The longest war in U.S. history drags on -- the war in Afghanistan. And there's no evidence that it will get any better anytime soon, or ever end. Donald Trump seems to have given up on it, and obviously has no ideas on how to win that war. We know this because he has turned the execution of the war to the Pentagon generals, including how many troops should be sent there. We can expect those generals to once again start ramping up the number of soldiers committed to that war -- in the vain hope that will do some good.
The sad fact is that, while our military is very good at fighting a conventional war, they are not good at trying to force another nation to accept the kind of government our political leaders want that nation to have. That has become very clear. We should have learned that lesson in Vietnam, but we didn't.Now we are stuck in an endless war that's accomplishing nothing.
And the American people are starting to realize that. A plurality of 37% think we are losing the Afghan War, while only 15% think we are winning it -- and the remaining people don't have a clue about it. Currently, about half of the country (49%) would support a plan to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan, while only 23% would oppose such a plan. I have to agree with the 49% -- it's time to get all of our troops out of that ridiculous war.
The charts above use information in a recent Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between June 18th and 20th of a random national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,277 registered voters), with a 3 point margin of error.
From Alexander the Great (circa 330 BCE), through the British in the late 19th century, to the Russians in the late 20th century, Afghanistan has well earned it's reputation as the "Graveyard of Empires". What hubris those in the American government have to think our involvement will turn out any different.
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