Best to leave adolescent jingoism behind and be cleared-eyed about these things. On a recent episode of NPR's Fresh Air, they interviewed a Washington Post journalist about the so-dubbed 'Afghanistan Papers', which that publication got hold of after FOI lawsuit(s). The podcast of the interview is here
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/18/789275078/how-government-officials-misled-the-public-about-the-conflict-in-afghanistan. The info that emerged is pretty damning. There seemed to be a general lack of direction and strategy, which continues to this day. This is not the journalist talking, this is first-hand written testimony by Rumsfeld and several top-level military leaders at the time. It should make for disturbing reading/listening for Americans, especially for those who may have family members in the armed forces.
This is the 2nd paragraph from the text accompanying the podcast,
"Through Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, the Post secured material generated by an internal review of the Afghanistan war called Lessons Learned. The documents include records of interviews with hundreds of military leaders, diplomats, aid workers and Afghan officials. They tell a story of muddled strategic thinking, staggering waste and corruption and repeated failures to understand both their adversaries on the battlefield and the civilian population they were supposed to serve."
Do US citizens trust what their government is telling them enough to send their kids to be killed and/or maimed, that is the question. What is the purpose of the action, that needs to be asked and answered first and foremost.
Of course participants on this forum will reply by blaming it all on Obama, but you should listen to the podcast more carefully and realize that the mess goes back way earlier than the current or the previous administrations.
