Tag: Afghanistan

Afghans Suffering from ‘Long War’ Syndrome

Buck Banks

“It wasn’t crazy for President Biden and his national security team, including the Pentagon, to have imagined that the Afghan forces — with superior technology and manpower — could have done a much better job holding the Taliban at bay. … But senior U.S. officials are privately acknowledging that the Afghans appear psychologically defeated — and there was insufficient accounting for the psychological consequences of the long war.”

— Jonathan Swan

Trump Says He Could End Afghanistan War ‘Very Quickly’

Buck Banks

“We’ve been very effective in Afghanistan, and if we wanted to do a certain method of war, we would win that very quickly, but many, many, really, tens of millions of people would be killed, and we think it’s unnecessary.”

— President Trump, saying that the United States could end the nearly 19-year war in Afghanistan “very quickly” if he chose to do so but that it would involve killing “tens of millions” of people, the Washington Post reports.

Buttigieg Describes After-Affects of Afghanistan Deployment

Buck Banks

“Of course, it’s the effect of having been exposed to danger,.. I think, also, some moral pressure. Any time, in any way, you are even remotely involved in killing, it takes something out of you, and it takes a lot of work to process that.”

— Pete Buttigieg, quoted by Axios, on experiencing depression returning from Afghanistan after a 7-month deployment in 2014.

Trump Mulls Turning Over Afghanistan to Contractors

Buck Banks

5,500

“The White House is actively considering a bold plan to turn over a big chunk of the U.S. war in Afghanistan to private contractors in an effort to turn the tide in a stalemated war,” USA Today reports. “Under the proposal, 5,500 private contractors, primarily former Special Operations troops, would advise Afghan combat forces. The plan also includes a 90-plane private air force that would provide air support in the nearly 16-year-old war against Taliban insurgents.”

Pentagon Says 44 Afghan Soldiers Have Escaped in U.S.

Buck Banks

44Number of Afghan troops visiting the United States for military training who have gone missing in less than two years, presumably in an effort to live and work illegally in America, according to Pentagon officials, Reuters reports. Although the number of disappearances is relatively small – some 2,200 Afghan troops have received military training in the United States since 2007 – the incidents raise questions about security and screening procedures for the programs.

Bergdahl Case Encourages Taliban to Kidnap More Americans

Buck Banks

Definitely. It’s better to kidnap one person like Bergdahl than kidnapping hundreds of useless people. It has encouraged our people. Now everybody will work hard to capture such an important bird.

— A senior Taliban commander, quoted by Time, when asked whether the Taliban would be inspired to kidnap others after the prisoner swap with the United States.