“For all this talk of chaos, I just didn’t see it. Not from my perch.”
— John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council
Hundreds of people run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug.16. 2021. Thousands of Afghans have rushed onto the tarmac at the airport, some so desperate to escape the Taliban capture of their country that they held onto the American military jet as it took off and plunged to death. (Verified UGC via AP)
At the recommendation of Bill Roggio of FDD’s Long War Journal, I fired up Frontline’s new doco America and the Taliban. It’s three hours of excellent reporting, and I’m not sorry I watched it — but, man, it is painful viewing. I think every American should watch it, but it won’t make you feel proud.
Americas’s war in Afghanistan was a war of frontier & empire, and not the first fought in that rugged land, which has earned its sobriquet Graveyard of Empires over centuries. It’s impossible to unwind our two decades of engagement there and see a different outcome — although the documentary identifies inflection points where things might have gone differently. But that could only have happened if we were honest about what we were doing there, what we wanted to achieve, and whether we were succeeding. And we never were honest. Never.
The most maddening thing about the whole mess — besides the waste of blood and treasure and the horrible outcome for people who put their faith in us — is that the war was a bipartisan carnival of bullshit through every single administration from Bush to Biden. The documentary evidence for that is readily found in The Afghanistan Papers, and it is vividly brought to life here. John Kirby’s WTF-inducing “Chaos? What chaos? I don’t see any chaos?” is a breathtakingly on-point example of the official line of crap that would have us deny the evidence of our own eyes. There’s a LOT of that going around in 21st Century America. It doesn’t bode well.
Many American service members and civilians did hard and good work in Afghanistan. We put the hurt on al Qaeda, and ran out a vicious gang of religious fanatics who routinely stoned women to death. For a moment, life had promise for women and those who wanted to breathe free. But we have to recognize that, in the end, it was all in vain. As retired Army Lt. Colonel Jason Dempsey, who served two tours in Afghanistan, says at the end of the film:
“Let’s not say, ‘Oh, well, at the end of the day, it was worth it. ’It wasn’t. It was not worth it. We wasted tons, billions upon billions of dollars, thousands of lives, both ours and Afghans, and we did not achieve what we wanted to achieve. And let’s not pretend otherwise.”
This documentary ain’t playing pretend — it is a hard look at uncomfortable truths, and it is worth your time.
Mike says
I haven’t had a chance to watch the documentary yet, so perhaps they address this. I’m curious to know how someone like the good Colonel defines “what we wanted to achieve.” I don’t disagree with his general sentiments, but the skeptical side of me says there’s a whole group of folks who benefit from the spending of “billions upon billions of dollars.” If the spending *was* the point (or, at a minimum, a much desired byproduct), well then the exercise accomplished its goal, didn’t it? We’re quick to recognize the dissembling when it comes to the chaos at the end of the journey. How do we make sure that we take critical enough looks at these journeys on the front end to identify the dissembling that is inevitably happening then too?
JimC says
Vital question — and it really isn’t addressed in the doco other than recognizing that the Afghanistan National Army was utterly corrupt — soldiers who didn’t get paid because the top echelon was siphoning off the cash, and the U.S. funding “ghost soldiers” and the like. The U.S. effort is treated as fundamentally a good-faith effort. It would be beneficial to “follow the money,” but I suspect that trail would be seriously obfuscated.
Quixotic Mainer says
That was a pork barrel trick in the ACW, shady recruiters would have nonexistent guys who were always sick or on furlough and pad their accounts with greenbacks.
John Maddox Roberts says
As Porfirio Diaz discovered when he found himself with an army consisting of colonels and generals who had been living large on the pay of nonexistent soldiers. Great fun until guys with names like Villa and Zapata and Orozco come calling, ready to take their pay out of your own hide.
JimC says
Yep.
Westley Wu says
I finished watching the documentary last night and it was really well done. Very frustrating to know so many mistakes were made by several adminstrations. Afghanistan has certainly earned the name ‘Graveyard of Empires’.
Travis S. says
I spent a brief sojourn in Afghanistan 2007-2008 as a younger man. The issues with pay and graft in the ANA and ANP were quite evident then, too. I recall one instance where a company of Afghan army at the FOB down the road didn’t receive their pay for several weeks, and made up the difference by selling a 90mm recoilless rifle to the local insurgents. The Afghan company commander and the Taliban commander in that area were old comrades, having fought the Soviets together. Such circumstances are not unusual in this or any other civil war… None of this to malign the average Afghan soldier, I saw a lot of courage and sacrifice too. However it was telling that in a country of mostly lean, sinewy folk, only police chiefs, mayors, and field-grade officers seemed to achieve literal fatness.
JimC says
Thanks Travis. The image of corrupt officials literally fattening on the people they are supposed to serve is ugly… but all too common in history.
Ugly Hombre says
Something is seriously wrong in the country today- plenty of blame to go around, from the first months we went into the country until the Afghan “withdrawal”, that.. was one of the worst episodes in our history if not the worst for 100 years- unbelievable incompetence. Worse and much more dangerous for our Republic- than the Vietnam withdrawal in 75′.
https://nypost.com/2023/03/08/marine-in-kabul-airport-blast-says-he-was-told-not-to-shoot-isis-bomber/
“Ending his opening statement, Vargas-Andrews requested that the House committee ask him more about the day of the bombing, noting that “no one wanted my report post-blasts — even NCIS and the FBI failed to interview me.”
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5060848/marine-sgt-tyler-vargas-andrews-recalls-kabul-airport-suicide-bombing
“The withdrawal was a catastrophe, in my opinion, and there was an inexcusable lack of accountability and negligence,” he said. “The 11 Marines, one sailor and one soldier that were murdered that day have not been answered for.”
Our troops the men and women in our armed forces deserve, need, and we should demand that they get much better, competent leadership.
Its a national disgrace that they have to put up with what they do.
JimC says
Yep.
Quixotic Mainer says
I will start watching that in chunks, been traveling for work a bit. I did however, get an opportunity to hike and do some tactical training in the Massachusetts woods. The KPW podcast came back to me, and I half expected Church or Anawan to bound past my cover.
JimC says
Oh, man, that’s awesome. I love that kind of sensation. Made my day.
lane batot says
I had tried to watch this 3-part documentary on PBS, but alas, I missed the 1st two parts, and didn’t want to watch part 3 out of sequence. I tried to order a DVD copy–I expect it will be available eventually in this format, but it doesn’t seem to be just yet. Meanwhile, I got a cheap DVD copy of a behind-the-scenes reporter with the Taliban, filmed awhile back. Not that seeing things from the Taliban’s perspective will actually help me understand much……I’ve always felt that Afghanistan will change ONLY from within, if it ever changes much at all. No outside forces have ever done so to date, not for centuries!!!