Posted on 08/20/2021 5:25:30 AM PDT by Kaslin
Republicans are busy bashing President Joe Biden for his tragically botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. They should. He deserves it. The larger truth, though, is leaders of both parties have botched Afghanistan now for 20 years. When people research why the American people so dramatically lost trust in national institutions and leaders, Afghanistan will be a case study.
America's involvement in Afghanistan started, of course, after the 9/11 attacks. Afghanistan's Taliban government had given safe haven to al-Qaida. After 9/11, President George W. Bush, with express authorization from Congress, initiated Operation Enduring Freedom to drive the Taliban from power and destroy al-Qaida and their leader, Osama bin Laden. This was a mission every sane American agreed with. It was an emotional time. The images of the first U.S. Special Operations troops on the ground in Afghanistan mounting a cavalry charge on horseback made us all swell with pride. With the huge exception of allowing bin Laden to sneak away through the mountains to Pakistan, the bulk of the Afghanistan mission was accomplished within two months. We obliterated Taliban forces, drove al-Qaida into hiding, disrupted their operations and killed thousands of terrorists. American soldiers did their jobs.
Instead of declaring victory, Bush, and President Barack Obama after him, expanded the Afghanistan mission to nation-building. Specifically, the plan for both was to establish a Western-style democracy in Afghanistan. Their quotes from the time establish this in no uncertain terms. It was a preposterous proposition from the start. Afghanistan is famously known as "the graveyard of empires." Many before had tried and failed to capture and govern this rough, backward and largely corrupt society, the Soviet Union being just the most recent example. The hubris and naivete in thinking America could fundamentally change a country as complicated as Afghanistan on a dime is stunning. It would be hard to fail harder.
Along the way, as the failures built up in Afghanistan, so did the lies. Upon the U.S. withdrawal, the ultimate truth of how little progress was made over 20 years was laid bare for the world to see. Leaders of both parties had told us that we were having success training the Afghan army. The corporate media, as is their business model, largely parroted the official line. Anyone who spoke with actual American soldiers involved in the operations would have heard a different story. Our troops doing the work were put in an impossible situation by failed leaders and an ill-defined mission. The Afghan troops were not doing well. Nearly half may not have even existed. There were fake names added to rosters so commanders could pocket extra pay from the U.S. taxpayers. Drug abuse was rampant. Either America's leaders were so stunningly clueless that they missed these glaringly obvious facts or they were lying through their teeth. Biden confidently, almost arrogantly, predicted that Afghanistan in the hands of what he told us was a competent 300,000-person army and air force would hold out against the smaller and less-armed Taliban insurgents. In reality, this Afghan force, after 20 years and trillions of dollars in U.S. training, couldn't even last a few days without direct U.S. support. Were we given a sense of any of this from U.S. leaders or the corporate media beforehand?
The bipartisan Afghanistan failure can either be a wake-up call to America or just one of the last failures along the way for a country in decline. That choice is ours, and we will know the answer soon. The first sign will be whether those responsible are willing to give real answers as to how this happened. How did Biden get this so wrong? His political career is already going to be hurt terribly by this debacle. Maybe he could try a new tactic: confess to the failure and answer all the questions. That would be a refreshing change from our top leaders' behavior for many years now.
The corporate media will let Biden get away with the usual American leadership response of moving on without answering the many obvious questions raised by our stunning failure. Biden could help heal a broken country and restore a tiny bit of confidence if he came clean. For starters, it would be important to learn how so many Americans were left behind in Afghanistan. Were top American leaders so deluded about Afghan troop capabilities that they were willing to bet the lives of thousands of Americans still in the country on the outcome? Did anyone even consider these Americans? And why would America not prioritize the evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan before foreign citizens? Are American leaders not obligated to help American citizens before those from other places? Finally, how did we leave so many valuable and sensitive weapons in Afghanistan? Was anyone even considering that? Will the public be told precisely which weapons were left to Taliban control? Finally, Bush could restore a lot of confidence nationally if he revisited his past statements on democracy-building in Afghanistan and reconciled those with the 20-year ordeal that transpired in their wake.
Our leading institutions have, for years now, grown used to failing and not having to answer for it. The corporate media does not demand answers from those in leadership. America's recent slide has been marked by a stunning lack of consequences for those who fail us. From those whose risky investments caused the financial crisis, to those who helped leading pharmaceutical companies promote opioids as they ravaged the American heartland, to those at the very top levels of Hollywood, Washington, academia and Wall Street who turned a blind eye or even provided support as luminaries such as Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein raped young women – nobody has been held responsible. Will this time be any different? If not, America will keep declining.
One man’s botched is another man’s mission accomplished.
Does anyone actually expect the government to tell the truth? Are there any pigs 🐖 in pilot training right now?
Just like Hillary & Obama’s Benghazi debacle, this will disappear in a few weeks. Oh there will be ‘investigations’ and wringing of hands but ultimately, it will swirl around the bowl and then flushed out completely.
We're beyond decline. We're at the precipice. Unless we denounce and persecute Evil in our Midst, we're finished.
“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers-- and it was not there... in her fertile fields and boundless forests-- and it was not there... in her rich mines and her vast world commerce-- and it was not there... in her democratic Congress and matchless Constitution-- and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” Around 1840 by Alexis de Tocqueville, author of Democracy in America, a book which was assigned to the entire Republican freshman class of the 104th congress.
Our "Dance with the Devil" that we began in earnest about the time a demonic Supreme Court legalized abortion, pornography, etc, is what will destroy us.
Ambassador to U.N, Charles Malik: “The good in the United States would never have come into being without the blessing and the power of Jesus Christ….I know how embarrassing this matter is to politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and cynics: but whatever these honored men think, the irrefutable truth is that the soul of America is at its best and highest, Christian.”
We expelled Jesus Christ from America. There is no relationship with God without Christ, therefore there is no relationship with God. Without God, America has no hope. (His children, faithful Christians, yes, we have hope. But that's in spite of a collapsing America. God does not need a puny country like America, for Him to accomplish His purpose.)
I pray that Americans will realize this.
Fixed.
We are living in a kakistocracy, governed by the worst possible people at the worst possible time.
Asking these people to “come clean” is like asking the sun to stop coming up. They’re incapable of honesty, plain speaking, candor, shame or embarrassment. Their first instinct is to lie even when the truth would be good for them and for us.
Add to that the fact that they hate our living guts and think we are all stupid and we have the situation we are faced with today. Our credibility as a nation is shattered and will take at least decade to restore. Our allies no longer believe us and our enemies don’t fear us.
That’s a very dangerous position to be in. It invites war. And make no mistake about it, war is coming. President Pudding Cup just invited the Chinese to take Taiwan. When a US Carrier Task force is a smoldering sinking wreck it will be Biden to blame for it.
And don’t tell me that the sinking of a US carrier would get a nuclear response. Not with this crew running things. They’ll wring their hands, say it was “unforeseen”, and then write a sternly worded letter demanding the Communists respect gay rights.
And they’ll laugh right in our faces because they’ll have us by the balls.
L
You can't win a war against an enemy if you cannot even say the enemies name: Islam. The Constitution of Afganistan was explicitly Islamic. As I've been saying for years, we should have left after that was passed .
Yep. I imagine the Democrats are already busy writing the report from the 'investigation' because they want it done while they still have a majority. And the report will say, "It was Trump's fault".
Waiting for Liiindsey to start pontificating...
We know there is failure. The quickest solution is to fire every decision maker involved in that failure. No need to investigations other than determining if a person in government or the military made decisions. This is based on the principle that no one in government should ever make a career and profit out of public service. Government employment should be limited to 12 years.
Agree about them coming clean. The reality is at least imo is that for a long time the US govt has been lawless and that’s never good. They answer to no one and can commit crimes without being held accountable because the judges were appointed by them. The system needs an overhaul. The govt having unlimited power to tax is another thing that has destroyed the US. We have a bad system the constitution needs to be reworked and criminals in govt should be jailed.
“ the constitution needs to be reworked”
I disagree. It needs to be followed.
L
Oh, the declining country is Afghanistan...I thought they were talking about the US at first.
That idiot deserves to be bashed.
To which idiot are you referring? There are so many in our government...
Lurker, I don’t ALWAYS agree with you but you hit the nail on the head here.............about 10 times!
Major point.
The Soviets did not lose Afghanistan because Afghan history declares that impossible, or because there was no means within the Afghan people for reforms, Soviet Style.
The Soviets lost Afghanistan because we - the U.S. + Pakistan + Saudi Arabia - built a guerrilla army against them. It’s that simple. That’s not events predicated on ancient Afghan history, that’s the reality.
Then, no where in the author’s analysis does he look at who has been arming the Taliban and why.
I think there are answers to that question, and with those answers the large question becomes why the U.S. did not fight WWII style and go after the sources of weapons to the Taliban. That is how we defeated Japan, leaving no stone unturned. Had we fought Japan with our arms tied the way they were tied fighting the Taliban, we would not have defeated Japan.
THAT is the elephant in the room on Afghanistan.
“Lurker, I don’t ALWAYS agree with you…”
Hell, I don’t always agree with me. LOL
L
Now I understand why Obama pronounces “Pakistan” as if he were a native...
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