Does anyome changed their mind about the Afghan War?

I asked because it was widely supported at the time of the invasion.

Have you changed your mind on this? If so, why? Do you think it could ever have worked out and what do you think would have been a good outcome? Do you feel you were lied to?

Please keep the Trump vrs Biden stuff off the thread because it's not relevent to my question. Thanks.

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QuixoticSoul · 41-45, M

I was never for that war, especially considering the Taliban offered to give us Osama if we showed them some evidence that he was behind the attacks.

9/11 made Americans fucking crazy, it was incredible to observe up close. It was a wild time, felt like people needed to have a war somewhere, and it didn't even matter why, or what for. People got used to being super safe, I guess, so the event was a total shock.

Anyway, at the time I was still deciding whether to become an American citizen or not - maybe that made me somewhat detached, because the attacks did not have a particularly strong personal effect on me. It seemed like everyone else totally lost their minds.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@QuixoticSoul 9/11 didn't happen here but we were still caught up in all the jingoism. The idea that 'something had to be done' was dominant.

QuixoticSoul · 41-45, M

@Burnley123 Something clearly needed to be done, and obviously some people needed to be killed quite visibly - but I spent my childhood watching my friends' older brothers heading to Afghanistan, and it was super pointless.

The defining element of Afghanistan is that there is nothing there worth fighting for. Kill whoever needs killing - and leave.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@QuixoticSoul I don't think it was really about getting the 9/11 culprits. That could have been done in different ways. I do think it was a war fought to gey power and resources. Obviously, it also failed in those terms.

beckyromero · 36-40, F

@QuixoticSoul

I was never for that war, especially considering the Taliban offered to give us Osama if we showed them some evidence that he was behind the attacks.

Dang. Why didn't the Japanese think to say that after Pearl Harbor?

"Present us with evidence," they should have said. After all, some Americans thought the Japanese not skilled enough to have launched such an attack anyway. It was the Germans, they said.

Admiral Yamamoto must be turning over in his grave, saying "Why didn't we think of that?"

😉

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QuixoticSoul · 41-45, M

@beckyromero If the Taliban military attacked us, things would be simple, sure - but even at the time we knew that the Taliban had no actual hand in the attack, and didn't even know about it. Any other government in their place would likewise request evidence before handing someone over, or allowing law enforcement operations on its territory. It's just basic jurisdictional face-saving. We would also do the same if someone orchestrated a terrorist attack elsewhere from US soil.

@LvChris Americans aren't cowards. They're just soft as a people - which is distinct from their military. That's ok, the wages of a civilized life.

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