What Happened in Afghanistan Stays in Afghanistan

The U.S. has many time in the last few decades sent troops, equipment and aircraft to do battle around the world. We can barely remember the "Freedom Fighters," the Mujahideen, who fought the Soviets. We sent shoulder fired weapons to them to bring down Russian helicopters. In recent decades a theory of war developed that had the military visiting and respecting locals, all time trying to bring them toward Western thinking. Almost without exception, the places we have tried this things stayed the same in spite of billions of dollars and scores of lost lives.

My own opinion is the West's biggest problem with Afghanistan is religion. A rogue version of Islam has enough organization to take over the reins of government. According to interviews with people on the street the biggest problem citizens have with the government supported by the U.S. was its corruption. It is far more corrupt, at least the eyes of many in the Afghan public, than the Taliban. 

What can the U.S. do about religious extremists in countries like Afghanistan? It can look back on a long history of turmoil inside religions and their shelf lives. It can also look at the declining church membership in the U.S. itself and realize change can and usually does happen in religion.

The biggest problem in the U.S. is not leaders but those of us who elect them. We elected the doofus W. Bush who led the charge into Afghanistan and Iraq. And then we reelected him after we learned he was wrong about weapons of mass destruction. So much is said about "bipartisanship." Bush sought and received bipartisan support for these fiascos. Better if there had been Democratic obstacles challenging the myths that went with the mistakes. 

Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan all were more or less the same when we finally left them. Vietnam changed over a long period of time. The threat of "world-wide Communism" never developed and Vietnam moved onto its own version of a nation and is now our friend. It seems like we could have gained this friend without going to war.

While traveling the last couple of days (and not blogging) I heard on public radio about the religious group within Afghanistan now planning to attack the Taliban. What was in Afghanistan when we charged is in still in Afghanistan.