The Fall of Afghanistan

[Kane]

[micfranklin]

It is nicknamed the “graveyard of empires” for a reason, so from my POV history is just doing what it does here.

[John Galt]

graveyard of empires is overblown. The Achaemenids, the Greeks, the Selecuids, the Parthians, the Sassanids, the Rashidun, the Umayyad, the Abbasid, the Monguls, the Timurids, the Ilkhanid, the British, the Russians, and the Americans all ruled the area and literally none of them died because of Afghanistan. only one (the soviets) was it even a contributing factor. indeed, Afghanistan has been part of one empire or another since like 500 BC aside from like 5 years in the 1700s and like half the 1900s

anyway, wilsonian/neocon nation-building was a mistake. we should have been focused on getting our ton of flesh of retribution and leaving

the only thing stunning is how quickly the afghan army folded. it's like they weren't even there. they outnumbered their enemy by like 6 to 1 or something? actually had an air force (although the taliban was assassinating pilots)?

who would win, 1% of the afghan people in an army trained and equipped by the united states, or some hicks in old toyotas

[Spider]

[Kane]

[Kane]

[John Galt]

[Kane]

[micfranklin]

[John Galt]

on the long list of priorities, afghanistan just isn't anywhere near the top. it impacted few people in this country directly. my cousin was over there for most of his adult life i think, and i hd a few other family members that also served there, but honestly, up here in yankeedom, I'm an aberration that I even have family in the military

it impacted few, and those it impacted are not swayed in the politics one way or another by our departure. it will continuously be used against biden "yeah yeah yeah, trump's entire administration was a failure top to bottom, but 'member afghanistan? 'member the pull out? vote trump 2024!!!" but that's about it.

i honestly thought it would end up being an army controlling the population centers against the rural hicks off in the hinterlands and it would become a stalemate. i was as surprised as the taliban as to how quick the whole thing toppled over (maybe not as surprised as the pakistanis....). but now? as unfortunate as the plight of others is, america has its own problems. good luck on all your endeavors afghanistan