US just latest loser in Afghanistan
Nobody wins in Afghanistan. The U.S. is merely the latest in a long line of countries that have invaded that country and left without victory.
Religious and tribal autocracies are almost impossible to uproot. The geography itself mitigates against both military success and centralized government. Afghanistan has survived or waited out invasions from both Eastern and Western nations since antiquity (think Alexander the Great).
Eventually, everybody leaves, loses or gives up. Welcome to history. The trick is to leave with honor.
Given the unraveling situation in Afghanistan, the lives and futures of Afghan women, our Afghan allies, other activists and those who worked with various aid/advocacy groups, are in immediate peril.
The whole situation is dangerously chaotic; it’s horrific to watch a country return to the Dark Ages.
Military weaponry, tribal factionalism and religious fanaticism (with oppression of women at its core) are a toxic brew. Tell our senators and congressmen to quit trying to ascribe blame for the situation and instead work together to organize flights to carry women, girls and our Afghan partners out of the Taliban’s reach.
The Berlin airlift lasted nearly a year – bringing supplies in to West Berlin on a massive scale. Why can’t we, along with our NATO allies and the U.N., airlift an imperiled population out? It’s the only honorable thing to do.
Candy Canzoneri, Westerville