Who Lost Afghanistan? - Claremont Review of Books

It was lost before our troops set foot on Afghani soil. As Americans we often falsely assume that other people think like us. THEY DON'T. Allow me to digress.

Most Americans do not understand "tribalism." and what it it truly means. The closest example we have now is the quaint and humorous concept of "Don't mess with Texas," "NYC attitude", "I'm from Jersey" or "Hillbilly Pride." Prior to WWI most Americans had stronger loyalty to their state or local region than they did to the concept of America as a nation. Our national identity was further sealed by WWII.

I spent three years in sub-Saharan Africa. It is stunning to think of the untapped natural resources there. There should be sub-Saharan African countries that are major players on the world stage but WITHIN countries there are ethnic groups that would never consider mutually beneficial economic trade and cooperation as acceptable. The European colonial powers set up "national boundaries" intentionally to put/create strategically weak powers who could remain in power only with the support of the European powers. Sub-Saharan Africa is probably still 50-150 years out from overcoming the damage that was done by colonialism.

The concept of Afghanistan as a country is not firmly imbedded in the minds of "Afghanis." They have limped along as a loose coalition of tribes and ethnic groups. Historically those tribes and groups have been largely independent from central authority and have only truly united in the face of foreign invasion. It is a land of tribal chiefs, warlords and charismatic religious leader ruling small fiefdoms. Trying to establish a strong central government in Afghanistan is like trying to herd cats. There is no herd instinct. Foreign powers have repeatedly failed to recognize that fact since the 1700's

While large amounts of strategic resources have been discovered. There is no consensus among the Afghanis how to exploit those resources. In-fighting, self-serving leadership and lack of a true national identity stand in the way. And it neighbors aren't willing to pay the prices to conquer the Afghanis and subjugate people who are the descendants of fiercely independent, nomadic horse tribes.

To subjugate them would take a war plan that is not the way of war in the modern world (No stone stands upon another, all males who've approached the age of military use [about 10-12 year old] put to the sword, all women of child bearing age become the spoils of war, those incapable of useful work as slaves put to death, etc. etc. etc.) Current international bodies having conventions on the laws of land warfare take a VERY dim view of such operational strategies, and they should.

We never should have entered Afghanistan with the notion of "regime change." There really wasn't/isn't a "regime" to change. Non-state actors who were using Afghanistan to train for actions against U.S. Interests should have been subjected to "get in, kill all you can, get out" raids. The local chieftains who supported/tolerated the non-state actors should have been personally targeted, and their fiefdoms should have seen total destruction of their critical infrastructure. When those tribal chieftains found it was not in their self-interest to have terrorist organization based in their area, they would have driven them out. Once again the modern world takes a dim view of such operational strategies.

This disaster is all Biden.

Politicians and the media.