Afghanistan…Why Go On?

Following the events of September 11, 2001, the governments of the world were willing to give the United States a scapegoat upon which to unleash its anger. As Osama bn Laden was in Afghanistan, and everyone was already miffed with the Taliban, the U.S. was given carte blanche to invade. And then the wheels fell off the cart.

Anything useful that might have been accomplish in Afghanistan was lost with the SNAFU that was Iraq. That total fuster cluck of a boondogle cost the United States any hope of a successful campaign in Afghanistan. So, that leaves me to wonder if the best move America could make would be to simply leave.

At present there are only three reasons to be in Afghanistan: 1) it is your home; 2) you enjoy the money your poppy plantation is bringing in; 3) you want to train your militia forces away from prying eyes. Other than that, no one wants anything to do the place. As it’s half-way around the world, the United States can’t do anything with it. It can’t annex it. It can’t build permanent military bases there because the neighbors would complain.

Sure, there might be an argument for human rights if our FUBAR of the land hadn’t actually been making things worse. Community addiction rates are astonishing. The Taliban is re-establishing itself. The fact is that while there are crushing oppressions looming over the population (I weep for what will happen to the female population), a foreign campaign isn’t doing anything to help in the long-term. The land is too far away and the rest of the world isn’t willing to concentrate it efforts.

The only reasons to engage in conflict are when you are protecting yourself, or when you have clear and definite goals. The U.S. has neither of these right now. It’s fighting a war because of inertia, not because anything real will be accomplished at this point.

As the overt war that has been taking place in Afghanistan is helping no one, it’s time for all involved to cut their losses. The United States needs to pull out its forces and apologize for letting Iraq divert us from what was originally a cause with at least a little bit of moral righteousness on its side. It’s time for the world to leave Afghanistan to itself.

All this said, humanitarian and covert missions should continue.