after vietnam, serious reforms were made in the military, intelligence, and foreign diplomatic corps. afghanistan will provide no such introspection
afghanistan was a farce from the beginning, a war with a nebulous political objective that was never achievable, continued largely out of an urge to save face and pass the inevitable failure down to the next administration
what the effort was successful at was the enrichment of war profiteers and collaborators in country, as well as securing opium production as means of fueling both black and white market drug profits. every dollar spent and life lost advanced these secondary goals
how many veterans of this war came back home injured and disturbed, ended up in some pill mill, and died of an addiction to a chemical whose precursor originated in the very valley they were wounded in?
none of this will result in any firings, any arrests, any justice. among the occupational class, no one will question the upper brass of the US military, their competency or their motivations. the transformation of the military in the last 20 years will not be viewed as a mistake
the people responsible for the plundering and despoliation of both the united states and afghanistan are still in power, are still influential, are still making money.
afghanistan at least had the benefit of a reserve of men willing to suffer any setback, wait for the right opportunity, and fight to take their country back. america should be so lucky
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