The Longest War In American History

This week, on October 7th, the Afghan War will officially be ten years old. That is longer than any other war in United States history -- longer than the Iraq War (that will hopefully end on December 31st of this year), longer than the Vietnam War, and longer than World War II, World War I, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the Mexican-American War, the Korean War, or the Revolutionary War. And sadly, it has accomplished less than any of those other wars.

The lack of any accomplishment in the Afghan War is not the fault of the brave soldiers who fought there (and are still fighting there). It is the fault of the politicians who were more interested in looking like heros than in getting justice. We supposedly invaded Afghanistan to get the leaders of al-Queda. Americans were not told that the leaders of Afghanistan were perfectly willing to turn those people over to a neutral country for a trial. That wasn't good enough for Bush/Cheney -- whose bloodlust could only be satisfied by a war resulting in thousands of deaths (including American soldiers and innocent civilians).

And the invasion didn't even accomplish the stated purpose. Most of the al-Queda leaders were killed or captured in countries other than Afghanistan (Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt, etc.). All it did was get us involved in a ten-year guerrilla war with people who posed no danger to the United States. But if they weren't enemies before, they certainly are now. In fact, through the killing of civilians (especially with indiscriminate drone attacks) we have probably created a lot more enemies than friends. Our only "friend" is the corrupt government we installed, and it probably won't last a week after we leave.

Now the government is telling us that although we are "winning" (something they have claimed for 10 years now) we won't be able to withdraw until we spend at least three more years there (the end of 2014). That's ridiculous. What we couldn't accomplish in 10 years in not going to magically happen at the end of 13 years. It's time to declare "victory" and get the hell out of there.

Past polls have shown that most Americans think it was a mistake to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq. A recent Pew Research Center survey of post-9/11 veterans shows a lot of them agree. Only about half of these veterans think the war in Afghanistan was worth fighting, and only 34% think both wars were worth fighting. Meanwhile, about 33% of these veterans think neither of these two wars were worth fighting. And although 96% are proud of their service in Iraq and Afghanistan (and they should be proud), many of them have paid a price for their service -- even after returning home.

About 37% of these veterans say they have suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress, while 44% had problems re-entering civilian life, 47% frequently felt irritable or angry, and 48% felt strains in family relations. The point is that even among soldiers not killed or physically wounded in these wars, many others suffer from psychological scars.

It has been established that nothing more can be accomplished in Afghanistan (or Iraq). The only reason to continue these wars is to salve the consciences and protect the public images of Washington politicians. Personally, I don't think it's worth it. Do You?