Yes, I’m asking the question, is everlasting war in Afghanistan U.S. policy? And unfortunately, the answer seems to be an emphatic YES!
I’ve been reading “Fool’s Errand – Time to end the war in Afghanistan” by Scott Horton and according to his well documented research and what, at this point, seems to be blatantly obvious, I can come to no other conclusion considering the compelling evidence Scott has presented that suggests that this really is the plan, based upon actual quotes from the mouths of the War Hawks themselves. The war in Afghanistan was an ill-conceived endeavor from the beginning but now the War Hawks, unwilling to admit failure, have chosen to fight on forever in a war that they themselves have admitted will never be won.
Of course, it was well known before the US started the war in Afghanistan that, as the former Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan had amply illustrated, winning a war in a country with no actual national identity is an impossible task regardless of the fact that the U.S. was supporting the factions fighting the USSR. Oh, but we weren’t supposed to be fighting a war there against a country anyway. Weren’t we just there to get the bad guys who attacked us on 9/11? Well, if that were the case that mission could have been accomplished early on if the U.S. had not made it impossible for the Afghans to handover bin Laden like they wanted to but if that were admitted the war would have ended much too quickly for the War Hawks tastes. So why have we continued military action there long after Al Qaeda has long since been eradicated? That’s a good question which, Mr. Horton answers very clearly in this book.
It’s amazing how the longest war in U.S. history, with no end in sight, has not caused major political fallout for the politicians that have supported it. I’ve been disheartened to see so little concern over, not only the loss of life and the resultant psychological and physical anguish of the combatants, as tragic as they are, but the fact that after literally Trillions of Dollars spent on this endless war why aren’t the American people outraged and why aren’t they voting out every single politician who has or is supporting this insanity? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering the overwhelming support Americans gave to the Bush administration after the 9/11 attack. Why should Americans support a regime that had allowed such an attack to begin with and why would Americans put their faith in such a bungling government to protect us from future attacks? What is even worse is that Americans couldn’t wait to give up their rights of privacy, property and freedom of movement, sacrificing what the government was telling them that they were going to go to war to protect! That is a head scratching contradiction if ever I’ve heard one.
I think you’ll find that what the U.S. government has been doing in your name, with your tax dollars will make your stomach turn. It’s obvious that the U.S. government and the military has learned nothing from history because the parallels with Vietnam don’t seem to phase these people whatsoever. I guess the lack of the loss of life on our side and little to no media coverage may be a contributing factor to the apathy of American citizens. Anyway, I won’t bore you with anymore of my own commentary but to say, get this book and get some real perspective based on the facts and not the propaganda put out by the government, the military industrial complex and their media darlings.
A little post script. I purchased the Audible version of the book which Scott narrated himself and while I’m an avid Scott Horton fan, I’ve got to say I think he should have hired a professional. 🙂 It’s just my opinion but I do a lot of audio books and it was pretty hard listening to Scott’s narration not withstanding he did get better towards the last third of the book. However, don’t let that dissuade you from getting it if you prefer the audio because the content is spectacular even though it’s kind of depressing at the same time. Click on the image of the book above to get it from Amazon in whatever format you prefer.