroin
http://www.banderasnews.com/1101/nr-afghanheroin.htm
Obama’s America:
“The horrific toll of America’s heroin ‘epidemic”
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26672422
America’s Heroin Epidemic -BBC 2014
The SEC sees no evil while Wall Street banks launder $BILLIONS in cartel
money. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs
Hedge Fund Manager, Banker, and the largest Individual donor to Obama’s coiffeurs, continues to pour $Millions into thenDrug Legalization Campaign, made to look like citizen activism. George Soros 2/2014
http://www.hightimes.com/read/how-one-percent-will-legalize-marijuana
As “medical marijuana” legalization spreads across the country, police and other industry warnings about the dangers of legalizing marijuana ignored by media
http://www.flsheriffs.org/newsroom/entry/florida-sheriffs-pass-resolution-to-oppose-the-legalization-of-marijuana
DEA has been caught laundering money as well, “Agency officials declined to publicly discuss details of their work, citing concerns about compromising their investigations.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/world/americas/us-drug-agents-launder-profits-of-mexican-cartels.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&;;
Mexican Diplomat Says America Pretty Much Invited The Sinaloa Drug Cartel Across The Border
http://www.businessinsider.com/stratfor-the-us-works-with-cartels-2012-9#ixzz36vAJbBpS
Obama shut down the NDIC in 2012, the itelligence agency dedicated to tracking terrorism funded by drug trafficking.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/tag/national-drug-intelligence-center/
“Mexican cartel violence is at an all-time high along the increasingly porous southern border yet the Obama Administration has shut down a critical intelligence agency dedicated to identifying, tracking and severing the nexus between drug trafficking and terrorism.”
CONFIRMED: The DEA Struck A Deal With SINALOA Mexico’s Most Notorious Drug Cartel (They claimed feds agreed they could traffic into Chicago) JAN. 13, 2014
more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-government-and-the-sinaloa-cartel-2014-1#ixzz30wXEcHSl
U.S. Government and Top Mexican Drug Cartel Exposed as Partners
Written by Alex Newman Jan. 2014
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/north-america/item/17396-u-s-government-and-top-mexican-drug-cartel-exposed-as-partners
The link between drugs and crime, including violent crime, would be hard to overstate in Chicago. Eighty-six percent of adult males arrested in Chicago last year tested positive for drug use. Chicago, with a population of 2.7 million, had 506 murders in 2012, the highest per capita among the four most populous U.S. cities.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-17/heroin-pushed-on-chicago-by-cartel-fueling-gang-murders.html
The Truth About Chicago’s Crime Rates (cooking the books)
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/May-2014/Chicago-crime-rates/
Dirty doctors, Russian mafia fueling prescription drug and heroin abuse in N.J., investigation finds
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/07/nj_state_commission_of_investigation_prescription_drug_heroin_abuse.html
Opiates are now the leading cause of accidental deaths, surpassing car crashes and alcohol. http://elitedaily.com/news/world/prescription-painkillers-overtake-car-crashes-leading-accidental-death-us/
Banks Laundering Cartel Drug Money -Rampant
http://www.globalresearch.ca/money-laundering-and-the-drug-trade-the-role-of-the-banks/5334205
BORDER CRISIS: CONGRESSMAN SAYS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ‘CAUSING HUMAN TRAFFICKING’
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/07/05/Congressman-Illegls-Aliens-Rise-Obama-Advertises-If%20you-Come-You-Can-Stay
Cartels Exploit Immigration Crisis To Smuggle More Drugs Across Border
By Frank Diez July 03, 2014
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/07/03/cartels-exploit-immigration-crisis-to-smuggle-more-drugs-across-border/
Mexican Cartels are Behind Border Crisis -2014
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/23/how-mexico-s-cartels-are-behind-the-border-kid-crisis.html
Drug dealing, informant get border pass -2014
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/informant-gets-free-border-pass-675432
EXCLUSIVE: Photos Show Drugs Pouring Over Southern Arizona Border as Agent Resources are Overwhelmed Jul 08, 2014
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/07/08/exclusive-photos-show-drugs-pouring-over-southern-arizona-border-n1859982
The Obama Administration’s Human Trafficking
July 11, 2014 by Arnold
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/arnold-ahlert/the-obama-administrations-human-trafficking/
So, one day I was at the Freedom Bridge, at the Afghan/Uzbek border. We had to drive our vehicles through water that went over the rocker panels to “wash their dirt off”. The Uzbeks explained that they didn’t want Afghani dirt in their country. One of them asked, as serious as a heart attack, why don’t you just nuke them?
When it comes to the Middle East, the next time our national security is threatened , we should not be bringing sandwiches for those we defeat, only bombs and destruction....and then leave them with their misery. After a while, they will get a clue
The time to get out of Afghanistan was before the war began. What does the author propose to do if (no, when) a worse-than-ever Taliban or ISIS begins to import nuclear missiles into Afghanistan and credibly threaten American cities? Those guys won’t care about retaliation, and the pacifists and isolationists in the USA will be pressing for us to cave. The cost in lives and money of dealing with a situation like that is going to exceed whatever cost has been expended so far. The world has changed. Our oceans are no longer enough to protect us, and our mad-dog enemies are not going to leave us alone just because we leave them alone.
Why are we borrowing money and paying interest on it to give to Afghanistan? It’s all part of the State Dept planned larceny using NGOs like foundations / charities to siphon money into the FBI, CIA, Clinton Foundation, where it is parceled out to globalist enterprise supporters, aka, insurrectionists of the U.S. government.
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