We deserve accountability for 20 years in Afghanistan
Americans understand – and have for some time now – that the war in Afghanistan hasn’t served our national interests. As we have now ended our entanglement in the country, we now have a chance to look back and learn lessons to ensure we don’t repeat the mistakes that were made that led to 20 years of wasted tax dollars, Americans lives lost, and general mismanagement of our military efforts.
After President Bush’s initial objectives of disrupting al-Qaida and punishing the Taliban were accomplished by March 2002, the mission was changed to a nation-building operation that included objectives that were outright militarily unattainable. As terrible as the evacuation effort may have been, it was a disaster almost two decades in the making.
As Congress is preparing to investigate the events in Afghanistan, we must make sure partisan rhetoric and hyperbole doesn’t overshadow the bigger picture. If the lessons our military and elected leaders learn are limited to the events of August of 2021, then America will have learned nothing, and Americans will be worse off in the long run.
Sign the letter to urge your elected leaders to not limit their efforts to just the last few days of the war in Afghanistan. There are lessons to be learned from the entire 20 years of mismanaged and misguided war efforts. If we allow Congress to limit its investigation, America will indeed double down on this failure in the future.
Americans understand – and have for some time now – that the war in Afghanistan hasn’t served our national interests. As we have now ended our entanglement in the country, we now have a chance to look back and learn lessons to ensure we don’t repeat the mistakes that were made that led to 20 years of wasted tax dollars, Americans lives lost, and general mismanagement of our military efforts.
After President Bush’s initial objectives of disrupting al-Qaida and punishing the Taliban were accomplished by March 2002, the mission was changed to a nation-building operation that included objectives that were outright militarily unattainable. As terrible as the evacuation effort may have been, it was a disaster almost two decades in the making.
As Congress is preparing to investigate the events in Afghanistan, we must make sure partisan rhetoric and hyperbole doesn’t overshadow the bigger picture. If the lessons our military and elected leaders learn are limited to the events of August of 2021, then America will have learned nothing, and Americans will be worse off in the long run.
Sign the letter to urge your elected leaders to not limit their efforts to just the last few days of the war in Afghanistan. There are lessons to be learned from the entire 20 years of mismanaged and misguided war efforts. If we allow Congress to limit its investigation, America will indeed double down on this failure in the future.