The U.S. Government Lied For Two Decades About Afghanistan

Substack ^ | August 16, 2021 | Glenn Greenwald

[gattaca]

Using the same deceitful tactics they pioneered in Vietnam, U.S. political and military officials repeatedly misled the country about the prospects for success in Afghanistan.

“The Taliban regime is coming to an end,” announced President George W. Bush at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on December 12, 2001 — almost twenty years ago today. Five months later, Bush vowed: “In the United States of America, the terrorists have chosen a foe unlike they have faced before. . . . We will stay until the mission is done.” Four years after that, in August of 2006, Bush announced: “Al Qaeda and the Taliban lost a coveted base in Afghanistan and they know they will never reclaim it when democracy succeeds. . . . The days of the Taliban are over. The future of Afghanistan belongs to the people of Afghanistan.”

For two decades, the message Americans heard from their political and military leaders about the country’s longest war was the same. America is winning. The Taliban is on the verge of permanent obliteration. The U.S. is fortifying the Afghan security forces, which are close to being able to stand on their own and defend the government and the country.

[RandFan]

Government = professional liars

[romanesq]

The Taliban was a Pakistan ISI group in Pakistan.

We never could stop that incubator in Pakistan.

How much money did we give Pakistan over the last 20 years?

[FreedomPoster]

A lot. Our logistics train into Afghanistan ran through Pakistan.

[joma89]

Surprise! The US government lies.

[McGavin999]

Someone needs to go interview Bush and ask him how he feels about his Business den vote now. *spit*

[romanesq]

“A lot. Our logistics train into Afghanistan ran through Pakistan.”

As it does for the Taliban, even today.

[Bearshouse]

Sorry to be the odd man out here, but I think this one may be unfair criticism. If we had not gone into Afghanistan after BinLaden in those early days after 9/11 we would have invited countless other attacks. It was critical that we do something. The lie was that we didn't secure the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the outset. We needed Pakistan for logistics and too much was given away. It was probably obvious almost immediately what a screw up that was and heads should roll. The honest thing to do was to kill the Taliban and Al Queda (really one and the same) in both countries until we had the plotters and then walk away.

[Theoria]

'If we had not gone into Afghanistan after BinLaden in those early days after 9/11 we would have invited countless other attacks'

There is no evidence to support that. The 9/11 hijackers were trained in Florida and Germany as well. That is the nature of terrorism, it can come to any location that allows rags in. Most of the follow up attacks in western countries were from people who planned and immigrated there. There is no need to attack rag countries when we simply import the terrorism for them.

[McGavin999]

That was auto correct. Bush’s Biden vote was in the 2020 election. He had very nasty things to say about Trump. Look what his advocacy brought.

[Daveinyork]

I had my suspicions about W when he felt the need to say that he was a “compassionate” conservative.

[Bearshouse]

The 9/11 hijackers were trained in Florida and Germany as well.

True, but my point was that we had to display strength or would have appeared feckless and weak with no gumption to fight back at all. That area was known to all intelligence agencies as a training ground and safe harbor for terrorist groups and was probably the best of our options at the time. If the Taliban had given up Bin Laden at the time, this conversation would be completely different.

[Theoria]

The worst option was what we did. Staying around created more problems. That was the Kryptonite effect.

We are superman, but Iraq and Afghanistan did no service for us. Especially, when daily, superman was constantly being attacked by ieds and insider attacks. That showed superman was vulnerable, especially when we wouldn't use overwhelming force.

As for the Taliban. They said from the beginning. Show us proof OBL planned 9/11, and we will turn him over. We never did.

[Reily]

We didn’t have to he admitted it in one of his videos !

[Fury]

I believe Greenwald errs as he is not adequately factoring in how terrorist organizations like the Taliban and Al Qaeda can reconstitute their organizations. They will and do.

What is more concerning is starting to nation build in a country that has rampant corruption and has cultural affinity to non-Western types of organization and governance (e.g. jirgas, tribes, clans, etc.)

Already ordered “The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of war”, which is a compilation of articles by C. Whitlock on civilian and senior military errors and incompetence re: the war in Afghanistan.

[bert]

Foolishness

The requirement for lawyerly courtroom proof before historical action is not necessary.

[FreedomPoster]

The whole Nation Building escapade has been complete insanity.

[laconic]

Bush never knew what he was talking about. A friend was in the baseball business when Bush was the “president” of the Texas Rangers. Bush would arrive at the meeting with questions someone had written out for him; there was never a follow-up bc he had no idea what to ask. He is not an intelligent man; hence, the need for the globalists to install Mary Cheney’s father to run things.

[romanesq]

A big military industrial complex failure.

Just as Ike warned.

[Theoria]

And now we have what we have. 20 years of incompetence and ruin. The economic and social carnage hasn’t yet been played out.