Absolutely, and I'll pile on to shillelaghhugger's thoughts
by shag (2024-02-27 19:35:59)

In reply to: Do you think we should still be there? *  posted by Kali4niaND

Cannot Reply Return to Political

As a career military guy on the tactical side of things, the mind-boggling move was staging the evacuation from Kabul Intl rather than Bagram. Bagram is the fortress. Any 10 year-old who has played a strategy game on an iPhone could tell you that.

That said, we abandoned a population we committed to protect. Beyond the civil population there were interpreters and other individuals we had a duty to protect. The generation that would have led Afghanistan to a better future was in their teens when we abandoned them. They were too young, inexperienced, uneducated and weak when we left - but that calculus would have been different given another 10-20 years to grow. It breaks my heart to think of the girls whose education came to a grinding halt because we left with our tail between our legs.

I also believe we left a massive power vacuum in an important strategic area. An American presence at the center of Iran, China and Pakistan was valuable. More than anything, turning our backs on individuals that put their own safety, and that of their families, at risk to assist us is a stain on our moral fabric as a nation.

10-20 years?
by Kali4niaND  (2024-02-27 20:05:39)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Um, yeah. No way.

In my opinion we needed out, so I appreciate both Trump's and Biden's efforts to rip off the bandaid.

I certainly appreciate that we fucked up the evac and could have (potentially) exited more gracefully. Like Across, I'm no military expert or planner either. But it would seem odd that it was the White House that decided to stage the evacuation from Kabul rather than Bagram. Wouldn't that be a DoD decision, or am I missing something? Did the White House overrule our military experts?

We've been in South Korea over 70 years
by shag  (2024-02-27 20:42:05)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

We've been in Europe longer than that...perspective.

We are not privy to what happened behind closed doors regarding details of our Afghanistan exit. No one in this administration - neither Biden, his cabinet nor the joint chiefs - want to shine a light onto the planning process behind the biggest embarrassment of the administration.

With regard to your last question, civilian leadership is in charge of the military in this country. It's that way by design. POTUS is the commander in chief and can override the military, not the other way around. The chain of command is POTUS, then SECDEF, then the Joint Chiefs and combatant commanders. Make no mistake, the latter might as well be political appointees as well.
The population wants us there
by vermin05  (2024-02-27 21:44:35)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

That’s the difference, short of an absolute dictatorship (Saudi Arabia) we’ve only stayed around in places that want us.