Win, Lose or Draw in Afghanistan?

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 10:42:12 -0500

I've been twice, 2006 and 2011-12, and of course been paying attention for quite a while.

Is it difficult to accept that for everything we did, we lost, or do we need to redefine the terms?

Poll: Just 14% say U.S. won war in Afghanistan, 33% 'lost'

While the nation remains divided on keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan, just a tiny 14 percent believe that the country won the war against al Qaeda there, and 33 percent believe it was a lost cause.A new YouGov poll added that the rest “aren’t sure either way,” even after 2,224 lives were lost and $1 trillion spent there since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.The newly post poll shows that the public is widely divided on several issues related to...

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 9 at 2015 11:52 AM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 11:52:05 -0500

That is a disappointing poll, sir. I wonder if it was influenced by the failure of the Iraqi armed forces to do much of anything against ISIS. I realize it's Iraq and Afghanistan, two different countries, but the average American may not.

I would probably vote "Not sure" in that poll, because - while we did all kinds of good - I wonder if it will last. I also question whether anyone or anything could possibly change the lifestyle, the culture, and the in-fighting in that country and that part of the world, things that are deeply entrenched and have been for centuries.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jan 11 at 2015 1:31 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 13:31:20 -0500

I suspect that almost every American war belongs in the loss column based on popular opinion polls. I'm tempted to leave out WWII, but fear that it too might be seen as a loss by today's generation who seem to fear "keeping score".

Fully one third of the colonists opposed the American Revolution and another third hid from it in the wilds. Imagine how that opinion poll might look.

Between you and me (an audience for whom I have greater respect than the population at large), I suspect that we would have to first define the terms of victory before we could evaluate whether to put Afghanistan in the win or loss column. Sadly, our leaders in the District of Calamity didn't decide this before launching the war.