07/19/2021
NO THINKING PERSON DIDN'T KNOW THIS.
"Even if none of the dire prognostications about civil war and Taliban resurgence come to fruition, there can be no doubt that our swift exit has sent a message to the world about US reliability as a partner with consequent loss of influence — the coin of the realm in this era of so-called great power competition."
Yet again, the people at home hand the military a hard fought defeat. This nation continues to lose wars politically, making the sacrifice of its soldiers pointless.
This is the sort of policy that emboldens our enemies and makes the United States the "Paper Tiger" that OBL referred to.
Afghanistan was a costly war in every respect — dragging on interminably, while achieving few meaningful objectives.