I think this may well be one of the most important pieces of journalism I've read in quite some time, so I strongly encourage everyone to read the following article in full:
Washington Post wrote:Insiders detail what went wrong in longest armed conflict in U.S. history
For nearly two decades of fighting in Afghanistan, U.S. leaders have sounded a constant refrain: We are making progress. They were not, documents from government interviews show, and they knew it.
The Post obtained records from more than 400 of the interviews after a three-year legal battle. The documents reveal that people who were directly involved in the war could not shake their doubts about the strategy and mission.
A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.
The documents were generated by a federal project examining the root failures of the longest armed conflict in U.S. history. They include more than 2,000 pages of previously unpublished notes of interviews with people who played a direct role in the war, from generals and diplomats to aid workers and Afghan officials.
It's utterly galling to contemplate all of the blood and treasure wasted on such a reckless facade, though hardly surprising.
Last edited by Anonymous Bosch on Mon Dec 09, 2019 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:36 pm
It's utterly galling to contemplate all of the blood and treasure wasted on such a reckless facade, though hardly surprising.
Wasted? Several people got very rich off that war. Plus all those Pentagon budgets got beefed up. Isn't that what war is all about?
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
Ok ok, I'm sure that the *next* counterinsurgency war waged by the U.S. will be well done and the relevant military leaders will be completely honest at all times. Third time's the charm.
Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:36 pm
It's utterly galling to contemplate all of the blood and treasure wasted on such a reckless facade, though hardly surprising.
Wasted? Several people got very rich off that war. Plus all those Pentagon budgets got beefed up. Isn't that what war is all about?
The Pentagon really doesn't fight wars for budgets. The money for wars generally goes into operations - food, fuel and ammunition - and invariably cuts into funding for more better ships/planes/tanks, etc.. That latter is what general and admirals would prefer money would go to. No, all the operational money wouldn't go to hardware, but it does crowd out money for hardware.
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G.K. Chesterton
Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:36 pm
It's utterly galling to contemplate all of the blood and treasure wasted on such a reckless facade, though hardly surprising.
Wasted? Several people got very rich off that war. Plus all those Pentagon budgets got beefed up. Isn't that what war is all about?
The Pentagon really doesn't fight wars for budgets. The money for wars generally goes into operations - food, fuel and ammunition - and invariably cuts into funding for more better ships/planes/tanks, etc.. That latter is what general and admirals would prefer money would go to. No, all the operational money wouldn't go to hardware, but it does crowd out money for hardware.
The generals and admirals don't authorize spending (or wars), it's not about what they want.
Military budgets are feeding troughs. Infrastructure money is as porky as hardware money. Oink oink.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT