In most of the 24 posts on this site about the Afghanistan War people post comments saying (in some form or another) that the war prevents another 9-11-type attack. Several things remain clear in this discussion.
- Nobody has presented evidence that activities or camps in Afghanistan provided any essential (or even substantial) support for 9-11.
- Nobody has cited work by relevant area experts supporting the war in terms of American national interests. I do not mean COIN or geopolitical gurus, but rather people who know the languages and history of the Afghanistan peoples.
- Nobody has drawn an explicit chain of reasoning between a likely outcome of the Afghanistan War and any future attacks on the US.
This has gone on long enough so that I believe a tentative conclusion can be drawn that the Afghanistan War is based on one of the classic agitprop techniques: the big lie (see Wikipedia for details).
This is an open thread for discussion of these three statements. Let’s hope some advocate of the war can do what nobody has yet done with respect to these three tasks. Otherwise we can only conclude that our money and blood has been spilled for no gain to America — and this will continue at an accelerating rate for the foreseeable future.
Please do not just assert your opinion with respect to numbers one and two. Please provide some evidence, or cite something resembling expert opinion.
Remember, thewar’s opponents need not prove that there is no relationship between Afghanistan and 9-11, or between this war and our strategic goals. Just we need not prove there are neither magic dragons nor elves. It is those advocating war who must make the case.
Afterword
To read other articles about our wars, see these FM reference page (listed on the right side menu bar):
- About America’s national defence strategy and machinery
- About Iraq & Sub-continent Wars – my articles
- About Iraq & Sub-continent Wars – studies & reports
Posts about the War in Afghanistan:
- Scorecard #2: How well are we doing in Iraq? Afghanistan?, 31 October 2003
- Quote of the day: this is America’s geopolitical strategy in action, 26 February 2008 — George Friedman of Statfor on the Afghanistan War.
- Another perspective on Afghanistan, a reply to George Friedman, 27 February 2008
- How long will all American Presidents be War Presidents?, 21 March 2008
- Why are we are fighting in Afghanistan?, 9 April 2008 — A debate with Joshua Foust.
- We are withdrawing from Afghanistan, too (eventually), 21 April 2008
- Roads in Afghanistan, a new weapon to win 4GW’s?, 26 April 2008
- A powerful weapon, at the sight of which we should tremble and our enemies rejoice, 2 June 2008
- Brilliant, insightful articles about the Afghanistan War, 8 June 2008
- The good news about COIN in Afghanistan is really bad news, 20 August 2008
- Stratfor says that our war in Pakistan grows hotter; Palin seems OK with that, 12 September 2008
- Pakistan warns America about their borders, and their sovereignty, 14 September 2008
- Weekend reading about … foreign affairs, 19 October 2008
- “Strategic Divergence: The War Against the Taliban and the War Against Al Qaeda” by George Friedman, 31 January 2009
- America sends forth its privateers to pillage, bold corsairs stealing from you and I, 9 February 2009
- “The Great Afghan Bailout” by Tom Engelhardt, 14 April 2009
- Stratfor: “The Strategic Debate Over Afghanistan”, 13 May 2009
- A joust between two schools of American military theory, 19 May 2009
- Can we answer SecDef Gates’ question about NATO and the Af-Pak War?, 19 May 2009
- Troops without proper equipment in 2004, troops without proper equipment in 2009 – where’s the outrage?, 20 May 2009
- New bases in Afghanistan – more outposts of America’s Empire, 21 May 2009
- The simple, fool-proof plan for victory in Afghanistan , 1 June 2009
- Advice about our long war – “It’s the tribes, stupid”, 9 June 2009
- An expert explains why we must fight in Afghanistan, 11 June 2009
- Some experts’ review of a presentation about the War (look here, if you’re looking for well-written analysis!), 21 June 2009