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.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent.
2/ Leaders across the political spectrum have spoken out about the need to depoliticize our fight against violence. GOP Governor Spencer Cox has led the way.
3/ Here is the latest post from Laura Loomer, who clearly has the ear of President Trump, calling on Trump to use dictatorial powers to destroy his political opposition. This kind of rhetoric is gaining traction in MAGA world, and Trump is now echoing it.
1/ The beating heart of a free society is the ability for citizens to engage in political life with no fear of violence. Once we lose this freedom, few will step forward, and our entire democratic experiment unwinds into chaos and recrimination.
2/ Political violence in America is spiraling - January 6th, the attempting assassination of President Trump, the beating of Paul Pelosi, the murder of the Minnesota legislators, the shooting of Brian Thompson, and now the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
3/ We can spend today arguing who is at risk more - the right or the left. Or we can decide that our entire democratic enterprise is at risk if we don't draw a line in the sand today. What does that exercise look like?
1/ Republicans think they are going to hide all the hospital and clinic closures due to throwing 17M off their health care to pay for their billionaire tax cuts.
We won't let them.
I'm starting an effort to track all the closures - @HospitalsCrisis. We launched it this week.
2/ My organization, American Mobilization Project, is funding and working with @ProtectOurCare to build this tool tool that tracks the damage done to health care centers in real time.
Every time a hospital closes or is at risk of closing because of the GOP bill, we'll know.
3/ When your local hospital eliminates its maternity delivery unit, or your parent’s nursing home closes, you should know why.
It's the direct result of a choice that Republicans and Trump made to choose tax cuts for the rich over health care for normal Americans.
Private equity looted 3 Connecticut hospitals. Services cut, nurses buying their own supplies etc. They will do it to your hospital if we don't stop this trend right now.
1/ Today I'm releasing a report on the truth about private equity in health care. tinyurl.com/adangerouspros…
2/ In 2016, private equity backed Prospect Medical Holdings bought three cash-strapped hospitals in Connecticut with the promise they'd invest in upgrades.
The plan was to shore up the hospitals so they could offer better care for patients. It was sold as a win-win. They lied.
3/ Instead, private equity deployed the “buy, strip, flip” playbook. It’s exactly as destructive as it sounds.
Buy a vulnerable hospital.
Strip it of staff, services and assets - scam and squeeze every dollar possible out of patients.
2/ This meeting essentially accepts Russia back into the club of legitimate major nations. And that's unacceptable, because Putin is committing war crimes in Ukraine - purposely murdering innocent people and kidnapping young children.
The photo op alone is a disaster for peace.
3/ How could the meeting become an even bigger disaster? Easy.
If there is no ceasefire (and there can't be, because Ukraine isn't even attending!), and Trump doesn't immediately announce sanctions AND new weapons for Ukraine.
The story of how Trump sells access to the White House - to benefit himself and his family financially and to benefit his political operation - is shocking and sordid.
No President has ever monetized access like Trump has.
1/ It's a story you need to know.
2/ The primary way to get to Trump is at his golf clubs. Reportedly, a $5 million donation to Trump's political operation gets you a one-on-one meeting. $1 million will get you a group private dinner.
3/ One crypto CEO who paid the $1 million price explained to the @nytimes that after his meeting with Trump, his idea to make money off the federal government was suddenly "making the rounds...so mission accomplished from my view.” nytimes.com/2025/08/02/us/…