End, endless wars.
End up right back there because we didn't accomplish what the goal was.
I am torn. I get the people part of this. However, I don’t see a way we can accomplish any goal. It seems like trying to create a void in water. How do we accomplish anything? I don’t think you can effectively fight religion. Maybe it’s lazy, but we may need to consider that we can’t and that those who don’t want to live under that need to take a refugee way out. We’ve been at war for longer than my high schoolers have been alive. We have spent enough to have solved some major problems around here with that money. We need to stop.
This is generally my thought. It sucks because we know how much the people are suffering, but at this point we also have a pretty damn good idea that short of annexing the country we’re not going to do any good with our military.
I’d oppose going back in, but I could be persuaded if the plan was to do so with a true global coalition that includes US troops but is not US led (maybe UN or NATO).
What about the potential risk to our national security by allowing the Taliban to regain a stronghold? We did not accomplish what we intended when we went into that country, unless the sole stated goal was to kill Bin Laden. This was will be a failure because of poor leadership at the start and throughout. The war in Afghanistan is our first failed war due to political partisanship. We diluted the war with Operation Iraqi Freedom, then the war spent three different administrations kicked around as a political football.
Partisanship def didn't help, but IMO it was a doomed trip anyway. I mean, can you imagine invading Italy and occupying until Catholics switched beliefs? Fools errand. Better move would be to help those who want out to get out. Not that that is a small task either, but it's one that has a clear path to follow. Any time we spend there is time we are spending in neutral, spending large amts of money, and just waiting for the inevitable power void that us eventually leaving will cause.
I don't know the answer to this, but has there been any appreciable difference in the locals' ability to police, protect, build, etc for themselves over our time in country? I have heard a bunch of stuff about how poorly trained the local armies, police, etc were back about 10 yrs ago. I heard that not only were they poorly trained, but they didn't want to be there, they quit en mass often, and often they would defect to the other side. If that isn't changing, we def need to get out. If it hasn't changed in more than a decade, it won't change and we are simply a very expensive, very violent, place holder.