Politics : Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Pat is not only right about ending the war - just another needless intervention at that - but he's also right about why the Taliban is succeeding and liberal democracy often fails. To quote Buchanan, "(The Taliban) are steeped in the traditional Afghan hostility to foreigners and hatred of those who come to their land to tell them how they should live and rule themselves. The Taliban captured the flags of anti-colonialism, nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism." Nationalism is what motivates men to take up arms and fight, not airy-fairy theories about "equality" and "pluralism". Afghans will fight to the death to defend their nation, their traditions and their ago-old faith, not to defend a crummy fake "democracy" that the US tried to inflict upon their people.

April 16, 2021

"It is time to end the forever war."

So said President Joe Biden in his announcement that, as of Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, all U.S. troops will be gone from Afghanistan.

The longest war in our history, which cost 2,400 dead, 20,000 wounded and $2 trillion, is ending — but only for Americans, not Afghans.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured our NATO allies in Brussels that we are all leaving with our mission accomplished:

"Together we went into Afghanistan to deal with those who attacked us and to make sure that Afghanistan would not again become a haven for terrorists who might attack any of us.

"We have achieved the goals we set out to achieve," the secretary said. "Now it's time to bring our forces home."

But while the U.S. military did not lose a major battle, we Americans did not win this war. Our enemies are stronger, and they control more territory today than they have since their overthrow in 2001.

They have reconstituted themselves under fire, control half of the country and can cut roads to the capital of Kabul. And in our mission to build a democratic Afghanistan that could sustain itself long after we depart, we failed.

And we have no guarantee al-Qaida will not reestablish itself in Afghanistan. For the most probable successors to the regime we are leaving behind are the same Taliban we drove from power in 2001.

And while the Taliban did not defeat us, they have bled the Afghan army we helped to create and train, and outlasted the United States and a NATO alliance that emerged victorious from a 40-year cold war with the Soviet Empire.

As we depart Afghanistan before summer's end, the 7,500 NATO troops there will be leaving with us. That this is viewed as no strategic victory may be seen from the reaction of those who most consistently supported the war, conservative Republican senators.

Said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Biden's announcement:

"Precipitously withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake. … Foreign terrorists will not leave the United States alone simply because our politicians have grown tired of taking the fight to them."

Said Lindsey Graham:

"It is insane to withdraw at this time given the conditions that exist on the ground in Afghanistan. … A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous … President Biden will have, in essence, canceled an insurance policy against another 9/11."

Said the ranking Republican on armed services, Jim Inhofe:

"No one wants a forever war, but … any withdrawal must be conditions-based. Arbitrary deadlines would likely put our troops in danger, jeopardize all the progress we've made … lead to civil war in Afghanistan — and create a breeding ground for international terrorists."

But if we failed in Afghanistan, why did we fail?

Our enemies, the Taliban, motivated by a religious faith many would call fanaticism, were more willing to sacrifice, suffer, fight, bleed and die for longer than we or our Afghan allies.

The Taliban are Eric Hoffer's "True Believers."

Also, it is their country, after all, not ours. It is everything to them, not so much to us. They are steeped in the traditional Afghan hostility to foreigners and hatred of those who come to their land to tell them how they should live and rule themselves.

The Taliban captured the flags of anti-colonialism, nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism.

There is talk that, should the Taliban topple the government, bring down the regime and engage in reprisals and atrocities, American troops might surge back in.

My sense is no. When we go this time, we're gone for good. Like the Brits in the 19th century and Russians in the 20th, when we go, we will not return.

Yet, Afghanistan is only one of the "forever wars" into which our interventionists plunged us that have proven so ruinous to the republic.

The greatest blunder came in 2003, when George W. Bush was persuaded by the neoconservatives to invade Iraq and covert that country into America's model democracy for the Middle East.

Our 18-year struggle in Iraq following the invasion of 2003 has proven even most costly in lives and treasure than the war in Afghanistan.

After Iraq came the intervention in Syria's civil war to back rebels seeking to oust President Bashar Assad. After that came the U.S.-NATO intervention in the Libyan civil war and America's intervention on the side of Saudi Arabia in Yemen's civil war.

For a generation now, we have been stomping barefoot on anthills and throwing rocks into bees' nests across the Middle and Near East.

And to what avail?

The nation-builders, the democratists, the liberal interventionists, the New World Order crowd are, today, being repudiated by Biden's decision to write off their 20-year project in the Hindu Kush.

One wonders: Will they soon start calling Biden an isolationist?

https://buchanan.org/blog/biden-bids-farewell-to-a-forever-war-149579

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

So this is a pro-Biden post, in a backhand way.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

And in the 1980's the U.S. also helped topple a progressive Marxist government in Afghanistan. There were actually unveiled women in the Afghan government in the 1980's. If we hadn't meddled in the first place Afghanistan might be on its way to becoming a modern state.

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Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Weren't you one of the ones that had said that Biden would escalate military activity in the Middle East? Keep saying it, please!!

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Dude, it's not over yet. Lol. If you don't think liberal Democrats over the past 70 years haven't been behind most these foreign interventions, you're incredibly naive.

I'm not a Trump fan, but he did resist escalation of the Afghan war and the military hated him for it.

I think they just want the Russians to move into Afghanistan and modernize it like they did in the 70's and 80's. Lol. Let Moscow handle it.

But Biden will do a full scale invasion of Syria. You watch.

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"filmboards is a bold experiment in free speech and anarchy"
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Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Don loves you, I gotta tell you. He did bupkis in terms of actual withdrawal, but when Sleepy Joe actually initiates it, you still have to credit Don.

You can't buy this kind of loyalty (we've tried).

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Trump did try to withdraw last year but after he announced the plan the CIA leaked to the New York Times the claim that the Russians were paying to have U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Congress used that as an excuse to prevent withdrawal. Now that Biden has announced that troops will be gone by 9/11 the intelligence community has admitted there is no evidence for the bounty story. Very slick.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Deep stated!

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

The prophecy of Chuck Schumer came true:

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Meh, I don't give a rat's ass about Trump's or Biden's tepid moves to dismantle one instance of American imperialism. The military industrial complex is not done by a long shot.

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"filmboards is a bold experiment in free speech and anarchy"
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Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

You light my fire

If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

But Biden will do a full scale invasion of Syria. You watch.
I really doubt that will happen. Even if the administration wanted to, and I don't think they do, the public reaction would prevent it. Without some catalyzing event like 9/11 nobody will support another ground war in the Middle East. When Obama went to Congress to get authorization for some airstrikes public opposition prevented it.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Agreed. If there hasn't been an international war in Syria with the atrocities that went on there, for years, it's hard to imagine what would draw any other country into that mess, now.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

It takes a lot less than a 9/11 for the U.S. to invade a country.

Remember Iraq and "weapons of mass destruction"?

They'll find a canard. Syria borders our ally Israel.

All it will take is new videos of ISIS lopping off the heads of a few Americans. The American people will rally its support.

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"filmboards is a bold experiment in free speech and anarchy"
I GameBoy

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

I don't think we would have invaded Iraq the second time without 9/11. According to polls before the invasion around half of Americans thought Saddam was involved in the attack, which was the intention of the Bush administration.

ISIS isn't what it used to be. I don't know if they control any significant territory in Syria anymore. Their leadership has been killed many times over. They haven't had any notable successes in years. I doubt they are attracting recruits like they used to. You can't sell a war on them being an existential threat.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

I don't think ISIS was ever much of anything beyond a small gang of terrorist media whores and murderers. But they inflamed passions.

My point here is that if the U.S. wants to intervene in Syria to buttress its power in the region, especially in defense of Israel, it will create some conflagration to impel the American people to support it, and Congress to approve it.

And it might very well be that Biden is deescalating American involvement in Afghanistan to clear the way for Syria.

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"filmboards is a bold experiment in free speech and anarchy"
I GameBoy

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

ISIS held a lot of territory. They took a few big cities in Iraq and came close to Baghdad. Despite being vastly outnumbered they were able to take on the Syrian and Iraqi militaries.

Syria is a failed state. It doesn't pose a threat to Israel. I hope the government has learned that invading and occupying a country does not give it power in the region.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

The territory ISIS gained in Iraq and Syria is a fair point. But the head choppers were just the more vocal members of a coalition.

I disagree. Chaos in Syria is definitely a terrorist launch threat to Israel.

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"filmboards is a bold experiment in free speech and anarchy"
I GameBoy

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

You have a point there. It's been failed and fragile states that have often allowed terrorists, insurgents and criminals to thrive and damage other countries (think Sudan, Somalia, Colombia and Afghanistan)

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

So do you think the U.S. is the world's policeman?

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"filmboards is a bold experiment in free speech and anarchy"
I GameBoy

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

I have noticed mostly only Americans use that phrase. I certainly don't, because I wouldn't want it as the world's policeman.

I would just rather that it act as as good member of both the international community as a whole and its specie military and trade alliances. That would put me in a very tiny minority here, among the isolationists.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

Israel probably worries more about hostile states than they do about terrorists. As long as there is a civil war in Syria then the various Syrian factions are busy fighting each other and ignoring Israel. Assad can't launch a war against them and they like it that way.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

I think they should just be left alone to do what they do best: growing lots and LOTS of opium poppies, and weaving rugs.

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

'Unclear' If Over 18,000 Contractors Will Ever Leave Afghanistan: Pentagon

While President Biden said he will withdraw troops from Afghanistan, it’s not clear if his plan extends to the thousands of contractors working for the Pentagon that are still in the country.

When asked about this issue on Friday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he wasn’t sure. "So on the contractors, we don’t know exactly. There are some preliminary plans. And clearly, the goal is to get all our personnel out and I suspect that contractors will be part of that. But whether there’ll still be a need for some contractor support, I just don’t know," he said.

The US plans to continue supporting the Afghan military and Air Force. Since the bulk of the maintenance for these armed forces is performed by US contractors, there’s a good chance the Pentagon will justify a continued presence of private contractors.

According to numbers released in January, there are over 18,000 contractors working in Afghanistan. About 4,700 of the current contractors are Afghans that were hired locally. The remaining come from outside of the country, including about a third who are US citizens.

According to Stars and Stripes, 1,575 of the contractors are armed mercenaries, mostly Americans and other foreigners. While this number is only a small fighting force, it could be combined with intelligence operatives and proxies like the Afghan military to give the US the ability to strike inside Afghanistan.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that the US wants to maintain "counterterrorist assets" in the region. On Tuesday, The New York Times cited current and former US officials who said the US "will most likely rely on a shadowy combination of clandestine Special Operations forces, Pentagon contractors and covert intelligence operatives" to conduct operations inside Afghanistan.

In a separate note, Jeremy Kuzmarov notes, the meaninglessness of President Biden’s announcement becomes apparent when we consider that the Pentagon employs more than seven contractors for every serviceman or woman in Afghanistan, an increase from one contractor for every serviceman or woman a decade ago.


These totals reflect the U.S. government’s strategy of outsourcing war to the benefit of private mercenary corporations, and as a means of distancing the war from the public and averting dissent, since relatively few Americans are directly impacted by it.

As long as the U.S. empire remains intact, the war as such will go on, and on… and on.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/unclear-if-over-18000-contractors-will-ever-leave-afghanistan-pentagon

Re: Pat Buchanan: Biden Bids Farewell to a 'Forever War'

These totals reflect the U.S. government’s strategy of outsourcing war to the benefit of private mercenary corporations, and as a means of distancing the war from the public and averting dissent, since relatively few Americans are directly impacted by it.

As long as the U.S. empire remains intact, the war as such will go on, and on… and on.

True, we'll never completely withdraw from Afghanistan just like we never completely withdrew from Iraq, Germany, Korea, etc. and a lot of those troops who are leaving Afghanistan will just be redeployed elsewhere to fight more unnecessary wars.

While removing the bulk of our troops is a good move (and a surprising one) for the new administration, Biden will never challenge the American Empire or curb its imperialistic tendencies.

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