Afghanistan: Lessons Learned

Wow - what a crazy past 24-hours. We went from the Biden "Administration" saying that "there is going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States from Afghanistan," to people being lifted off the roof of the embassy in Afghanistan. That said, here are some thoughts on the whole situation. Some of these may not be popular. 

The same government that doesn't think your life is worth defending with an AR15 just gave machine guns, equipment, night vision, and drones to a group of people who murder, rape, and torture people daily. My tax money paid for that. Where is my MRAP with an M2 on top? - Iraquiveteran8888

For those that think the AK47 and AK74 is somehow superior to the M16 and M4, virtually none of our troops used the AK, even when they had a chance. And the Taliban picked those M16's and M4's up posthaste when they had the chance. 

None of our troops sacrifices were in vain. They did what we asked them to do. 

The government spent $ Billions to train the Afghan military. Again, the only thing the government excels at is wasting money. 

The Afghan people were willing to die to escape, but not willing to die to take back their country. Very telling. 

We do not need to house the refugees. Sounds harsh, but our country shouldn't be the dumping ground for all the people across the world too cowardly to fight their own battles... that's how we've gotten into this mess to begin with. 

The Taliban accomplished their objective without the use of the most modern gear, equipment, and armament. We should take a moment and learn it is all about mindset, tactics, and skill. 

Immediately after seizing control, the Taliban started banning civilians from having guns. 

As much as we want others to have the opportunity for "democracy" (read: self governance), not all people deserve it. Only those who would fight for it. 

Our troops being there did not promote the safety of a single person here in the US. 

Our troops being there did not help keep you free. We live under more restrictions now in the US than ever. 

There are US citizens and missionaries and others still trapped over there. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get them out. Yes, I'll suit up myself if need be. 

Now, to make you mad, here are Biden's statements (via whitehouse.gov) with which I agree:

Today, the terrorist threat has metastasized well beyond Afghanistan: al Shabaab in Somalia, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Nusra in Syria, ISIS attempting to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and establishing affiliates in multiple countries in Africa and Asia. 

So what’s happened? Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight.

We gave them every chance to determine their own future. What we could not provide them was the will to fight for that future.

And here’s what I believe to my core: It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan’s own armed forces would not.

So I’m left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay: How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghans — Afghanistan’s civil war when Afghan troops will not? How many more lives — American lives — is it worth? How many endless rows of headstones at Arlington National Cemetery?

Most of what Biden said was inaccurate or misleading. These statements on their own are accurate. The ultimate fact is this:

While getting out of Afghanistan is the right thing to do, the Biden "Administration" did so in the worst possible way. 

And to our military vets: this one is on the suits, not the boots.