Our “leaders” never learn. If you go to war, have a plan and a realistic goal. Shrub sent us in because he wanted to feel “manly” and “macho” without having to expose himself to danger. There was never an actual plan, and, certainly, no thought of how to get out. Last year, the RNC put a page on their web site boasting about how Trump made “peace” with the Taliban. The page has disappeared.
Third one today (in the order I’m viewing them) as well as at least two yesterday. Yes, it’s pretty much the same issue. And yes, it’s pretty much the US’s fault (UK too, by the by).
Geez, with all the corrupt governments the US has set up, replaced, and then fostered another set over and over and over again for well over half a century you’d think they’d have had enough rehearsals for this by now. And still they haven’t figured that if you’re not ready to own it & fix it, you’d better not break it in the first place. Especially in a place with centuries of history like Afghanistan’s. That ol’ “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it” (and help their families & cronies make a crap ton of money while killing their own troops) thing again.
did anyone see the video of people actually chasing a C17 down the runway, trying to get on board.. this is how we treat the people in that country who believed in the US.?
Then, and today it is a C-17 taking off. And hapless Afghans falling to their deaths.
But while rabbit-holing to identify that iconic scene shot by Hubert van Es in 1975, I discovered that it wasn’t a military helicopter, that was not the US Embassy, those weren’t Americans and that wasn’t the last flight out.
More, elsewhere an evacuating flight by World Airlines, a month earlier in March 1975, was described as follows: “The plane, under heavy fire, managed to get airborne, but stowaways and those clinging to the side plummeted to their deaths, leaving corpses littering the runway.”
So, more familiar than that iconic photo should be people falling to their deaths from a departing plane.
It seems to me that, after more than two decades, the Afghan government and military should have been better prepared and able to take care of themselves. If that wasn’t the goal when would any supporting country be able to leave? Just asking…
The lesson is, as with Vietnam, that even if the ascendant force is flawed or even evil (Ho Chi Minh, the Taliban) putting a corrupt and inept clique in power and propping them up with US troops is not the answer.
Afghanistan has been appropriately called the “Graveyard of Empires.” The British learned that lesson in the 19th and early 20th centuries (1839-1842, 1878-1880, and 1919). The Russians learned that lesson in a only a decade (1979-1989). Now, the USA has learned that lesson after two decades (2001 through the present). As Pete Seeger so aptly observed in 1955, “When will they ever learn? Oh, When will they ever learn?”
Not just the obvious fact that it was our tax money that paid for the American military presence there, but the carefully unmentioned fact that it was our drug dollars that paid for the other side as well. Yes, that’s right, the good ol’ USA was covering the costs for the whole war, both sides, and has been for the last two decades.
How can that be? Because Afghanistan is home to 85-90% of the world’s opium poppies, the essential ingredient in heroin, with its $50 billion annual market, a huge portion of which flows out of American pockets because nobody can get it legally here.
The misbegotten, insane, expensive, destructive, dehumanizing, counter-productive War on Drug-Using Americans has produced yet another unintended consequence, a disastrous, murderous one, with a massive humanitarian crisis as a side effect.
Repeal Prohibition. Again. For all the same reasons.
Remember that book detailing how we botched things in Vietnam — “The Best and the Brightest”? Looks like it’s time for an Afghanistan update. Botched intelligence, failure to report bad news up the chain of command, and hubris galore. Reminds me too, oddly, of General Douglas MacArthur’s prescient warning to NEVER get bogged down in a land war in Asia. Maybe this time we’ll learn that painful lesson.
RAGs almost 3 years ago
Our “leaders” never learn. If you go to war, have a plan and a realistic goal. Shrub sent us in because he wanted to feel “manly” and “macho” without having to expose himself to danger. There was never an actual plan, and, certainly, no thought of how to get out. Last year, the RNC put a page on their web site boasting about how Trump made “peace” with the Taliban. The page has disappeared.
Concretionist almost 3 years ago
Third one today (in the order I’m viewing them) as well as at least two yesterday. Yes, it’s pretty much the same issue. And yes, it’s pretty much the US’s fault (UK too, by the by).
Display almost 3 years ago
Geez, with all the corrupt governments the US has set up, replaced, and then fostered another set over and over and over again for well over half a century you’d think they’d have had enough rehearsals for this by now. And still they haven’t figured that if you’re not ready to own it & fix it, you’d better not break it in the first place. Especially in a place with centuries of history like Afghanistan’s. That ol’ “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it” (and help their families & cronies make a crap ton of money while killing their own troops) thing again.
Baarorso almost 3 years ago
Letting the Taliban back in is a spit in the face to every soldier who has bled and died to keep them out for the pasT 20 years. :(
wolfiiig almost 3 years ago
Was it Ogden Nash that said “It’s better to lose face than to lose pants”?
944im Premium Member almost 3 years ago
did anyone see the video of people actually chasing a C17 down the runway, trying to get on board.. this is how we treat the people in that country who believed in the US.?
OmqR-IV.0 almost 3 years ago
Then, and today it is a C-17 taking off. And hapless Afghans falling to their deaths.
But while rabbit-holing to identify that iconic scene shot by Hubert van Es in 1975, I discovered that it wasn’t a military helicopter, that was not the US Embassy, those weren’t Americans and that wasn’t the last flight out.
More, elsewhere an evacuating flight by World Airlines, a month earlier in March 1975, was described as follows: “The plane, under heavy fire, managed to get airborne, but stowaways and those clinging to the side plummeted to their deaths, leaving corpses littering the runway.”
So, more familiar than that iconic photo should be people falling to their deaths from a departing plane.
FrankErnesto almost 3 years ago
The next time we occupy a country, let’s build some heliports, first thing.
More Coffee Please! Premium Member almost 3 years ago
It seems to me that, after more than two decades, the Afghan government and military should have been better prepared and able to take care of themselves. If that wasn’t the goal when would any supporting country be able to leave? Just asking…
thelordthygod666 almost 3 years ago
Whether the pullout happened in 2005, 2015, 2025 or 2050…It was always going to end this way.
Newenglandah almost 3 years ago
The lesson is, as with Vietnam, that even if the ascendant force is flawed or even evil (Ho Chi Minh, the Taliban) putting a corrupt and inept clique in power and propping them up with US troops is not the answer.
piper_gilbert almost 3 years ago
The choice was stay there forever. The Taliban was always going to takeover the day after forever.
Michael G. almost 3 years ago
Next stop: More profitable war zone!
Bookworm almost 3 years ago
Afghanistan has been appropriately called the “Graveyard of Empires.” The British learned that lesson in the 19th and early 20th centuries (1839-1842, 1878-1880, and 1919). The Russians learned that lesson in a only a decade (1979-1989). Now, the USA has learned that lesson after two decades (2001 through the present). As Pete Seeger so aptly observed in 1955, “When will they ever learn? Oh, When will they ever learn?”
Alberta Oil Premium Member almost 3 years ago
A lot of cartoonists today are relishing in this tragedy.. Speaks highly of American values doesn’t it?
The Love of Money is . . . almost 3 years ago
Welcome to “AFGHANINAM AIR” where you never earn frequent flyer miles.
Richard S Russell Premium Member almost 3 years ago
Who financed the war in Afghanistan? Americans.
Not just the obvious fact that it was our tax money that paid for the American military presence there, but the carefully unmentioned fact that it was our drug dollars that paid for the other side as well. Yes, that’s right, the good ol’ USA was covering the costs for the whole war, both sides, and has been for the last two decades.
How can that be? Because Afghanistan is home to 85-90% of the world’s opium poppies, the essential ingredient in heroin, with its $50 billion annual market, a huge portion of which flows out of American pockets because nobody can get it legally here.
The misbegotten, insane, expensive, destructive, dehumanizing, counter-productive War on Drug-Using Americans has produced yet another unintended consequence, a disastrous, murderous one, with a massive humanitarian crisis as a side effect.
Repeal Prohibition. Again. For all the same reasons.
B 8671 almost 3 years ago
Shades of Vietnam.
Adolf Trump almost 3 years ago
My opinion? A no-win game, right from the get go.
pamela welch Premium Member almost 3 years ago
What a damned mess :-(
apfelzra Premium Member almost 3 years ago
Remember that book detailing how we botched things in Vietnam — “The Best and the Brightest”? Looks like it’s time for an Afghanistan update. Botched intelligence, failure to report bad news up the chain of command, and hubris galore. Reminds me too, oddly, of General Douglas MacArthur’s prescient warning to NEVER get bogged down in a land war in Asia. Maybe this time we’ll learn that painful lesson.