16/08/2021
From , just read.
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It’s a sh*tshow over there right now. Seeing places, cities, and bases where I spent some of the most significant times of my life completely overrun by tyrants leaves me with an indescribable feeling. Half of my brain is pi**ed about the lives lost and the feeling of an incomplete mission, the other half is tired of the lives lost pursuing an unachievable goal of some sort of idealistic Afghan state. I do mourn for those who were on our side, on the side of the Afghan people.
As I think about it, the mission was never to win the country over and stabilize it in a way that looks right to our American frame of mind (look at history or work with their government and this becomes an obvious no win task). Let’s be honest, our mission was to “mow the grass” or “play whack a mole” against the enemies of OUR countries, not theirs. It was a safehaven for those who wish to further the Islamist agenda against our freedoms and way of life. And that is what we did for 20 years, we took it to the enemy so they wouldn’t bring it home to our families. We may never know “if it was worth it” but I can rest each night with my family believing I did my part to keep them safe.
I can’t let my mind go into body counts or the lives I knew who were taken way too young in an attempt to judge the worth of the mission. The war was the politicians and senior level commanders, we executed to the best of our ability because that is our job. And, we will do it again, in a heartbeat, without looking back. We will adapt and learn to fight the enemy from different locations with different methods than we used in the past. We are more resilient and while we left their country, we will never leave ours.
Everyone has their own opinion on this and they should, it’s America after all. Not everyone feels the way I do, and that is just fine with me. As we all come to grips with this, we need to look out for each other. Call each other, find those whose demons are surfacing as they ponder the current events and be there for them. We got through this thanks to the ones on our left and right and we may need to bring them back to our left and right.