11 years ago today, the United States first invaded Afghanistan, starting what would turn out to be America’s longest war and indeed one of the longest wars in modern history. That means we are now entering year number 12 of the war, meaning 11 straight years of NATO saying the war is on track, and 11 straight years of the war very much not being on track.
The Taliban issued a statement today claiming their own victory over the ongoing occupation, saying it was “an exemplary historical lesson of defeat” for the US. Despite this Taliban confidence, the US has agreed to keep troops in Afghanistan through at least 2024.
The planned portion of the latest year of the war centered around ending the US surge, and while officials insist the surge was a “success” the Taliban if anything grew considerably over the span of the escalation, as did violence nationwide.
But Year 11 will mostly be remembered for the unplanned embarrassments, such as the Kandahar massacre in March, and the dramatic increase in green-on-blue attacks nationwide.
What does Year 12 have in store? Many NATO nations are hoping to get the rest of their troops out of Afghanistan, selling the idea of a “transition” to Afghan control even as the Karzai government continues to struggle with the exact same problems of violence and corruption that have kept it in crisis for the last 11 years.
There is no "war" in Afghanistan. There is only a brutal occupation which is being resisted by the people who live there and who resent the foreigners who maim and kill them at will while insulting their religion and desecrating their dead.
Not since Vietnam has the U.S. been beaten so completely. It provides a lesson which shows how easily the U.S. can be beaten.
Its huge army, so what! Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing!
This last defeat should end america`s warlike ways and so broke that it would take two generations to recover payback for murder on a grand scale.
Two comments:
1. The phrase "paper tiger" comes to mind.
2. The Afghan War is what Obomba called a "smart war," the kind he favored. Watch out for the Harvard Law Review types. Their arrogance is exceeded only by their ignorance.
P.s. Get well, Justin. You are badly needed.
what is this, a I can hold my breath longer than you contest? what stupidity
Actually, our longest war was the Indian Wars (1776-1890, although they really began in 1492). There is more similarity here than you might think, as Afghanistan seems to be about subduing the hostile natives and making the land safe for settlement (i.e., investment). However, the Indian Wars were won mainly by the huge demographic disparity. I don't see many American pioneers going to Afghanistan to stake out homesteads.
The war ends when the loser stops fighting.
US regime is desperate to avoid admitting defeat.
So the US regime continues to pay the blood price.
Either way, US regime loses.
I love it.