I want to share with you a story from a 2011 trip to Afghanistan that perfectly encapsulates why our mission there was flawed by design and why, despite the heroism of our soldiers, it's time to leave.
1/ Read the whole thing. It's worth it.
2/ I was there with a bipartisan House delegation. We wanted to get outside of Kabul to see Obama's "surge" in action.
The military picked Parmakan, a small town in Herat Province. If I recall, it had been controlled by the Taliban, but U.S. forces had retaken it.
3/ We were greeted by the Army unit stationed there. Their leader was an impressive guy from Goshen, CT. These guys were bad ass, and rightly proud of having run the Taliban out of town.
They introduced us to the village elders, and we set off for a tour of the town.
4/ The elders told us how the Taliban used to come into town and steal their crops. Now, with U.S. Army protection, the farmers could harvest in peace and sell their crops at market prices. The Taliban were still their customers, but at least now they got paid, thanks to the U.S.
5/ As we walked, we noticed the fields were filled with gorgeous, colorful flowers.
We asked the elder what this crop was, the one they now sold to the Taliban.
"Poppy", he said, without hesitation.
6/ I turned to one of the Republicans on the trip, Rep. Adam Kenzinger, and said, "So the U.S. is here protecting the heroin trade that provides the Taliban with an income to continue the insurgency we are supposed to be fighting?"
7/ This was the U.S. in Afghanistan.
Our presence there was a recruitment boon for the Taliban. Other times, like in Parmakan, even when we "won" (took territory from the Taliban), we were losing (safeguarding their income).
From the start, the mission was flawed by design.
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