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

Mixed emotions. I'm happy we're leaving that place. I'm angry we've so mis-managed the withdrawal that the Taliban is holding a bunch of American equipment. I'm frustrated that the Afghan forces we spent 20 years building collapsed without firing a shot. I feel helpless and sad and empty that all the time I spent flying over Afghanistan, all the weapons expended, all the time away from home, was all for nothing. That we spent 20 years, $2 trillion dollars, thousands of lives, and beat the hell out of our equipment just to leave the country the way we found it.

Arguably, it is a terrible series of days. All the blood, sweat, tears, lives lost for nothing. I am all for the troops coming home, and part of me says eff them. However, what did we actually do? How did we actually help them? The good Afghanis are begging to leave because they will be killed and tortured because of us. We trained the police and army for nothing, because they fell faster than a small village.

I feel angry and betrayed. I will however, not let anger win. I will hold my head high and be proud of my service over there.

Afghanistan was never intended to be won. Non of these wars are. We know war is a racket, as stated by the greatest Marine ever, MajGen Smedley Butler. A million people dead and TRILLIONS wasted and funneled to the MIC. Trying to keep it short; recent, documented history (within my living grandma's life time) shows that America's military has become a corporate tool for securing profits. I truly don't know what this country looks like in 5 years. Do not let the fear mongering of the Taliban banning vaccines pull is back into this for profit war. Side note, CIA operations won't stop with the troop pull out. War must never stop because quarterly profits must always go up.

We should have left in 2001. We are terrible nation builders

It was always going to happen however.... remember when the previous administration suggested we leave Syria? Where is the proportional outrage that existed for our Kurdish allies? Also on NPR today they mentioned all the neighbors having open borders so that refuges can escape which I whole heartedly agree with and that European countries need to come up with a plan... where is the same sentiment from Muslim countries? Like when one person offends the prophet and it becomes Jihad to protect Muslim brothers from being offended? Seems like there should be some country looking to help and protect their brothers ... but I guess that doesn't suite them either.

It Sucks big time

We didn't understand how the society worked there when we went. I believe that we did a good thing there and completed our mission. We did need to pull out but it should've been better organized than the way it was done.

The culture in Afghanistan is much different than ours and we really didn't appreciate it. I only say that because we tried to make a government like ours which wouldn't work in this situation. We tried but it still wouldn't work. But as I said we did complete our original mission which was to take the war to the people who attacked us on 9/11, but we just couldn't leave the area in a total mess, which we ended up doing now.

As I originally said it should have been better planned than with what happened.

Move past the need to depart all but a light footprint. I do not think that is the question. But how it was done - abandoning leadership of NATO allies, abandoning our Fortress Embassy first, and after years and years - no NEO plan. WTF!!!! If I had written that plan as a COA - I would have resigned.
But more troubling was that in the sheer chaos of OUR route (not the Afghans), there was not one GO who rose to the occasion and flew in and grabbed command and began organizing on the ground and signaling to the American people what was occurring and what we were. NONE. It showed an inability to understand Information Warfare - as well as the basic groundings of leadership in a crisis. And the failure to do that one item amplified in the effects to a disaster. Every nation turned to look to us at that moment - and no one was there - nor all the way up to the White House. Defeat amplifies failure if no one stands up and changes it. And the effects of it are global... far past anything that was looked at with just withdrawing. Far past it... and saddling the junior leaders and up and coming leaders with a 120 lb ruck full of rocks they will have to carry for the duration.

We must prepare for Russia and China and that means building up our conventional capabilities. Something in my little brain tells me we should understand how terrain can have strategic effects in war. In Vietnam the jungle hid many things. In Scotland the Scots used the terrain to their advantage. They did not take Romans head on. They preferred to hit the soft targets like supply trains. Another problem the Romans had which is strange but makes sense is the Scots power was decentralized, I believe by ruling clans. I chuckle. So who will surrender Scotland if the power is decentralized? lol

This is the first time I will make an attempt to conduct analysis on mountainous area of operations. I am no expert on Afghanistan. Thus if I say something stupid, I told you so. I will say the CPT Obvious statement: Afghanistan has a lot of mountains,. People hide in mountains. Mountainous regions often means there are few straight roads. They have millions of covered and concealed positions. Locals know the mountains to for travel. The Taliban to maneuver forwards and backwards using the rough terrain.

The Russians found out convoys require flat land. Flat land is usually the low lands (valleys). Guess who occupied the high land? It was not the Russians! Sometimes the Mujahideen occupied high spots and ambushed convoys. If they did a good job they killed the front and rear vehicles. Now you have many vehicles pretty much trapped. They got killed too. I have read several historic accounts of fighters who use the mountains to their advantage. It becomes their sanctuary and base of operations.

If anyone can add to the narrative that would be nice. If I am mistaken I need to be corrected.