Arrogance played role in Afghanistan

Elizabeth Shackelford is correct in her op-ed that disinformation and dishonesty were important reasons for the humiliating defeat of the U.S. in Afghanistan [Opinion, Aug. 31, “Disinformation sowed our failure in Afghanistan”]. However, she should add the role arrogance and hubris played.

The foundation of U.S. policy was that our forms of government and economy would work to replace an agricultural, tribal, corrupt, fundamentalist theocracy. So confident were American experts that trillions of dollars and thousands of lives were sacrificed, over 20 years, to set up a totally corrupt government that

served only to enrich a venal few.

Here is what else is wrong: The United States’ government model was founded on inequality, slavery and carefully circumscribed democracy. Americans have little faith in our government. Furthermore, our system of corporate, free-market capitalism doesn’t even work all that well here. The increasing economic inequality is a telling sign of a broken system.

It is no wonder that it took mere hours to see the whole thing crumble in Afghanistan.

Paul Filson, West Hartford