Over the last week, we have been treated to the debacle known as the collapse of Afghanistan and the worst defeat in US history. The end of the conflict is reminiscent of the failure of Vietnam in 1975. I am a survivor and veteran of the two longest wars in US history. I served in combat in Vietnam with the US Army, 1968 – 1969, and in 1971 until wounded and returned to the United States. I was twice in Afghanistan during 2004, and my final combat tour, my eighth, ended in October 2007 as I left Afghanistan. My other combat tours were in Iraq. I come at my remarks through the worldview of a veteran soldier and a civilian serving my country.
In both conflicts, I reached a stage that enough is enough, and we should depart. We are not a country that seeks to gain territory by war. We should have pulled out of Germany and Japan by now. I fully understand the need for our presence in those two countries at the end of WWII. However, once the Cold War had essentially concluded, both countries were fully capable of self-governance without our presence. South Korea is a different matter. That war started in 1950, and there has been no formal end to the aggressive North Korean actions, and the hostilities are ever-present with a fragile ceasefire since 1953. The moment the United States withdraws from the Demilitarized Zone, the North Korean Army will undoubtedly see that as an open door and invitation to take over South Korea.
No one hates war and the product of war more than a person that had to fight in a war. The idea of battle and glory in a young person thinking before going into harm’s way and combat is romantic and based on motivating factors of training and service. I am not complaining about those ideas and feelings because it has a great tendency to keep many young people alive as they enter the battlefield. I certainly had those ideas. But they quickly disappear when you are on the receiving end of a battle. In an instant flash, you realize you could be dead or wounded in a nanosecond as you enter the firefight. You are scared out of your wits, and this is where training takes over. You force your feelings deep down inside of you and do your job and what you trained for. If you are lucky, you survive for the day and prepare to repeat as necessary. Soon, you start waking up from whatever sleep you get and ask yourself, “Is this my last day on earth?”
You pull it all together and dismiss those thoughts and move forward to do your job. Your fear becomes secondary as you force it away from your consciousness. That uneasy feeling you get in the pit of your stomach returns. The voice of reason descends on you to be careful because today may be your day. The day you meet your maker. Your friends have gone before you. Men standing next to you have been killed or wounded and maybe later died in hospital. Yet, you force yourself to function because you have a job to do. You finish your tour and go home a changed person, your worldview altered forever. You may return to the battlefield once again in your dreams and thoughts. Perhaps, you do another tour of duty. Your family does not fully comprehend how you have changed and are fearful of asking. It is not their fault in how they handle their feelings or what they may ask you. No one is prepared to address you at home. You may live with guilt about killing the enemy, and you may not. Everyone is different. Your post-traumatic stress is a living entity within you, and it is hard to explain to those that have not been there.
Now, let’s look at those that decide we must go to war. The politicians make that decision, and a willing military obeys the order to move to a war footing. Most primary decision-makers have never experienced combat. I would surmise they are of the mindset, at least in part, that war is glory and honor to defend some wrong a country has done to us. It has political advantages to declare war and make individuals look like they are doing the “right thing” as they vote for conflict. Most politicians look for benefits and have little care as to who must go into harm’s way. Of course, they make public announcements about their positions being correct, the bravery of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen, all the “Hooray” stuff they think will sway public opinion in their favor. How many times have you heard in the last sixty years any politician or military leader speak about how the most current conflict will end and what plans have been made. Not one I can recall.
I clearly remember President Johnson using the Gulf of Tonkin incident to bolster his need to expand the war in Vietnam. History seems to say this entire incident was fabricated. President Reagan’s short incursions into Panama and Granada were quick and decisive and appeared well planned with distinct objectives. So was President Bush #43 into Iraq because of the Kuwait invasion. Clearly defined, clearly executed, and clearly ended. President Johnson could have finished Vietnam far earlier by military means instead of political decisions. The attack on our country by terrorists and Bin Laden needed to be addressed forthrightly. It was until politicians got greedy with ideas about Afghanistan and how to manipulate an isolated country that lacks a national identity politically and, at best, is tribal in their thinking. Politicians and the military-industrial complex fell into the same trap that Alexander the Great, the British, and the Russians fell into. Each attempted to control Afghanistan has failed. Why did the United States believe it could succeed in maintaining a country that lacks the will to fight? It was pure hubris.
To compound the problem, all President’s since 2001 believed they had the correct answers to continue the war or not continue the fight and withdraw. Bush had no idea how to end Afghanistan, so he started an unnecessary war by invading Iraq. The excuse was nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that was determined early on not to exist, except for some biological or chemical weapons that only threatened their neighbors if used. Don’t get me wrong, Saddam Hussien was a bad guy. However, there were better ways to take care of him than sending our men into battle and losing their lives and limbs. Bush turned the Middle East into a quagmire. The entanglements will last generations and never be fully resolved.
President Obama, heavily influenced by his upbringing as a Muslim and his in-laws’ communist ideology, turned the United States into a paper tiger. One good thing came out of his eight years in office, the killing of Bin Laden by Navy SEAL Team 6. It should have been at that point all efforts to withdraw from Afghanistan matured strategically. Vice President Biden was against the raid, and that should have been a clue as to his so-called expertise of foreign policies. He was also against helping refugees escape from Vietnam in 1975 as not worth the trouble. As President, Biden has made the same decision when it comes to Afghanistan. It is not worth the risk to assist the people that worked alongside the Americans and allies. Let them die, no skin off his back.
President Trump appears to have had a plan of withdrawal. However, determining what the plan is precisely is difficult because the Left Standing Media consistently muddies the waters and information. I wish I had more details so I could decide for myself.
President Biden and his entire administration, including the Secretary of State and Defense, own the collapse of Afghanistan as the debacle it is and the defeat in history it represents. Listening to him defend his position and decisions clearly shows the level of dementia and poor judgment within his scrambled brains. His Vice President is a joke, and God help this country when she takes over once the Biden administration collapses as it is doing now. She could not even handle the Southern border issues in any intelligent way. I seriously doubt her ability to be an executive of a country in decline.
In the end, politicians will stand in front of the American people and pontificate on the evils of war and what it has done to our country and the world. They will talk about the despots and dictators and how much they have done to hurt all of us. What they will never do is accept full responsibility for involving our citizens in a war without a plan to win. Afghanistan and Vietnam should stand as prime examples of how not to fight a war. President Biden should be the poster boy on failure and how to create a debacle and humiliation of our country while allowing thousands of Afghanistan citizens to be executed by beheading by the Taliban. He did this!
Thank you for such an insightful and accurate analysis of what is going on and also for the history lesson of some of the past conflicts. Your blogs are very much appreciated, and I am enjoying your recently published book, The Apostate. I hope all your blog readers purchase the book and encourage others to add it to their library. It was a pleasure hearing you speak at The Wednesday Club luncheon last week! The response was totally positive!
Charlotte,
Thank you for those kind words. Henry
Henry, having served with you in Vietnam in 1971, I can relate to your entire message. Nothing was gained by being in Vietnam. Nothing gained from prolonged time in Iraq or Afghanistan either. No one could tell me what winning looked like. We were MP’s in a Vietnam War that could bring death at any time.
As a high school student, I watched Walter Cronkite deliver the nightly body counts, on black and white TV, as people ate their dinner, then went about their evening activities. Hundreds died by the week. As high school students, we knew where we were going and many of us did. For each person who found a way to avoid the draft, one human being, one son of a father and mother, went off to war in their place. The soldier took the place of the person who did not go. I volunteered.
In Vietnam, as an MP, I worked the highway and hamlets. Each time I saw one of our trucks, transporting our dead heroes, I would stop that truck. I would walk to the back of the truck and view those dead heroes, those sons, of fathers and mothers. I would pull the curtain, and would see them stacked 5 high, in 3 rows. Must have been 15 dead young men going home, to the arms of loved ones, protected now only by God.
I would salute these fallen heroes; I would salute so I would “Never Forget” what happened here. At the age of 19, I sure became a man really quick.
Many do not know what small percentage of our population protected and now protect us from those who want to harm us. Germany and Japan, and the like, can step up and protect themselves. If Germany can purchase oil from Russia, then Germany is able to defend themselves.
Now when I go to the “WALL” the Vietnam Memorial with reverence, I view those who sacrificed their greatest part of life, for what? I look at those who died in 1971, and ask myself, how many did I salute? Knowing that two soldiers on that wall, memorialized by name, I assisted in putting them in their bag, for the return trip home. Amen.
Thank you, my friend and Comrade, CW2 Henry Mungle.
Well written.
A friend wrote this to the Wall Street Journal.
“Dear Mr. Trofimov and Mr. Lubold,
You wrote: “The Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani left the country, effectively marking the end of a 20-year effort by the U.S. and other Western nations to remold Afghanistan into a modern democracy, only to see its armed forces collapse as American forces withdrew. ”
This whole enterprise to remold Afghanistan into a modern democracy was doomed from the very start, and it is a pity that no one dares to analyze why this is so.
The Afghan population is very religious Islamic, yet, none of our civilian or military leaders ever studied the Koran and the Sunnah in order to learn what guides, motivates and inspires most of the Afghan population. If they had studied Islam, they would have known that it was impossible to make a liberal democracy out of a Moslem society. There is no way that we infidels can win the hearts and minds of religious Moslems no matter how much money we give them, and no matter how many roads, schools, water filtration plants, government buildings and mosques we build for them. The very religious Moslem Taliban will always be closer to the Afghans’ hearts and minds than we will. The Taliban wants a stricter practice of Islam than much of the rest of the population, but all of them want Islam. Even “our” Afghanistan is, officially, The ISLAMIC Republic of Afghanistan.
It is high time for the leaders of America and our allies to start learning about and discussing Islam, don’t you think? And, it is high time for honest journalists to lead the way.
Carl Goldberg, PhD
Arizona”
You drew a wholly new image of war to me. That point of view I could not see or experience, because I was never there. Thank you for writing this and thus educating me concerning the human level of war.
My father fought on the Russian front in WWII and survived with a bullet wound on his earlobe. He never talked about the war. I can understand why he did not. It cannot be easy to relive such horror. So I thank you for being open and willing to share a part of your experience in these more recent wars.
Thank you for your service.
As always Henry , a well thought out analysis. I can’t begin to understand what a solder, a father and mother are now thinking about the sacrifices they went through the last 20 years. For what? Chuckling kamala says we shouldn’t be talking about the withdrawal problems but should be talking about how to rescue Americans. True but another deflection. This won’t go away. president biden (should we really call this guy our president?), scary isn’t it, is being run by someone. Who is it?
I would like to think we learn from our mistakes, but apparently not. Both parties are to blame for this. We need to wake up and question the need for battle and what the end game is. I don’t recall anyone talking about how this withdrawal was going to be accomplished. Why not? Must have been a “plan”. Didn’t work whatever that was.
Thank you Henry for your service to our country. I appreciate what you have written and your war experiences, very few veterans are willing to talk about their experiences at war and I think the horrors of war are too much to want to remember. But you have pulled back the curtain for those of us who have not been there. Thank you for your explanations.
Regarding the Afghanistan debacle, we went there to destroy the terrorist group that attacked us on 9/11/2001 and we certainly had no exit strategy. We should have exited at least 15 years ago. The powers that be, will never read history of this region. It is Islamic and I don’t feel any country of that ilk can be converted to a democracy. But the politicians haven’t studied the region, the Islamic religion, or even asked their own military for an opinion. Hubris and stupidity.
As has been said so many times, follow the money to see who benefits from any war. The military-industrial complex, the media, and ignorant politicians are the only beneficiaries. I am sure none of them have been on the ground in a war zone, yet they are the ones shipping our young men and women to fight and die.
Thank you
Henry, Great Blog…
Only a person that actually wore Combat Boots could write this as well as you did. Experience!! What is amazing we have all these Washington D.C folks with decades of experience and degrees that are worse than ignorant. They have no ‘Common Sense’ or understand anything about History or Lessons Learned.
I keep going back to Biblical Prophecy and we are seeing it fulfilled at a rapid rate where the U.S has to be ‘Not Relevant’ in the End Times. We are there…
Very true Jerry. We are marching to a tune that will cause this country to decline at a rapid rate, thanks, Joe!
Thank you for your service to all who have served. Like Paivikki, I have never been to war and can never know the burden a soldier carries. I only know it is sad what our military has become and the respect it has lost. Those of us who care about our soldiers, we honor you and thank you for your service.
Beach Girl, Thank you. I have heard you were almost in a war but escaped to another country.
Henry, as a life long Friend and Comrade in Arms, I heartily agree on your objective view of the chaos that is combat. Again, our soldiers and allies suffer for the foolishness of the political whims and psychosis that drive the morally corrupt decisions of those in political charge of this Nation. The striking image of the evacuation of the US Embassy in Saigon alongside the same thing happening in Kabul was so impactful that it brought tears to my eyes. I never thought I would experience the loss and helplessness that I felt in 1975 ever again. But the feckless incompetence of those in Biden’s supposed Administration brought it back to me in startling reality.
This old soldier has nothing but contempt for those in our current administration and for those idiots who voted them into office. The Rainbow and Unicorn Crowd, or better known as the Soy Toys, haven’t got a clue what REALITY is, I guess it’s going to take the Taliban to directly attack a couple of our Democrat controlled cities for them to wake up. But, alas, that is a Unicorn fart dream.