USA TODAY International Edition
WORTH THE SACRIFICE?
Afghanistan veterans are still waiting for America’s longest war to come to an end
“I’m glad we got in and I’m proud of what we did. But I can also understand that after almost two decades of open conflict, it’s a lot to ask of our military and the American people.”
Erik Haass veteran of two Afghanistan tours
Isiah James was stationed in Afghanistan nearly a decade ago. But something the village elders would whisper haunts him to this day.
“They’d look at us and say, ‘ You may have the watches, but we have the time,’ ” says James, 32, a onetime Army infantryman.
After 18 years of the U. S.- led war in Afghanistan, that waiting game continues, leaving some veterans questioning whether the conflict – and the personal risks they took for their countrymen – were worth it. President Donald Trump, who has complained about wasted “blood and treasure” in Afghanistan and has vowed to pull all U. S. troops, now seems less sure of a full withdrawal.
“Afghanistan is an unwinnable war, an empire killer,” says James, who is now running for a Democratic congressional seat in New York. “Ask Alexander the Great, ask the Russians. America is no different.”
The Trump administration appeared poised to wrap up a conflict that began as a special operations campaign shortly after 9/ 11 and peaked a decade ago with a presence of 100,000 troops. It has since become the nation’s longest war, costing in excess of $ 2 trillion.
Last October, U. S. diplomats opened peace talks with
Sept. 26 had helped spark an impeachment inquiry by revealing that Trump had pressured the Ukrainian president to open an investigation into his political rival former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
The complaint also said White House officials had tried to “lock down” details of the call.
Republicans had criticized the first whistleblower for not having firsthand knowledge of the call, though the Intelli
“Another ‘ Whistleblower’ is coming in from the Deep State. ... Keep them coming!” President Trump on Twitter
gence Community inspector general had found the complaint credible, and other information consistent with the complaint was publicly reported.
Trump has railed against the whistleblower as having the “facts wrong about the phone call” and tweeted on Saturday evening in response to a New York Times report Friday about a second whistleblower coming forward.
It is unclear if the whistleblower represented by Zaid is the same person.
“The first so- called second hand information ‘ Whistleblower’ got my phone conversation almost completely wrong, so now word is they are going to the bench and another ‘ Whistleblower’ is coming in from the Deep State, also with second hand info. Meet with Shifty. Keep them coming!” Trump wrote.
Zaid later tweeted what appeared to be a response to those who had criticized the first whistleblower for not having firsthand information.
According to Zaid, the second whistleblower had firsthand possession of “certain info,” but “there is NO legal requirement for any ( whistleblower) to have such knowledge. Law only requires a ‘ reasonable belief.’ ”
Rep. Chris Stewart, R- Utah, when asked on “Fox News Sunday” about a second whistleblower related to the Trump’s call with Zelensky, said, “It does not matter.”
“This person is going to come forward and say, ‘ Yep, the president had this phone call,’ ” Stewart said. “And yep, we have this transcript. Why should I care at all?”