Guest Post by Pat Buchanan
Afghanistan is only one of the “forever wars” into which our interventionists plunged us that have proven so ruinous to the republic.
“It is time to end the forever war.”
So said President Joe Biden in his announcement that, as of Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, all U.S. troops will be gone from Afghanistan.
The longest war in our history, which cost 2,400 dead, 20,000 wounded and $2 trillion, is ending — but only for Americans, not Afghans.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured our NATO allies in Brussels that we are all leaving with our mission accomplished:
“Together we went into Afghanistan to deal with those who attacked us and to make sure that Afghanistan would not again become a haven for terrorists who might attack any of us.
“We have achieved the goals we set out to achieve,” the secretary said. “Now it’s time to bring our forces home.”
But while the U.S. military did not lose a major battle, we Americans did not win this war. Our enemies are stronger, and they control more territory today than they have since their overthrow in 2001.
They have reconstituted themselves under fire, control half of the country and can cut roads to the capital of Kabul. And in our mission to build a democratic Afghanistan that could sustain itself long after we depart, we failed.
And we have no guarantee al-Qaida will not reestablish itself in Afghanistan. For the most probable successors to the regime we are leaving behind are the same Taliban we drove from power in 2001.
And while the Taliban did not defeat us, they have bled the Afghan army we helped to create and train, and outlasted the United States and a NATO alliance that emerged victorious from a 40-year cold war with the Soviet Empire.
As we depart Afghanistan before summer’s end, the 7,500 NATO troops there will be leaving with us. That this is viewed as no strategic victory may be seen from the reaction of those who most consistently supported the war, conservative Republican senators.
Said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Biden’s announcement:
“Precipitously withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake. … Foreign terrorists will not leave the United States alone simply because our politicians have grown tired of taking the fight to them.”
Said Lindsey Graham:
“It is insane to withdraw at this time given the conditions that exist on the ground in Afghanistan. … A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous … President Biden will have, in essence, canceled an insurance policy against another 9/11.”
Said the ranking Republican on armed services, Jim Inhofe:
“No one wants a forever war, but … any withdrawal must be conditions-based. Arbitrary deadlines would likely put our troops in danger, jeopardize all the progress we’ve made … lead to civil war in Afghanistan — and create a breeding ground for international terrorists.”
But if we failed in Afghanistan, why did we fail?
Our enemies, the Taliban, motivated by a religious faith many would call fanaticism, were more willing to sacrifice, suffer, fight, bleed and die for longer than we or our Afghan allies.
The Taliban are Eric Hoffer’s “True Believers.”
Also, it is their country, after all, not ours. It is everything to them, not so much to us. They are steeped in the traditional Afghan hostility to foreigners and hatred of those who come to their land to tell them how they should live and rule themselves.
The Taliban captured the flags of anti-colonialism, nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism.
There is talk that, should the Taliban topple the government, bring down the regime and engage in reprisals and atrocities, American troops might surge back in.
My sense is no. When we go this time, we’re gone for good. Like the Brits in the 19th century and Russians in the 20th, when we go, we will not return.
Yet, Afghanistan is only one of the “forever wars” into which our interventionists plunged us that have proven so ruinous to the republic.
The greatest blunder came in 2003, when George W. Bush was persuaded by the neoconservatives to invade Iraq and covert that country into America’s model democracy for the Middle East.
Our 18-year struggle in Iraq following the invasion of 2003 has proven even most costly in lives and treasure than the war in Afghanistan.
After Iraq came the intervention in Syria’s civil war to back rebels seeking to oust President Bashar Assad. After that came the U.S.-NATO intervention in the Libyan civil war and America’s intervention on the side of Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s civil war.
For a generation now, we have been stomping barefoot on anthills and throwing rocks into bees’ nests across the Middle and Near East.
And to what avail?
The nation-builders, the democratists, the liberal interventionists, the New World Order crowd are, today, being repudiated by Biden’s decision to write off their 20-year project in the Hindu Kush.
One wonders: Will they soon start calling Biden an isolationist?
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Obama always wanted to get out now in his third term he is making it happen.
Sotero is the real First Lady of the junta.
0bama wanted to get out of Iraq and called Afghanistan the “good” war.
Buchanan firmly believes Americans should take the Covid shit shots. IMHO, he is a stupid fucking asshole and tool of the elite.
Nevertheless, and it pains me to say this — that is a very good article.
It will be interesting to see what the MIC does here.
Will they lie about the number of troops, like with DT?
Will they just ignore the pols and continue on?
I think the solution to ALL of these “democracy building exercises” is for ALL of those who support (and encourage) them to be required to spend a full deployment at a FOB, one per year, for the duration.
Then we’ll see how graham and mcconnell feel.
Ummmm …. NO Afghanis attacked us.
Stinken’ Blinken is a stupid fucking asshole and tool of the elite.
“….canceled an insurance policy against another 9/11”
Haniging “Whata Dick” Cheney and Shrub II for treason would be a better insurance policy, thus setting an example for establishment evil doers.
What happens in Afghanistan is of little consequence to Main St USA. In fact, it’s comparable to the Black Like Mob burning marxist stronghold cities and destroying historical American artifacts.
The Black Like Mob and their ilk seek to expunge Western Civilization from the historical record, a cleansing purity ritual of sorts. No different than Taliban, ISIS or any other CIA construct.
Indeed. Until the world sees that we hold our war criminals accountable for their heinous crimes, they will always see us appropriately as the bad guys. And the list of war criminals would include every living president and vice president, every living sec. of state, and obviously large numbers from within the warmaking structure in the Pentagon and beyond.
Why should we believe Biden and the MIC that controls him on anything? I’d be shocked if the Americans withdraw all their troops by Sept 11 (wonder why they chose that date?). They’re there to keep the arms manufacturers and bankers happy, to keep opium profits flowing into CIA coffers, to pilfer rare earth resources, and to keep a close eye on Russia, China, and Iran. There’ll be some pretext–either a false flag or a devastating Taliban attack because the Americans yet again broke a peace agreement by not withdrawing by the agreed-upon date–which the warmongers in Washington will use to extend the war.
The Afghans have taken on the greatest powers of the world and sent them packing with tail between legs like a defeated dog. Anyone who says the US military is unbeatable needs to take a page from a bunch of people who ride horses and live in tents & caves. They have shown us how you fight a war of resistance against the strongest armies.
Freedom-loving Americans need to take note.
I think that’s why the government labs have released lyme, encephalitis, mad-cow deer disease, etc etc. Can’t have the partisans living off the land. I think we’ll be more effective being real close in amongst em. I plan on disguising myself as an old hunched-over sickly looking asian.
I think we’ve heard this before. All talk until it actually happens.
This is the one and only thing Biden is doing that I can agree with.
Afghans have to decide to fight the Taliban or be the Taliban, not us.
Fuck that shithole country.
The Forever War lasted 3,000 years with time dialation, so long that we forgot why we were fighting and forgot our humanity in the clone Khan.
Honest?
Is EVERYONE coming home? Meaning the Xe mercenaries, the CIA operatives, those hired to run the opium poppy plantations and process the heroin for the CIA, those who hang around and rig the elections for our puppet of the day, etc.? Its not just about the gullible troops who should have known better than to enlist in our army of foreign aggression. Its about all the money and the ill will that we engender every day we illegally occupy that supposedly sovereign nation.
Oh, and what about Iraq, the war with absolutely NO PURPOSE other than to drive profits for the MIC and keep Israel happy???
From the mouth of all-hat traitor pantywaist graham talking about biden. The pot calling the kettle black. Just can’t make this stuff up.
“The Graveyard of Empires”…. A little Kipling: “When you find yourself wounded on Afghanistan’s Plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, roll to your rifle and blow out your brains, and go to your God like a soldier”…
Right after 911 when that little scumbag stood in front of the cameras and said “it’s war from now on”, I wanted to leap through the screen and slap the crap out of him….
$2Trillion in economic damage and thousands upon thousands of lives destroyed on all sides for absolutely nothing of compelling benefit to America itself (yes, the MIC benefited immensely).
What could $2Trillion buy in benefits for our infrastructure?
A few burning embers are all that’s left of the once greatest nation on earth.
How can anyone not be sickened by what we’ve become?
Just rounding up the troops to go protect our long time ally Ukraine from those pesky Russians. It’s 1939, Ukraine is Poland, Russia is Germany, USA is Great Britain. Want to play a game?
Afghanistan, where nations go to die. Saudis attacked on 911 and we fight in Afghanistan. It’s all BS.
Saudis were identified as having participated….by the same folks who likely orchestrated.