Lessons to Learn from the Loss of Afghanistan

American Thinker.com ^ | August 16, 2021 | Mark Jarrett

[Kaslin]

Kandahar is fallen. Kabul, too. To hear again those names is to bring back a lost youth a lifetime of operations overseas. When I heard that Kandahar had fallen to the Taliban...I had a bad day. I did not think the news would hit so hard — but it did, and I thought to take a moment to give hard won advice to those who were there, as well as to reflect upon some of the reasons why the Taliban are on the cusp of victory.

Think of those who served

First, this moment is a bad time for those who served there in any way, and it is natural to feel that way. Basically, our side lost — and we will question our service and sacrifice. Whatever memories we have are going to come back, and some of them may be overwhelming. Each day veterans kill themselves, with the loss rippling through their community, so this is a time to be extra aware of that potential.

My advice is mostly common sense: when you are emotionally weak, do not marinate in bad news. If the news of Afghanistan's fall bothers you — do not follow the news. Look outside: the sun is still shining, the birds are singing — stay in the present moment, and dwell neither on the past that you cannot change nor on the future if you have no capacity to change it. Be active, focus on positive things, and do not stew in negative emotions. Ask for help if you are having bad days. Some of the hardest feelings of guilt may come for those with close ties to Afghan partners or interpreters. Know that it is indeed a helpless feeling and that you may not be able to help,

[Candor7]

Lessons to Learn from the Loss of Afghanistan?>>>>>>>>

Re-elect Donald Trump.

[Alberta's Child]

There are no lessons to be learned from the fall of Afghanistan. Those lessons were all learned — and then forgotten — in Vietnam.

[RummyChick]

Lesson learned by foreigners...dont trust the US to have your back if you decide to help them

[BiglyCommentary]

DON’T GET MAD, GET EVEN.

[originalbuckeye]

I have become convinced that Obama, et al, orchestrated the placing of the 22 SEALs on that helicopter together and then allowed that intelligence to be transmitted to the enemy. I am sick to my stomach with the FACT that our brave Military are nothing but cannon fodder to the Left. Anything that hurts our Military emboldens the Left and disheartens the Right. Disgusting times we live in……..

[MalPearce]

So this had nothing to do with Trump...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51689443

By cutting the Afghan government out of the Doha talks the deal was to all intents and purposes a guaranteed Taliban takeover. Since then the local and regional leaders have been swearing allegiance to the Taliban and handing over military supplies... expecting massive reprisals if they didn’t.

The Doha agreement threw the Afghan government, women and girls under the bus and effectively guaranteed a Taliban takeover.

We’ve known about the consequences of Doha for over a year. All Trump ever offered was a threat of massive intervention if the Taliban broke the terms of the agreement. But they’ve stuck with it.

[Flavious_Maximus]

The way I see it, the entire world has gone insane including here in America with it’s “Woke” world view.

1) You have a Pope who hates Christians and does not defend the church.

2) You have leading medical organizations insisting that men can get pregnant and you must refer to them by their identity “they” or be fired.

3) You have school boards demanding that every child wear a mask and be taught that ALL white people are racist, etc. etc.

The current global world order is going to collapse. I say let it collapse completely. Burn it all to the ground and from the ashes rebuild anew with whatever is left of society. But not before the Rats at CNN and MSNBC are all executed by military firing squad. Do not let a single one escape justice.

[Dr. Franklin]

Basically, our side lost — and we will question our service and sacrifice.

No question the "leadership" of those who put people like you in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, and also question the reasons why you were there in the first place. Did all of those Saudis involved in 9-11 really have ties to Iraq and Afghanistan, or was that just one massive deflection from their own country? How much did the oil producing Gulf states benefit from keeping Iraq's oil off of the international market for years?

The elites who run our country have run a series of misdirections in the past few decades to convince the masses that foreign interventionism was somehow in the national interests, or somehow defending the U.S. homeland. How many trillions of dollars were wasted there? What could that money have been spent on here at home? Vets who served in these conflicts should stop questioning their service and their sacrifice, and start getting angry at those who sent them to fight, bleed and die on distant shores.

[The_Media_never_lie]

There are no lessons to be learned from the fall of Afghanistan. Those lessons were all learned — and then forgotten — in Vietnam.

---

Exactly. We are willing to practice "nation building" in any country that hates us, except we won't do it in the country that should matter the most: the US.

[Cronos]

Afghanistan was lost the moment Bush decided to go into Iraq in 2003.

If he had focused on Afghanistan, crossed into Pakistan to kill Osama and then taken the paki nukes. Then

1. No Obama
2. No Islamic state
3. No destruction of the Christians in iraq and Syria.
4. No resurgence of the Taliban
5. Thousands of American lives saved and trillion dollars saved

[Meah]

Everything surrounding Afghan policy has been sad for decades.

[Elsie]

Those lessons were all learned — and then forgotten — in Vietnam.

It goes back a LOT further than that...

Genesis 16:11-12

11 The angel of the LORD proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

[SmokingJoe]

Afghanistan was lost the moment Bush decided to go into Iraq in 2003.

Except almost every US Senator (especially one Joe Biden) voted for the war and strongly supported it.

[dfwgator]

Which is why I maintain that even if Gore beat Bush, we’d still have gone to war.

[SmokingJoe]

The left wing homos at the BBC don’t know what they are talking about. As usual.

[DownInFlames]

0-2-1 since WWII. 0 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie.

[SmokingJoe]

Yup.
After 9/11, there was no way we were going to sit idly by and do nothing.
No country on this planet will sit idly by and watch a bunch of deranged Islamists from another country slaughter over 3000 of her citizens.

[dfwgator]

You forgot Grenada. We did win that one.

[Taxman]

Ping