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| Afghanistan |
| Strategic Folly and The Consequences of America's Unending War in AFG |
| 2020-01-01 |
| [Modern War Institute at yes, West Point] If a recent article published by the Modern War Institute at West Point, "Don’t Let Kabul 2020 Look Like Saigon 1975: The Dangers of a Precipitous Afghanistan Withdrawal," represents the prevailing American views on military strategy, then it goes a long way to explain why the United States lost the Afghanistan War. The authors did get the premise right concerning the dangers associated with a precipitous withdrawal, but by getting all the basics wrong, they offer all the wrong solutions. The article begins with a whopper, that "a US/NATO military withdrawal must be managed responsibly to conserve the hard-earned gains on issues like civil liberties and women’s rights made over the past eighteen years." No. Anyone who has spent any time in Afghanistan beyond the confines of a headquarters or a walled-in facility would know that is a not a valid reason to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan because it is simply not something within our capability either to establish or sustain. A proper exit strategy is a process of burden shifting in a manner that protects vital US interests, while preventing US adversaries from unduly benefitting from a withdrawal. Just like military leaders and policymakers over nearly two decades and through multiple administrations, the authors fail to address or even identify the true nature of the war in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #4 |
| Posted by: Lex 2020-01-01 19:53 |
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| Posted by: trailing wife 2020-01-01 19:00 |
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| Posted by: Dave D. 2020-01-01 10:38 |
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| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-01-01 09:40 |