Why U.S. Failed in Afghanistan. No, It’s Not What You Think.

The U.S. the US withdrew from Afghanistan 3 years ago on August 26, 2021.

Blame our political and intellectual leaders, across two decades, for evading the ideological nature of the enemy and, consequently, miring U.S. forces in a “no-win” war.

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[StrongHarm]

Obama had a lot to do with it.. and it was long before the withdraw. I'm a vet who has friends who are still down range. One of the toughest men I've ever known, a very senior soldier, broke down weeping and said "they're trying to kill us... our own leaders are trying to kill us?" He said they cut equipment and personnel by 50% but doubled the mission tempo. Early in the war we built FOBs (forward operating bases) and allowed bad guys to break their teeth on them. It was very effective. Obama later ordered the "expensive FOBs" to be taken down, and for the troops to go out and 'win hearts and minds' rather than 'hiding behind walls'. Casualties went up 3000%. We still achieved a 600:1 casualty ratio. No one in history has ever had that kind of success on the battlefield. The objective there was to build roads, hospitals, schools, and other infrastructure to weaken the foundations of Taliban rule. They could no longer roll into an isolated village and take away all the military aged males for the J ihad. A taste of freedom can have lingering effects, and time will tell whether it will be enough to end that culture. Unfortunately, something very similar was done to America during the Cold War... and it persists to this day. The compromising of our schools, university, and elected officials by c 0mmunism. Only time will tell if our own culture has been forever compromised.

[donesquire]

Adding my agreement that a computer voice diminishes the message. An intern with a decent speaking voice who understands the content would be more effective, inexpensive, and just as "scalable." The automated transcript lacks punctuation, paragraph structure, and isn't a good alternative.

[Gorboduc]

I'm sure I speak for many here when I say I'll never forget the tragic events of "Nined Eleven".

[jure]

Guys, what was wrong with Alex Wigger? Seriously.

[LibertyHawk]

In the early 2000s, I thought that Iraq and Afghanistan would be much better countries by now. I think I underestimated how brainwashed the masses of those countries were and still are. I don't know how that mess should be handled.

[diegomorales]

Article, yay. Computer text-to-speech, meh.

[freedomwriter]

Part of the reason is that they chose to spread themselves thin by invading Iraq instead of focusing on Afghanistan only.

[DinkSmalwood]

Is this an AI voice? It sounds wierd and some pronounciation, and especially emphasis, is off. Please don't lower your standards over at ARI. Insofar as you want to reach people, you really can't afford it.

[SpacePatrollerLaser]

Please ditch the robot voice, it is unbecoming of Objectivism. The elocution errors are grossly apparent, such as the long space before "failure" and some of the mispronouciation. Eliminate the bad habits by not starting them

The war was lost by 2008 when the Bush admin let the Teliban escape to Wiseristan and did not harrass and assassinate them all over the world. That failure was due to the casues you identify

One reason the GOP deserves a proper caning (23 of the Best) is the middle finger they are sticking in the face of our intellects. The Trump Administration surrender had us existing by May. Biden actually bought us 3 more months. by which time anyone who wanted out of Afghanistan could have left if they were serious. But the root of this is on Bush II since he did not drive the dagger home. If Pakistan would have started bitching, he should have said "You are either with us or the retrograde terrorists. And we will act accordingly, No place in the world will be safe fro them -- and their helpers!". Then made it stick

You nailed it