Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Afghanistan, President Jocko, and the Forever War Hawk


While the bravado can be appreciated, this little exercise remains focused on the negative effects of the withdrawal and not the 20 years of waste, death, and quagmire - let alone the realities of the fragility of the Afghan government and its 'forces'. The former pales in comparison to the latter. As such, President Jocko doesn't flagellate himself enough for not knowing what was going on in a country he has been occupying for 20 years. 

The moving of the goal posts (from getting Bin Laden, to tamping down insurgencies, to 'defending human rights') is certainly a factor in why the US is still present in Afghanistan and speaks to the fraudulent nature of the war, itself - a fraud that Jocko is willing to continue unless/until there is a withdrawal.

Additionally, when Jocko says that 'we'll kill everyone who gets in the way of us getting all of our citizens, allies, and friends out', and if by 'all' he literally means 'every single person' that meets these three designations, then he's arguing for a persistent military presence. He's also implicitly accepting ongoing civilian death committed at the hands of US forces. 

In closing, President Jocko isn't very interested in ending the war. He's arguing for its continuation. 

Whatever one thinks of the execution of the withdrawal, the withdrawal is the right thing to do.