How do we defend the situation in Afghanistan?

I don’t know where to start with this one. The events of the past few weeks have just been depressing. From more covid cases across the country, to the UN’s damning report on climate change, to the recent fall of Kabul, it just all really sucks. And I don’t even want to play politics on it. Unfortunately, the partisan bickering is between two sides of the same shitty coin. Republicans are blaming Biden, who’s doing the same awful job Bush started and Obama and Trump continued, at least on the Afghanistan front.

I want someone smarter than me who I trust to explain it to me, but everything is so gray and I have trouble trusting anyone, anymore. I really can’t defend Biden on this, but I also don’t know what to say about it. The reason for being there in the first place was a lie, so how do you ever right that ship? Biden said our mission was never to “nation build.” But if you are going to destabilize a region, isn’t that what you have to be prepared to do? I’m no expert and I don’t know what the right answer is, but it can’t be this.

I don’t know. And I’m pretty tired of all the people on both sides who think they do. Both sides (yes, I’m “both sides-ing”) have such hypocritical arguments. From the right we hear about losing standing in the world as a protector and ally, but these are the same people, who under Trump were shouting “America first” and saying these other countries were not our responsibility. The left, who almost always decry war and fighting, are now defending actions that will undoubtedly leave people vulnerable to a blood thirsty, authoritarian “government.”

John McCain was very strongly criticized for a statement he made in 2008 about being in Iraq (and the region in general) for 100 years. It was likely a blunder of a statement, but what he clarified later was that the US might need to maintain a presence for a long time. In 2017, McCain was very critical of Trump’s handling of the war in Afghanistan and proposed a strategy that included requiring Kabul to demonstrate "measurable progress" in curbing corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and improving the government's financial transparency. McCain also said, "Nearly seven months into President Trump's administration, we've had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened." McCain’s strategy was largely ignored and his warnings all seem to have come to fruition.

I will be honest and say that at the time, I very likely would have been opposed to McCain’s strategy. I would have said the same as many others. That too much money and lives had been lost in Afghanistan and that we needed to find a responsible way to leave. I now realize that probably wasn’t possible. War should be avoided at nearly all costs, but it seems that if it comes to that, or if we lie our way into one, we need to be committed for the long haul. Or maybe I’m wrong.

In the meantime, I think we all need to do whatever we can to help both the people of Afghanistan as well as the refugees from around the world. If you are able, please contribute to this cause which is raising funds to help rescue those Afghan’s from Kabul who are in the most danger from the Taliban. As of writing, they are up to $4.5 million dollars, stating that for every $550k, they can fly two planes in and out of Kabul, rescuing over 300 people. Please consider donating!