(ThyBlackMan.com) It’s been a year and a day since Osama bin Laden’s corpse was rolled off a ship and left to rot at the bottom of the sea. Since that time al-Qaida’s continued to vow to avenge their fallen leader’s death. The war in Iraq has really, really ended. Syria and Yemen remain on the brink of a destructive civil war if they’re not already there. The “Arab Springs” have subsided since other Arab nations have taken the Moammar Gadhafi lead and just refused to succumb to the demands of democracy. And through all of this the United States, the country that brought these conflicts to the Gulf states and Southwest Asia, continues fighting a war in Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan is officially the United States’ longest war. Longer than the death drag that was Vietnam. The war where we went to get revenge is still going on even after we’ve gotten revenge. And now we’re committed to this country no one cared about for another 12 years. Why?
The 2014 drawdown date is sketchy to me. Adding 10 years after that in some strategic security pact is even more sketch. We’re fooling ourselves if we believe Afghanistan is going to become this safe haven for foreigners to walk around and marvel at the sand and the one eyed animals at the zoo shot up by the Taliban. Pakistan’s Swat Valley, Afghanistan is not. 
The only reason to remain in Afghanistan and not leave it as riddled by war as we did Iraq is to build a Nation; which never existed. I don’t think our government understands, democracy isn’t meant for everyone. A nation of states and clear boundaries and Mayors and Governors and a central government is not for everyone. Who says the people in Kandahar want a corrupt man in Kabul telling them how to irrigate their poppy fields?
I have a tingling suspicion that when the U.S. pulls out of Afghanistan the crises ready to befall the country will be worse than the ones that befell the countries of Africa after colonialism. A country once rich in Mediterrannean history will be left stripped of its beginnings, vapid of its culture, void of all decency and will devolve into a cycle of coup’s and wars, lawlessness and corruption, struggle and revenge. It happened when the U.S.S.R gave up its claims to Afghanistan and it will happen when the U.S. gives up its claims.
Afghanistan is not Puerto Rico or Guam or American Samoa. It is not a trophy country we can add to our empire and market as the hottest tourist destination since Disney.
And to your left are the harvested fields where all of America’s opium comes from. To your right you will see the gutted blocks of our main town square that suicide bombers attacked just this morning. The blood on the firestone adds to the authenticity.
Sorry, but that ain’t hot. Afghanistan is Afghanistan, not Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It will never be safe enough for foreigners or locals to parade around in shorts and a headband and still be considered modest and following Allah’s will.
Afghanistan is the country we went to war with when the Saudi born tyrant decided he need a home for his terror group and figured Afghanistan was ripe for the taking. Afghanistan is the country we bombed relentlessly, sent troops to storm through homes, and initiated offensives and surges to curtail the terror and eventually break it. Afghanistan is not the country we invaded to make peace because we felt like we needed a larger Kumbaya circle and new friends. First, we went to war. Secondly, we went to war to win… Not to wage on relentlessly with no end in sight only to agree there is nothing to be won and it’d be better if we were all friends.
This isn’t two chicks fighting over a dude and then agreeing the better woman one.
This is war.
And even though it’s one we can’t win, doesn’t mean it is a war we must invest in after our heroes come home grateful to hear a language other than Pashto and see more concrete than sand.
That 2024 security pact President Obama is simply not a good look.
Do you think remaining in Afghanistan after our troops leave is crucial to both U.S. and Afghan stability?
Staff Writer; Nikesha Leeper
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