Lost Cause: A Special Forces Soldier’s Case For Leaving Afghanistan

The Federalist ^ | July 13, 2020 | Robert Gast

[Rummyfan]

I think Afghanistan is the perfect example of you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. There are those in Afghanistan who want to live in the 21st century, but not enough of them to deter the medieval monsters who prefer to live in the seventh. And the security forces required to suppress the latter are just too much for us to provide. One alternative is start from the southwest corner and roll up to the northeast and kill every living thing in between. Obviously we are not going to do that. The other alternative is LEAVE.

[PGR88]

I feel like we are in the declining years of the Roman Empire — troops always fighting somewhere on a far frontier, while in Rome the politicians party like there was no tomorrow.

Yes, and add to that massive debt, rapid currency devaluation, and a huge class of elites, cronies, business monopolists back in Rome, all gaming the system and sucking on the tit of massive centralized government.

[Regulator]

Lovely mountains. Looks like Salt Lake. Needs a ski resort or two.

Tell the locals how much they’ll make selling drinks at the resort, they’ll dump Islam in a minute. Worked in Utah.

[PGR88]

We should never have sent troops. We should have just bombed them and gone home.

The option I mentioned on Sept. 12, 2001 was a complete travel-ban on everyone from approx. 25 Muslim nations of the mid-east, South Asia and North Africa. We can’t fix their degraded culture, nor can we bomb them fully into submission - the only option is to keep them out of our country.

[Rummyfan]

But, there are trillions of REMs in them thar hills.

Rear Echelon Motherf***ers or Rare Earth Minerals? If the latter, why aren't we extracting them?

[Rummyfan]

The Constitution of Afghanistan is explicitly Islamic. There is no way the American people should have supported it after that. Islam is the enemy.

In all our time there we have never addressed the islamic factor in the country's.... chaos.

[buckalfa]

"Afghanistan was legitimate at the outset after 9/11. It was the home base for operations of AQ under the wing of the Taliban."

The nation did have a need to strike back, to extract some small amount of revenge for the 9/11. The target however should have been the House of Saud. Failing that, the Bill Clinton approach of lobbing a couple of cruise missiles and blowing up a baby milk factory in Kandahar may have served the nation better in the long run.

[Rummyfan]

The option I mentioned on Sept. 12, 2001 was a complete travel-ban on everyone from approx. 25 Muslim nations of the mid-east, South Asia and North Africa.

President Bush was too busy messaging that islam was not the enemy and the left was fighting him tooth and nail every step of the way. They wouldn't even allow profiling - that was racist!

[Manic_Episode]

Watched "The Outpost" Friday night.

Pentagon brass is worse than incompetent.
They are anti American

[freefdny]

It is a collective of varying tribes and warlords that often shift allegiances as the sand blows.
Sounds like Chicago.

[Don Corleone]

Lost Cause: A Special Forces Soldier’s Case For Leaving Afghanistan

The Middle East has been in constant political and military upheaval for at least the last two thousand years. Its like shoveling sh..t against the tide.

[PROCON]

Pingy

[Vermont Lt]

Rare Earth Minerals.

And why aren’t we extracting them? Because they are in Indian country and the Indians like the Chinese more than they like us. And the Indians are not idiots—they know what they are worth.

We thought we could go in, blow up the Taliban, cut some good deals with the government and rip them off. Just like empires have been doing for years.

They have a different idea.

We should leave and do what the US used to be the best at—cutting deals with corrupt governments. It would save us a lot of money.

[Jet Jaguar]

Ping

[Rummyfan]

And why aren’t we extracting them? Because they are in Indian country and the Indians like the Chinese more than they like us. And the Indians are not idiots—they know what they are worth.

That may not last, especially if the current border skirmishes escalate.

[sarge83]

We killed bin-laden, we punished the Taliban and we have killed thousands of terrorist. Declare victory and go home. This Colin Powell nation building crap has led us to this quagmire. The deep state and joint chiefs have had 20 years to come up with a coherent strategy for victory and have ignored the victories they already have, a punished Taliban, devastated Al-quada and dead bin-laden. This is just about $ in the pockets of pentagon contractors and a living test live testing facility for new weapons. Not another drop of American blood for that sewer should be spent, bring the boys home!

[Pining_4_TX]

Good observation. The hubris of Bush and his neocon buddies got us into this mess. The US should have bombed those mountains flat then left. Iraq should not have happened at all. What a tragic loss of good Americans for nothing but the pipe dreams of arrogant policy wonks who thought they could change the world.

[Vermont Lt]

I am sorry...I meant “metaphorical” Indians—not Central Asians.

I meant to say that they are found in tribal areas “not under the US control.”

LOL.

The Anti Columbus, Anti-Pushtun Racists, will be all over me! Ha Ha.

[Elsie]

Those who do not learn from history...

[Elsie]

There ya go!