On the surface, it LOOKED like bombing the crap outta them WAS the outcome we wanted.. Turns out, we packed our bags too soon.. General MacArthur wanted the invasion of Germany to continue on to Moscow. He was right. And, there were lot's of messes in SE Asia that never got cleaned up.. We shoulda finished that too.
That mighta been a better outcome.. It certainly woulda dramatically changed the last 75 years. In fact, it could be said that all the wars we've fought since WWII were simply continuations of that war. And, I'm saying it.
excon
This post was edited by excon at August 28, 2021 10:51 AM MDT
Maybe we need to change what it is we expect. Nation building should not be out priority. Protecting our country is our primary goal and when we have removed the threat, we need to leave - perhaps leaving a small number of troops on the periphery. Afghanistan will never be a democracy no matter how long we stay there.
How about not using the military at all? You can't force someone to do something and expect the exact result you wanted. They got to want to do it all on their own.
This post was edited by Zack at August 30, 2021 6:50 AM MDT
Correct and I cannot imagine people who are still thinking and living in the 17th Century are going to want a democracy. They are too used to being told what, when and how to do it rather than thinking for themselves. They are illiterate and unskilled - how would they manage on their own?
You're on point! I'm starting to think that the entire Middle East loves a perpetual war and loves their living conditions. I'd also love to be wrong about that though.
The outcome we "wanted" in Afghanistan was an ongoing low-level occupation that lasts forever. On that front, it was going well. That's why everyone is so pissed off about the withdrawal.