Afghan government officials claimed to have virtually wiped out ISIS in the Nangarhar Province early this year. Not long thereafter, they launched a major offensive against resurgent ISIS forces in Nangarhar, and once again appeared to have virtually expelled them from the area.
The government and its US allies have bragged about their success against ISIS, but the most recent reports indicate that those same districts in Nangarhar are increasingly falling under ISIS control yet again, and Afghan officials are already talking of a “fresh offensive” for yet another time.
ISIS has feelers out in a number of provinces around the country, and is recruiting virtually everywhere that they can. Nangarhar, and particularly districts along the Pakistan border, are their main stronghold of the faction, and these offensives don’t appear to be doing anything to displace them in anything more than a very temporary way.
US forces long downplayed the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan is not operational, but even after admitting the problem was real, they have been quick to back these brief, ultimately fruitless offensives by Afghan forces, and to believe the idea that they can wipe out ISIS in a matter of a few weeks.
When the American people break free from their propagandized state of mind then they will tell the politicians that they don’t want more wars. They are far from doing that and it can be easily guaged by Jill Stein’s popularity. At the moment she’s a joke to 95% of the voters and a hope for the 5% that amounts to her support.
That’s not the fault of the politicians. Politicians do what is popular with their constituents. Hillary Clinton isn’t a hawk because she wants to be a hawk. She’s a hawk because being one will get her elected. How sad that the alternative isn’t antiwar either but just a phony who has learned how to appeal to stupid ignorant people.
Would the Republican party have nominated a candidate who is antiwar and could have beaten Clinton? Not a bloody chance, they didn’t have one.
Maybe it’s sad that Trump won’t become the president. The American people would have got the comeuppance ignorant and stupid people deserve.