The Afghan War is over

[clearspira]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58135148

The Taliban is back and is steamrolling over Afghanistan. What was the point of the last twenty years again? And why did Joe Biden do what Bush, Obama and Trump thought was a dumb idea and pull out of the country?

What was that exchange from Rambo 3 again?

Colonel Trautman: You expect sympathy? You started this damn war, now you'll have to deal with it.
Zaysen: And we will. It is just a matter of time before we achieve a complete victory.
Trautman: Yeah, well, there won't be a victory. Every day, your war machines lose ground to a bunch of poorly-armed, poorly-equipped freedom fighters. The fact is that you underestimated your competition. If you'd studied your history, you'd know that these people have never given up to anyone. They'd rather die than be slaves to an invading army. You can't defeat a people like that. We tried; we already had our Vietnam! Now you're gonna have yours.
Zaysen: So, you wish to test me? Good.

[Draco Dracul]

The war is over, we lost and it's getting increasingly hard to justify when the new recruits weren't even born when 9/11 happened.

[TGLS]

And why did Joe Biden do what Bush, Obama and Trump thought was a dumb idea and pull out of the country?

The same reason the British left Cyprus, the Palestine, Kenya, and India. There wasn't enough political will to do what was necessary to win the war, so there was a prolonged period of attempting to save face before throwing in the towel and withdrawing.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

We've been there for a long time as a matter of security provision. It's soft controversy as to our intervention since the biggest concern there is is the binary choice of staying as is or considering how they might turn out if we leave completely. It's kind of like Brexit more than anything resembling cold war political line tensions.

[Beastro]

What was the point of the last twenty years again?

The Barbary Coast for centuries is a good example of what Afghanistan is. Placed along important trade lines, the Corsairs plundered and slave raided for centuries either being bought off or bombarded into temporary agreements. Nothing more could be done because the Mahgreb is a worthless tract of land not worth conquering until the French finally decided it was worth doing so and did the job with enough force to to it properly.

Afghanistan is similarly worthless and unoccupiable. This should have been a razzia to make a point and get out until they made enough trouble again to warrant another raid. That or the US should have come in with the intent to stay to at least occupy the place and forcefully raise a generation acceptable to American hegemony, but we all know that wouldn't be done.

The main problem in Iraq and Afghanistan was that the US tried to do to them what they'd done to Germany and Japan after WWII but had neither the money to spend nor the heart to actually do the bloody job.

The war is over, we lost and it's getting increasingly hard to justify when the new recruits weren't even born when 9/11 happened.

This isn't over. It's a long war like the Indian Wars and will be going on for a century at the very least.

[sayla0079]

What was the point of the last twenty years again?

The Barbary Coast for centuries is a good example of what Afghanistan is. Placed along important trade lines, the Corsairs plundered and slave raided for centuries either being bought off or bombarded into temporary agreements. Nothing more could be done because the Mahgreb is a worthless tract of land not worth conquering until the French finally decided it was worth doing so and did the job with enough force to to it properly.

Afghanistan is similarly worthless and unoccupiable. This should have been a razzia to make a point and get out until they made enough trouble again to warrant another raid. That or the US should have come in with the intent to stay to at least occupy the place and forcefully raise a generation acceptable to American hegemony, but we all know that wouldn't be done.

The main problem in Iraq and Afghanistan was that the US tried to do to them what they'd done to Germany and Japan after WWII but had neither the money to spend nor the heart to actually do the bloody job.

The war is over, we lost and it's getting increasingly hard to justify when the new recruits weren't even born when 9/11 happened.

This isn't over. It's a long war like the Indian Wars and will be going on for a century at the very least.

It's gone too long as it is and needs to end.

[McAvoy]

It won't be over for a long time whether or not the US is there or not.

[Makeshift Python]

This is reminding me of that George Carlin video about how Ameirca feels bad for "pulling out" of Vietnam before actually finishing.



youtu.be/zY2-wighQM0

[clearspira]

This is reminding me of that George Carlin video about how Ameirca feels bad for "pulling out" of Vietnam before actually finishing.



youtu.be/zY2-wighQM0

George Carlin is awesome, particularly about the bit about averaging a war every 20 years. I like that because its the complete opposite of what Hollywood likes to portray. And the bit about how every one of them since WW2 is against brown people.
I'm not getting at the US though. Far be for me as a Brit to moan about warring against brown people given what we did in Africa lol.

[Beastro]

What was the point of the last twenty years again?

The Barbary Coast for centuries is a good example of what Afghanistan is. Placed along important trade lines, the Corsairs plundered and slave raided for centuries either being bought off or bombarded into temporary agreements. Nothing more could be done because the Mahgreb is a worthless tract of land not worth conquering until the French finally decided it was worth doing so and did the job with enough force to to it properly.

Afghanistan is similarly worthless and unoccupiable. This should have been a razzia to make a point and get out until they made enough trouble again to warrant another raid. That or the US should have come in with the intent to stay to at least occupy the place and forcefully raise a generation acceptable to American hegemony, but we all know that wouldn't be done.

The main problem in Iraq and Afghanistan was that the US tried to do to them what they'd done to Germany and Japan after WWII but had neither the money to spend nor the heart to actually do the bloody job.

The war is over, we lost and it's getting increasingly hard to justify when the new recruits weren't even born when 9/11 happened.

This isn't over. It's a long war like the Indian Wars and will be going on for a century at the very least.

It's gone too long as it is and needs to end.

It's only been twenty years. This stage, and these wars, can be done, but the matter isn't over.

Think of the Hundred Years' War and how it wasn't hundred years of constant warfare but of three separate phases.

You don't like it? Well none of us do, but 9/11 was a big slap in our faces reminding us that the end of history hasn't come yet. Nasty, drawn out wars wars have been the norm, not the exception in history.