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What Have We Learned In 18 Years?

Copyright John F. McMullen 2019
written September 11, 2019

18 years ago today
was the worst day
in American history
It was the first attack
on the US mainland
since the War of 1812

We identified the bombers
and went right to work
retaliating for this outrage
but 18 years later
our troops are still
in Afghanistan

As of July 2018
2,305 Americans
have been killed there
2,977 died on 9/11

In the 1940’s
we defeated
two of the world’s
major military powers
in 5 years

Yet 18 years
after 9/11
we are still
in Afghanistan

Forty years ago
the Soviet Union
invaded Afghanistan
The United States
responded by
boycotting the
Moscow Olympics
and arming the
Afghan resisters
the Mujahideen

and it worked

We then turned
a blind eye as
the Mujahideen
became the Taliban
and brutalized women
while ruling with
an iron fist

The Taliban also
grew opium
and sold it to the
world – and
provided a safe haven
for the west-hating
Al Qaeda

When Al Qaeda
attacked us on 9/11
American troops
went immediately
after them
in Afghanistan
finding themselves
being fired on by
the same weapons
that were given to
the Mujahideen

We drove Al Qaeda
out of the country
to Pakistan and
installed the first
central government
in the country

BUT

The government was
weak and corrupt
and the Taliban
never left and have
fought US troops
on .. and on .. and on

Even after we killed
Osama bin Laden
the director of the
9/11 attack
the war went on

It is obvious that
should the US leave
the Taliban will
overthrow the
central government

Additionally
the Taliban has
been joined by a
resurgent Al Qaeda
and the new
bad guys on the block
ISIS

The previous President
and the current one
have both tried to
set a schedule
for disengagement

The current President
even tried to force
his will on the situation
by negotiating directly
with the Taliban —
— and we all saw how
that worked out

To recap

If we leave
the country falls apart
and the barbarism of
the Taliban returns

If we stay
more Americans
are killed
and the war goes
on .. and on .. and on

As American military
deaths approach the
number killed in 9/11
Osama must be smiling
from the
bottom of the ocean

 

Thomas Gibbons-Neff – New York Times, September 17, 2019:
“Even as we want it all to stop, we know on one level that it won’t.
After any peace deal, now, later, in another decade, we’ll still be fighting the war in one place.
Our heads.”,

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