Fiasco in Afghanistan

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The scenes of loss and desperation in Afghanistan this week are heartbreaking. The U.S. mission there was a necessary, righteous fight at the beginning, but while well-intentioned, it became too ambitious and costly over time, and our departure was poorly planned and executed by two administrations. As a nation, we must do everything in our power to immediately aid our Afghan allies, now in great danger, who risked everything to assist U.S. personnel. Going forward, we must learn from our mistakes in Afghanistan and ensure that it does not become an unmitigated safe haven for scheming terrorists once again. I give my deepest gratitude to all the selfless service members, CIA officers, and others who left family, friends, and comfortable lives in America to defend our nation and our freedom against enemies in this faraway land. May their sacrifice always be remembered. —Evan McMullin

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** Brill: Many lessons to be learned in Afghanistan
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"There is nothing to be gained from finger-pointing. Afghanistan is clearly a bipartisan failure. Presidents of both parties made mistakes there, and majorities from both parties in Congress either supported those mistakes or enabled them. ... America did not win and neither did the Afghan people. We owe it to future generations of American soldiers and taxpayers to study our experience in Afghanistan and identify lessons and principles that will help future policymakers and military leaders recall the past and learn from it, rather than being doomed to fail once again. The president and the Congress must act together in a bipartisan way to start this learning process—and soon." —Kenneth Brill in ([link removed]) The Hill ([link removed])

Kenneth Brill is a retired career Foreign Service Officer who served as an ambassador in the Clinton and Bush Administrations and was the founding Director of the U.S. National Counterproliferation Center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

MORE: Intelligence warned of Afghanistan military collapse, despite Biden's assurances —The New York Times ([link removed])


** Brooks: Competence and democracy go hand in hand
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"If we want to rescue the concept of competence from the critiques of both right and left, we need to understand it in its broadest sense, rather than its narrowest. To be worth anything in a democracy, the idea of competence also needs to encompass judgment, humility, and empathy. ... If we give up entirely on the idea of developing a broad and shared understanding of competence or on the idea that competence matters, we might as well give up on the democratic project itself." —Rosa Brooks in ([link removed]) The New York Times ([link removed])

Rosa Brooks is a professor at Georgetown's law school and the author of "Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City."

MORE: Hunted by the Taliban, U.S.-allied Afghan forces are in hiding —The New York Times ([link removed])


** German, Goitein & Patel: Redefining national security after Afghanistan
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"The dangerously divided populace, growing distrust in democratic institutions, the pandemic, and the climate disasters we face today demand a reevaluation of how we protect our country and our people. We must take a holistic approach that prioritizes the welfare of all Americans in accordance with an objective measurement of the threats we face. The billions wasted on military and intelligence programs that do not demonstrably make Americans safer need to be reinvested in evidence-based solutions to our nation's biggest problems." —Michael German, Elizabeth Goitein & Faiza Patel in ([link removed]) Brennan Center for Justice ([link removed])

Michael German is a fellow in the Liberty and National Security section of the Brennan Center for Justice. Elizabeth Goitein and Faiza Patel are directors in the Liberty and National Security section of the Brennan Center for Justice.

MORE: GOP Rep. Mo Brooks slammed by fellow lawmakers for statement about D.C. bomb threat suspect —NBC News ([link removed])


** Dionne: The culture wars are killing us
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"One [recent] finding got a lot of attention because it seemed to dramatize how divided we are: 'Among those who admit they will not get the vaccine if they can avoid it, 70% either identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, while just 6% align with the Democrats.' That piece of data got Democrats' blood boiling. Yet the same question, analyzed differently, also found that 63% of all Republicans had either been vaccinated or are persuadable. While much lower than the 98% of Democrats in this category, the figure suggests that…we are still hanging on as one nation. But barely. The culture wars' distortion of the vaccine argument is potentially catastrophic for millions of Americans. Can we consider putting some of our animosity aside until we are all healthy and safe again?" —E.J. Dionne in ([link removed]) The Washington Post
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E.J. Dionne is a
Washington Post columnist covering national politics.

MORE: Local mask mandates allowed for now after Texas Supreme Court rejects Gov. Abbott's request to intervene —CNN ([link removed])
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** WaPo Ed Board: How should we police outsourced disinfo campaigns?
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"The proper policy response is elusive, not least because of the implications for free corporate expression. A vow among nations not to pay private companies to do their disinformation dirty work—and to prevent those within their borders from engaging in foreign interference? A sort of export control regime for disinformation as a service? President Biden, after a false start, might have had some success persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin to crack down on the worst ransomware actors in Russia. Now countries interested in internet arms treaties have another weapon that needs controlling." — ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: Facebook takes action against 'disinformation dozen' after White House pressure —CNN ([link removed])


** Daley & Goldstein: America's 'democracy deserts'
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"In Wisconsin, for example, voters handed Democrats every statewide race in 2018 and 203,000 more votes for the state assembly—but the tilted Republican map handed Republicans 63 of the 99 seats nevertheless. ... These are the stakes right now as redistricting begins anew. [W]e must not allow redistricting to unfold quickly behind closed doors. We must keep this process transparent and mapmakers accountable. Find your state's redistricting hearing schedule online, join the meetings (many will be held virtually), and consider submitting testimony about why fair maps matter." —David Daley & Gaby Goldstein in ([link removed]) The Guardian ([link removed])

David Daley is the author of "Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy" and "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count." Gaby Goldstein is a co-founder of Sister District.

MORE: Texas Democrats return, end 38-day holdout over voting bill —The Independent ([link removed])


** Valsania: Ignorance is the greatest threat to democracy
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"Democracies may pave the way to tyrants. Self-serving leaders will appear. They will seek to rewrite national history by purging it of complexity and inconvenient truths. They will capitalize on the widespread frustration and profit from the chaotic situation. Should these leaders seize power, they will curtail the people's participation in politics. They will discriminate based on race, sex, or religion. They will create barriers to democratic participation by certain constituents, including moral tests or literacy tests. So, one way democracies degenerate is because of cunning leaders. But democracies crumble also because of the people themselves. As an intellectual historian, I can assure you that the specter of an ignorant populace holding sway has kept many philosophers, writers, and politicians awake. The American founders were at the forefront in the battle against popular ignorance." —Maurizio Valsania in
([link removed]) The Milwaukee Independent ([link removed])

Maurizio Valsania is a professor of American history at the Università di Torino.

MORE: Chris Winters: Civics education can help us live up to our democratic ideals —VTDigger ([link removed])
"The job facing American voters in the days and years to come is to determine which hearts, minds, and souls command those qualities best suited to unify a country rather than further divide it, to heal the wounds of a nation as opposed to aggravate its injuries, and to secure for the next generation a legacy of choices based on informed awareness rather than one of reactions based on unknowing fear. … Discourse and critical thinking are essential tools when it comes to securing progress in a democratic society. But in the end, unity and engaged participation are what make it happen." —Aberjhani, American historian, writer, and artist

I enjoyed reading Bill T. of Arizona's synopsis of the four administration failures in Afghanistan, and I agree with him. It is particularly troubling to hear the president and others on the left denigrate the Afghans themselves as somehow being deficient in desire for freedom. Approximately 69,000 Afghan security forces have been killed (along with 51,000 civilians), compared to roughly 3,500 coalition soldiers (2/3rds of them Americans). That makes a 30:1 ratio of Afghan deaths to Americans. I'm interested to note that the population of Afghanistan in 2001 was essentially the same as the population of the northern states in 1860, prior to the Civil War. The north lost 110,000 men in battle (many more to disease). That puts the 69,000 Afghan lives in better perspective, and says something about their commitment.

Another observation I make, though, is that President Biden hasn't built a cult of personality like Donald Trump did. If Trump had been in charge of this miserable failure, he would have declared it to be a perfect exit, and most of the Republicans would have been behind him nodding in agreement. At least the Democrats are complaining about how the pullout was handled and are launching investigations. —Kerry J., Utah
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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