What Was It All For?

After nearly two decades in Afghanistan, the US will withdraw its remaining 2500 troops between May 1 and September 11. 2488 troops and personnel were lost, with another 20,722 wounded. The cost to the public purse was over $2 trillion, about what President Biden wants to spend on infrastructure over the next decade.

Was it worth it? It depends on whom you ask. Veterans of the war are split, and 41% of Americans generally have no opinion on whether the US accomplished its goals in Afghanistan. When the war began, two months after the September 11 attacks, 71% of Americans were worried about another terror attack. According to current polls, the climate crisis, violent crime, unemployment, government ethics, and racial injustice are all deemed more important. Americans are dramatically less concerned about terrorism than they were twenty years ago.

The strategic rationale for keeping US troops in Afghanistan is to avoid the country again becoming a haven for terrorists, underlined by the Taliban boycott of intra-Afghan peace talks following Biden’s announcement. Given the advances by the Taliban over the last 18 months after the Trump administration pulled out most US troops, President Biden’s options were limited. Yes, the small US presence probably could have propped up the current, very-flawed Afghan government and kept the pressure on the Taliban to negotiate. But without a clear mission, it is hard to justify further casualties.

Perhaps the real legacy of Afghanistan is the lesson taught to all empires who have attempted to subdue the ungovernable nation. Instead of something gained from the “never-ending war,” perhaps what we lost is just as important. The US lost its unbridled confidence in and dependence upon hard power. Humility and restraint may be just what America needs as it focuses on the Biden Administration’s priority that is most relevant to American working families — rebuilding at home.