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Afghanistan - what were the options?

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this Afghanistan mess. The images of people clinging to planes and stories about Taliban going "door to door" are horrifying. But can we put politics aside and honestly talk about what was done right/wrong in the past 20 years?

My feeling is that the current result was inevitable, a matter of when not if. So if the US pulled out a year from now, 5 years, 10 years, the result would inevitably be the same. I think us being there from the start was a mistake - we should have gone in, taken out the folks we knew were responsible for attacking us, and gotten out. Staying 20 years probably made the problem worse in the long run.

Yeah, the result is disheartening. To me Biden's biggest blunder here is not with the withdrawal but with not being honest with himself or the rest of the country the reality of the result. He is an idiot for not knowing this would be the result and preparing for this result.
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MarkPaul · 26-30, M
Most likely everyone involved directly and ALL others knew what the real outcome would be. But, as human nature is, the fantasy of an easy withdrawal forced its way to center stage. It's the same with climate change, pandemics, and over-population.