We’ve been in Afghanistan forever it seems – I think around 15 years at this point. Over that period of time I’ve lost all sense of what victory actually looks like there.
Early on we knew what victory looked like. It was defeating the Taliban who provided safe haven and training grounds for terrorists hell-bent on destroying us. We went there and kicked ass.
Then we became focused on Iraq and years later the next thing we hear, the Taliban was back in full force.
Obama came along and decided that negotiating with the Taliban (a terrorist group!) was the way forward, although he never told us what victory looked like in that scenario. We did a lot of training, reportedly, of Afghan soldiers, but to what end I’m not sure. All the while we lost good man after good man to surprise attacks from these traitorous Afghans we were training.
So here we are in 2017 with a new president, and he’s about to give a new address on Afghanistan.
If there’s one thing I’m looking for tonight in Trump’s address, it will be a definition of our purpose there. Why do we still have troops in Afghanistan? What does victory look like 15 years after we invaded? If there is a troop surge, as it’s been reported, how does that get us to victory? Why wouldn’t it be better for us to just bring our men home to their families?
If Trump doesn’t answer even some of these questions, then tonight’s address will be a bust in my opinion.
But I sincerely hope he does. He has a real opportunity to do something significant and bring this Afghan war to a close. I don’t just want our men to come home with their tails tucked between their legs, I want them to come home having been victorious. But I’ll take the former if that’s the best we can do at this point.
Trump isn’t responsible for the last 15 years in Afghanistan, but he will be responsible for the years under his presidency and I truly hope he and General Mattis make the best of them.
Here’s the livestream of Trump’s address that will begin at 9PM Eastern: