Taliban greets Pentagon's withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan with cries of victory

[refugee 169]

"The 17-year long struggle and sacrifices of thousands of our people finally yielded fruit," said a senior commander in Helmand.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna950811

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

The problem with this handling of the war in Afghanistan, the same as Viet Nam, Iraq, etc is that it was treated as a purely political event with no thought or understanding of what the end game is/was.

 

War is a political action, but needs to be under the umbrella of the military, not left to the political whims of whomever happens to be in power.

 

Ruthless persecution of one's enemies should be the single motivation, find, attack and annhilate your enemies, anything less wastes your manpower and resources.

[Neonred 3,444]

The war in Afghanistan was a no win from the beginning.    A waste of 17 years and a couple of thousand American lives.

 

Only took the Russians 10 years to figure that out.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

24 minutes ago, Neonred said:

The war in Afghanistan was a no win from the beginning.    A waste of 17 years and a couple of thousand American lives.

 

Only took the Russians 10 years to figure that out.

Very reminiscent of Vietnam.  And things will get worse in the region when we pull out, for several years (my prediction).

[Neonred 3,444]

2 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

Very reminiscent of Vietnam.  And things will get worse in the region when we pull out, for several years (my prediction).

Afghanistan is a backwards S* hole.  Yes, it will get worse but let them have it.  

Unfortunately we won't live long enough to see it become as productive as Vietnam.

[Póg mo 1,749]

4 hours ago, refugee said:

"The 17-year long struggle and sacrifices of thousands of our people finally yielded fruit," said a senior commander in Helmand.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna950811

They may as well withdraw. They could spend another 17 years, and the result will be the same. 

[Póg mo 1,749]

1 hour ago, Neonred said:

The war in Afghanistan was a no win from the beginning.    A waste of 17 years and a couple of thousand American lives.

 

Only took the Russians 10 years to figure that out.

And a one or two Afghans as well.

[Póg mo 1,749]

4 hours ago, Randyandyuni said:

The problem with this handling of the war in Afghanistan, the same as Viet Nam, Iraq, etc is that it was treated as a purely political event with no thought or understanding of what the end game is/was.

 

War is a political action, but needs to be under the umbrella of the military, not left to the political whims of whomever happens to be in power.

 

Ruthless persecution of one's enemies should be the single motivation, find, attack and annhilate your enemies, anything less wastes your manpower and resources.

They tried that. Unfortunately for invading armies, Afghanistan topography makes keeping it under a foreign powers control, next to impossible. 

[Shiran 1,134]

The reason why Afghanistan what is it now is systematic meddling and proxy wars going back to 1970s. Before that, it sure as heck wasn't really "backwards"

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/07/afghanistan-in-the-1950s-and-60s/100544/

[jg121783 3,907]

13 hours ago, Póg mo said:

They may as well withdraw. They could spend another 17 years, and the result will be the same. 

Never thought I would say this but I agree with you 100%. There is a reason no invading army has conquered Afghanistan since Alexander the great and he only held it for a few years. This is Vietnam all over again. The only difference is we have a president with the sense to get us out before we have to resort to a frantic evacuation from the embassy roof via helicopter. I am very sad to say that because my brother and some of my friends served in Afghanistan. They served with honor and we should be grateful for their service but that doesn't mean we throw more of them into a meat grinder for no good reason. It is interesting though how some in the anti war crowd have put being anti Trump ahead of being anti war all of a sudden. 

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

21 hours ago, Póg mo said:

They tried that. Unfortunately for invading armies, Afghanistan topography makes keeping it under a foreign powers control, next to impossible. 

 

7 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Never thought I would say this but I agree with you 100%. There is a reason no invading army has conquered Afghanistan since Alexander the great and he only held it for a few years. This is Vietnam all over again. The only difference is we have a president with the sense to get us out before we have to resort to a frantic evacuation from the embassy roof via helicopter. I am very sad to say that because my brother and some of my friends served in Afghanistan. They served with honor and we should be grateful for their service but that doesn't mean we throw more of them into a meat grinder for no good reason. It is interesting though how some in the anti war crowd have put being anti Trump ahead of being anti war all of a sudden. 

@jg121783 I never really though I would agree with @Póg mo either but I'm this case I do agree fill heartedly. As someone who has spent 2+ years in Afghanistan it is time for us to leave there. It has become a standout in regards to money, resources, and lives. We need to get out of there now. 

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

9 hours ago, Shiran said:

The reason why Afghanistan what is it now is systematic meddling and proxy wars going back to 1970s. Before that, it sure as heck wasn't really "backwards"

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/07/afghanistan-in-the-1950s-and-60s/100544/

Nice try at blaming their current status on the US, but no.  Afghan was a mess long before the US was even a nation.  The US presence is but a tiny blip on their centuries old timeline.

[Póg mo 1,749]

1 hour ago, Satisfied said:

Nice try at blaming their current status on the US, but no.  Afghan was a mess long before the US was even a nation.  The US presence is but a tiny blip on their centuries old timeline.

Thanks for the thoughtful and well reasoned rebuttal.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

7 hours ago, Póg mo said:

Thanks for the thoughtful and well reasoned rebuttal.

Wasn't talking to you.  And most likely have spent more time there than you, so... 

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,315]

Who cares what the Junior Varsity thinks. Now that they are indeed the JV