What are your feelings as the Taliban reclaim Afghanistan after 20 years of US involvement?

I have been dealing with such darkness since 3:30 this morning. I have friends in Kabul who will loose their lives and their families lives. To tell them that there is nothing I can do to rescue them broke my heart. The lose and suffering brought on by the this careless and reckless decision will forever torment me. The blood of patriots have stained the soil with no result. God bless all who have served. We should have left that godforsaken country six months after the initial action.

I can't stop thinking about the 4 lives lost during a convoy headed to Logar province. I can't stop thinking about the lives of the women and young girls and the horrible acts that await them. I can't stop thinking of the lives of the translators that worked with us. Mostly, I just feel exhausted. Drained. What the hell happened to the ANA? 300,000+strong. For what?

SSG Carlos Madden
I can't adequately express my feelings about this right now. The applicable descriptors haven't been introduced into our lexicon as yet‼️

I'm totally discussed with our Government, our very own President let us and the Afghan people down. We need to replace all of the current administration ASAP.

This isn't the first time this has happened. Different situations consistently on different scales. Whether it be a FOB being over run, Benghazi, or this debacle. It's the boots on the ground and the families at home that pay the price. Not politicians. Never policy makers. We don't get to agree or disagree, we just do what we are told. Following orders from those politically indoctrinated officers, not out of respect and an instant obedience to orders, but to the oath we give to the man or women to the left or right of us; to the subordinates that we promised to get back home. No denying this withdrawal was done against military advisement. Let the casualty count begin on the entrenched and incoming to this theatre. God bless them all and their families while the politicians eat popcorn and watch it all unfold on 80 inch televisions in the White House.

I'm there with you

I will never support another confrontation unless we have the draft.
Every family needs skin in the game so this never happens again
End game discussed ahead of time
Fight future wars as wars not police action such bullshit

It's complicated.

First, I still absolutely believe that we could have finished the job responsibly and well, but that leadership lost track of the goal. In addition, I have come to the conclusion that aggression in military officers, the higher up the chain one goes, is a trait that has been selected out by the civilian leadership as being undesirable. As a result the goals changed in order to cater to the traits that are seen as favorable.

That said, having abandoned a proper outcome, the destruction of the will or ability of Al Qaeda and the Taliban to resist, it has long since been time to leave. It would have been good to have had a plan, however.

Is anyone shocked that the ANA didn't fight? We built that army to be dependent on us. What's more, every time, in my experience, that the ANA was supposed to conduct an independent mission, they ultimately found a reason not to go. "We had no fuel," was a regular feature, which had the added benefit of implying that the failure was ours.

The prohibition on contractors is baffling. Even more so than building in a reliance on such personnel, even though it is the model we follow, to our detriment someday, as well.

Simply the timing of the announcement prior to the security of US and allied personnel is a major f**k up.

I spent three and 3/4 years in Afghanistan altogether. In 2003, we came in to a ghost town in Kabul. When left 18 months later, there were people in the streets and twice daily traffic jams as crowds of children moved back and forth to school. We went everywhere we wanted to go in Ford Ranger pickups. We lost no one to the enemy. Two years later, orders came down that only the new up armored HMMWVs were permitted outside the wire, it was too dangerous for thin skinned vehicles. We knew that we'd lost ground, but the previous deployment had us feeling that that was temporary. We lost one medic who ran to the gunfire to do the right thing. Three years after that, back again. Routes were routinely black. Only the newest MRAPs were allowed in most of the country and older ones stayed parked on the compounds. The towns were again ghost towns. We lost twelve Soldiers this time.

I knew it would have to be a multi-generational effort. I was prepared to do that and I still am. But not if the main purpose in being there is to try not to get anyone hurt, but to inflict the maximum damage on the ability of our enemies to war against us.

They didn’t want their freedom bad enough from oppressive rule with two decades top tier military training and equipment to be over run my militia.

I’m mean at least north Vietnam was supported by developed countries with organized military in order to topple the south

As I lost a friend in A'stan there is a very bitter "For What?" feeling. I haven't talk to his sister yet and I'm not sure I will bring it up but guessing she's wondering the same or something similar.

20 years - lives lost and trillions of dollars - only to end up giving T'man better equipment and training via ANA. I give it 5 years before this come back around - God forbid dirty bomb - via Iran and or P'Stan.