[Ouderkirk]

Actually, Afghanistan NEVER existed.

Afghanistan isn’t a country. It’s a stone age Brigadoon of quarreling tribes, ethnic groups, Islamic denominations, and warlords manned by young men with old Russian and American rifles.

http://www.danielgreenfield.org/2021/08/afghanistan-didnt-fall-it-never-existed.html

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

"Afghanistan isn’t a country. It’s a stone age Brigadoon of quarreling tribes, ethnic groups, Islamic denominations,
and warlords manned by young men with old Russian and American rifles."

Accurate, but you failed to mention the totally untapped natural mineral reserves
which makes it a mineral gold mine !

[bagster]

Afghanistan isn’t a country. It’s a stone age Brigadoon of quarreling tribes, ethnic groups, Islamic denominations, and warlords manned by young men with old Russian and NEW American rifles.

Better.

[ETCM]

Great piece.

“Our Afghanistan campaign after September 11 was fast, clever, and ruthless. The men who conducted it understood the society. They worked together with warlords to crush the Taliban. Their goal was a quick and dirty victory that would make an example out of the Taliban”.

Imagine the alternate history had Bush had the wisdom to stop when we had exacted revenge. Same can be said for his foolish occupation of Iraq. 20 years of grinding our military and our economy into the dirt could have been avoided.

[HotHunt]

".... Afghanistan isn’t a country. It’s a stone age Brigadoon of quarreling tribes, ethnic groups, Islamic denominations, and warlords manned by young men with old Russian and American rifles....."

Precisely.

Something the Russians, British or the Americans never understood or paid any attention to.

And you might add to that description, shifting loyalties and temporary allegiances, as well as having deep seated corruption at all levels of their culture and society.

We spent $2 trillion and 20 years chasing our dreams, not theirs.