Photo by Harold Mendoza
Recently, we held a poll on our social media to ask, “Do you feel there was enough accountability for the failures in Afghanistan?”
Our audience is comprised of mostly US military, veterans, and first responders. The poll was live for 24 hours and several thousand votes were casts. The results were overwhelming.
3% answered “Yes” there was enough accountability for the failures in Afghanistan.
97% answered “No” there was not enough accountability for the failures in Afghanistan.
After the poll, we received dozens of direct messages for voters claiming they had “accidentally clicked ‘yes’ but had really intend ‘no’. We received zero messages claiming the opposite was true.
Who’s to blame for the failures in Afghanistan?
As we rapidly approach the 2-year anniversary of the bloody departure from Afghanistan, many are left asking “Who is responsible?” All the evidence available can clearly show the troops were not the reason things went poorly. In 20 years, the US military never lost a single major battle in Afghanistan after all.
So if it was not the boots on the ground, it would seem natural to place the blame higher. There are endless volume of information available to the public through the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) website that shows just how dysfunctional leadership was during this time. Documents outline how tops brass claimed they were “devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan” and how leadership knew the Taliban was making money on our reconstruction projects.
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The infamous “Afghanistan papers” (obtained by the Freedom of Information Act) show how nearly a trillion dollars went into an endeavor many leaders knew was untenable. Tens of thousands of service members were wounded or killed in a conflict that our Government held no real strategy beyond “shoveling money” onto the problem.
The bitter truth: What’s next
Ultimately, the likelihood of the American people ever seeing a level of satisfactory accountability is slim to none. All we can do is ensure the future leaders of this country are made aware the people will not tolerate this level of incompetence again.
How can this be done? Engaging with your elected officials, especially during reelection season. It is sad to say many have already moved on, and are pontificating on the new talking points they believe will get them favorable views among their constituents. The only way we make sure this never happens again is to put in the effort to be heard.
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