U.S. officials systematically misled the public about the war in Afghanistan

[beagleboy]

Rumsfeld knew it was a problem 6 months into the war.
Obama ran in 2008 on EXPANDING the war.
Trump has talked about removing about 60% of the soldiers and both sides had a freak out. 100% contrary to what the government knows and this article will be completely ignored if he actually does it and they'll freak out about it.



A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.

The documents were generated by a federal project examining the root failures of the longest armed conflict in U.S. history. They include more than 2,000 pages of previously unpublished notes of interviews with people who played a direct role in the war, from generals and diplomats to aid workers and Afghan officials.

[beagleboy]

We need to pull 100% of our troops out.

That's exactly what the Russians would want.

[AnalHamster]

The Russians want them there, slowly wasting blood and treasure. The Taliban want them out.

[CHEEZY17]

The Russians want them there, slowly wasting blood and treasure. The Taliban want them out.

Yep. It's kind of a no win situation. Damned if we do and damned if we don't.
I still think we should pull out even with the knowledge that really bad folks will become emboldened. That is a known outcome though and knowing is at least better than being taken by surprise and we can plan accordingly.
I suppose another positive of us pulling out is that if the Taliban does start to get cocky more of an allied force could be gathered to foster a response and/or action. The burden of keeping those fucks in check should be shared worldwide.

[beagleboy]

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-help-tr ... an-1456634

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/worl ... syria.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions ... story.html

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-ne ... from-syria

https://www.ozy.com/opinion/how-trumps- ... ies/91492/

[megman]

We need to pull 100% of our troops out.

That's exactly what the Russians did.

FTFY

[beagleboy]

We need to pull 100% of our troops out.

That's exactly what the Russians did.

FTFY

You mean the Soviets? That country no longer exists for a reason.

[B-Tender]

We need to pull 100% of our troops out.

That's exactly what the Russians did.

FTFY

You mean the Soviets? That country no longer exists for a reason.

Seems like ol' Vlad would like to get the band back together though.

[megman]

We need to pull 100% of our troops out.

That's exactly what the Russians did.

FTFY

You mean the Soviets? That country no longer exists for a reason.

A commie by any other name is still a commie.

[megman]

The only reason that anyone wants the shithole is for the billions in precious metals and gems.

The CIA has had a town there since the 50's called Little America. They been helping the locals cultivate poppies.

[AnalHamster]

The Russians want them there, slowly wasting blood and treasure. The Taliban want them out.

Yep. It's kind of a no win situation. Damned if we do and damned if we don't.
I still think we should pull out even with the knowledge that really bad folks will become emboldened. That is a known outcome though and knowing is at least better than being taken by surprise and we can plan accordingly.
I suppose another positive of us pulling out is that if the Taliban does start to get cocky more of an allied force could be gathered to foster a response and/or action. The burden of keeping those fucks in check should be shared worldwide.

Yep, I'd lean toward more damned if you stay though. It's a mediaeval culture that will take generations to develop, throwing money at it doesn't change that. I say pull out and let the CIA do their thing. Ideally they can declare a glorious new caliphate so the west can send all our citizens who want to go to become Afghan citizens, solves a whole bunch of problems.

[CaptQuint]

[VinceBordenIII]

Afghanistan is tribal. We should never have taken on the "nation Building" thing.
They should have said "Yeah, we're going to stay until we feel like leaving."

Now, people who hate us will be happy to be the first to say we lost the war, because the islamists will return after we leave.

[CHEEZY17]

Afghanistan is tribal. We should never have taken on the "nation Building" thing.
They should have said "Yeah, we're going to stay until we feel like leaving."

Now, people who hate us will be happy to be the first to say we lost the war, because the islamists will return after we leave.

I hate to say it but I don't know if the USA will ever win another war. I say that only because the odds of us fighting another conventional war seem rather slim. The blue print has been laid and followed since Vietnam: use guerilla tactics and drag it out for as long as possible. Eventually we'll lose the stomach for it.
Unless we're willing to go old school and just leave complete decimation in our wake (something that's simply not gonna happen), we'll continue to get nickel and dimed to death by inferior opponents.
Maybe we could win a cyber war? I question even that though.

[AnalHamster]

Afghanistan is tribal. We should never have taken on the "nation Building" thing.
They should have said "Yeah, we're going to stay until we feel like leaving."

Now, people who hate us will be happy to be the first to say we lost the war, because the islamists will return after we leave.

I hate to say it but I don't know if the USA will ever win another war. I say that only because the odds of us fighting another conventional war seem rather slim. The blue print has been laid and followed since Vietnam: use guerilla tactics and drag it out for as long as possible. Eventually we'll lose the stomach for it.
Unless we're willing to go old school and just leave complete decimation in our wake (something that's simply not gonna happen), we'll continue to get nickel and dimed to death by inferior opponents.
Maybe we could win a cyber war? I question even that though.

The US would absolutely win a cyber war with anyone, the funding and resources that the NSA has. It just doesn't come up when you're attacking places like Iraq and Syria.

[CaptQuint]

[CHEEZY17]

Afghanistan is tribal. We should never have taken on the "nation Building" thing.
They should have said "Yeah, we're going to stay until we feel like leaving."

Now, people who hate us will be happy to be the first to say we lost the war, because the islamists will return after we leave.

I hate to say it but I don't know if the USA will ever win another war. I say that only because the odds of us fighting another conventional war seem rather slim. The blue print has been laid and followed since Vietnam: use guerilla tactics and drag it out for as long as possible. Eventually we'll lose the stomach for it.
Unless we're willing to go old school and just leave complete decimation in our wake (something that's simply not gonna happen), we'll continue to get nickel and dimed to death by inferior opponents.
Maybe we could win a cyber war? I question even that though.

The US would absolutely win a cyber war with anyone, the funding and resources that the NSA has. It just doesn't come up when you're attacking places like Iraq and Syria.

Sure, but how bad will we get fucked in the process of "winning" a cyber war? Yes, I'm positive we could cripple any developed nation but I'm also positive we could get back alley butt fucked in the process.

[VinceBordenIII]

I'm not so sure how much better we are than millions of Chinese programmers, and Chinese nationals working in the U.S.

[CHEEZY17]

I'm not so sure how much better we are than millions of Chinese programmers, and Chinese nationals working in the U.S.

Yep. Our governmental capabilities would be tangling with hostilities from within and without. I'm sure our technology is top notch but is it a match for 1000's of possibly hostile actors with varying levels of access to our infrastructure?

[Charliesheen]

Therer have already been test-attacks on the grid, if you believe certain internets.

[beagleboy]

Michelle Obama tells George W. Bush's daughter about Mr. Bush: “Our values are the same. We disagree on policy, but we don’t disagree on humanity, we don’t disagree about love and compassion."

Seems interesting considering all that torture talk and for years and the release of this information.

[Burn1dwn]

We can't even build roads in the country after trillion spent. Of course they know it's a stalemate of a war.

[beagleboy]

How long until he's considered a Russian asset?

[Cassandros]

It's never been about "winning".