The United States fought in Afghanistan for twenty years, at a cost of nearly 2,500 American deaths, over 20,000 Americans injured in combat, and something estimated to be in the neighborhood of 240,000 total deaths. The war cost well over $2 trillion. When the US invaded Afghanistan, the Taliban controlled about half of the country. When the US left the country, the Taliban quickly took over the whole thing.
A normal human being looks at those costs — hundreds of thousands dead, trillions of dollars wasted, an enemy that grew stronger — and feels sorrow and anger. The scum of the earth, on the other hand, frame it like this:
See, it’s about partisan politics. Republicans fixate.
Corpses impede horserace, experts warn. The real shame about a quarter of a million dead is that it might shave off three percent in the toss-up states.
At a legislative hearing on Tuesday, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley acknowledged that Afghans who worked with the US military were killed after a withdrawal that didn’t take our allies and partners with us. Some died horrible deaths, Milley said. So, you know, the torture thing and whatever, that stuff really polls like shit. Here are the second and and third paragraphs of Politico’s story about that day of testimony:
President Joe Biden’s poll numbers tanked three years ago as U.S. forces left Afghanistan, especially after an ISIS suicide bomber killed 13 American service members outside Kabul’s airport. Republicans have since tried to make the withdrawal a political albatross to hang around Biden’s neck, leading Democrats to defend him on the committee dais and beyond.
But it’s unclear just how much of a liability the war in Afghanistan will prove for Biden heading into a likely presidential matchup with Donald Trump, who initiated the withdrawal process by signing a deal with the Taliban.
See the two things packed into the opposite ends of that first sentence? How does someone write that sentence and not notice what it does?
The bad thing about thirteen American servicemembers being killed by a suicide bomber is that Joe Biden’s polling numbers tanked.
Soulless empty garbage. What’s happening to our country? How on earth do we fix this? We live among people who aren’t really people, and they don’t seem to know what they’ve become.
A buddy of mine is one of the more successful 'Veteran Entrepreneurs'.
The guy is a legit stud. Academy grad. USSOCOM while active duty. Legit badass. Smart. Capable. Your basic CPT America kind of guy. His deployments were all Afghanistan. Great story, great guy, great business.
His opinion was listened to after the withdrawal. Jocko & Daryl Cooper do a great podcast about this on the unraveling podcast.
I look up to this guy.
About 5 months after the shitshow, I reach out to him. "Hey bro, what's up? How are you doing? Loved your stuff after the Kabul shitshow BTW--but didn't want to pester you too much..."
"Brian, I wish you would have called earlier. I had a pistol in my mouth for the first time in over a decade..."
It is WAY BIGGER THAN FUCKING POLITICS!!!
WE SENT THE BEST THIS COUNTRY HAS TO DIE FOR WHAT?!?!?
Hey man, I'm not over it. My blood BOILS when I think of Milley/Biden/CENTCOM CDRs, SEC STATE-FUCK ALL OF THEM--FUCK FUCK FUCK.
We lost a guy when I was there. Great fucking kid. Spoke Farsi. Was a college grad and enlisted. FUCK.
I'm taking my dogs for a walk cuz the sun is out and it is beautiful here this week. When I'm back I'll upload the two emails I wrote to everyone I knew about our 'Fallen Comrade Ceremony' and the Military Funeral Ceremony a few days later. It was how I tried to process what had just happened.
(Chris is this is over the top please let me know or just delete them after I post them)
I recently found them and posted them on LInkedIn to express why some of us are still upset with this Admin.
I had to edit this a bit and remove some of the vitriol. I don't like how it sits inside of me. I don't like that part of me much in the first place, and it is inappropriate to 'overshare' some of my yet 'unprocessed' vile contempt for this action. I think in expletives all the time. I speak in them more than I should, and I try not to write in them...but this post -- well-- just laughed to myself -- this post triggered me.
bsn
“How on earth do we fix this? ”
I really don’t know but while we struggle for an answer to that we seek out and support talented quality people like you, Chris.