Can We Leave Afghanistan?

 

Photo: Politico

The people of Afghanistan are under a great deal of tragedy with American troops boarding planes and leaving behind a 20-year war.  News outlets are reporting the reality of Afghanistan citizens trying to board airplanes, sometimes illegally, resulting in an untimely death.  Against this backdrop, are the American populate asking the large question: "Why are we still in Afghanistan?"

Politicians have campaigned on the American troop population leaving behind a country that is still fragmented and coming back under siege by the Taliban forces.  The following questions come to mind over the current situation:

What did the American people expect to see after troops are leaving?

At what point in history has America ever withdrawal from a war environment successfully without leaving behind casualties?

Do Americans understand the true nature of war?

Are the news outlets appropriately conveying the seriousness of American occupation/nation-building in other countries?

What interests (natural resources) does Afghanistan have that are important to the economic interests of the United States?

Americans Expectation

What did the American people expect after a withdrawal of troops?   I remember the first time I saw a prisoner of war.  At first, I did not believe that the pilots captured and beaten up during the first Gulf War were 'prisoners of war.'  That is how ignorant I was at the time.  

What reference point did I have to judge the current scene I was viewing on TV at the time?  I was too young to remember Vietnam.  The atrocities of that war have been compared to Afghanistan in recent times.  The comparison is weak.  Vietnam was much much more terrible.  To compare these two wars has been a big mistake.  Just take the video clip of Lawrence O'Donnell from MSNBC, giving astonishing (and distinguishing) statistics which highlight the historic Vietnam War in comparison:

What about the veterans who have been in that conflict?  What are there thoughts about a withdrawal?

A recent interview of an Army Lieutenant Matt Zeller by MSNBC, reveals a different take on President Biden's speech regarding the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan:

Nation-Building?

How are nations built?  Does the United States decide the government that a country should have installed?  Surprisingly, yes we do.  To promote democracy.  In the video below, we hear from a veteran that our withdrawal from Afghanistan was the best course of action at the moment:

Opinions vary as do theories about our presence in other countries. The larger question is should American soldiers die for other country's benefit when the mission is not completely clear?  

Should We Be There?

To answer the last question, look no further than a recent article on Forbes.com:

They’re all after a big prize. There’s the potential for copper, gold, Afghanistan holds an estimated 1.4 million tons of rare earth elements (REEs), minerals crucial for the production of renewable energy technology. This makes Afghanistan a prime target of investment for China, the current king of global REE supply chains. America needs rare earths, and China controls 90% of processing capacity. 

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying stated on Monday that Beijing will pursue a constructive role in establishing “peace and reconstruction” in Afghanistan. Russia – for its part – has ordered only a partial evacuation of its Kabul embassy staff, according to Putin’s special representative to Afghanistan: “Our embassy will stay in contact with specially assigned representatives of the Taliban higher leadership to work out a permanent mechanism of ensuring safety of our embassy and continued communication.” While Moscow considers the Taliban a terrorist organization, its Foreign Ministry already said that the mullahs’ political liaison office is not one – much like the Trump and Biden Administrations did when they negotiated with the Taliban.

Rare earth elements that are vital to the operation of the devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) that each of us heavily rely on each day.   While we as Americans form opinions about our presence in other countries around the world, we should also consider our dependence on products produced with resources coming from those respective countries.

In the meantime, why are the lawmakers (and regulations) not preparing the U.S. to be in a position of independence from our dependence on such natural resources?  Why are we not building processing plants to deal with our natural resources that are mined here in the U.S. and sent to China?  These ideas might seem to stray from the topic above, but in fact, are directly related to the topic of dependence on foreign countries for resources and technological development.