Let’s roll back history.
In 1837
Persia (Iran) with the support of Russia attacked the city of Herat in
Afghanistan. England’s parliament,
fearing that Russia would try to annex Afghanistan with the eventual aim of
expanding into India (The Jewel of the Crown) aligned itself with the newly
recognized leader of Afghanistan. Later
they deposed him and installed their own puppet governor.
By 1841 the
English parliament, concerned about the increase cost of the Kabul garrison, instituted cost cutting measures which included ending the traditional bribes
to local tribal chiefs. In November of
1941 the Afghans in Kabul rioted and seized the officers compound killing the
occupants. By January the decision was
made to abandon Kabul and take refuge in Jalalabad garrison. 4,500 British/Indian soldiers and 12,000
civilians fled Kabul with an Afghan force in pursuit. All were slaughtered within a few days.
When you’re
wounded and left,
On the
Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women
come out,
To cut up
your remains,
Just roll on
your rifle,
And blow out
your brains,
And go to
your Gaud,
Like a
soldier.
Rudyard
Kipling
The
following spring British forces reinforced the garrisons at Kandahar and
Jalalabad and retook Kabul. English
Parliament, concerned about the exorbitant cost of maintaining a military
presence in Afghanistan, withdrew all their forces to India.
When
something doesn’t work the first time; you do the exact same thing again and
expect a different result.
By 1878 the
British, concerned about Russian expansion, invaded Afghanistan. They easily
took Jalalabad, Kandahar and Kabul. The
Afghan Amir agreed to a treaty with the British ceding the Khybe Pass to
Britain and allowing British control over foreign policy in exchange for bribes
and military protection. The British
established themselves in Kandahar along with an Afghan army commanded by an
Afghan general.
In September
1879 Afghan troops in Kabul again mutinied and slaughtered the British
residents. When word reached India, a combined
British/Indian force of 6,500, under British General Roberts, was dispatched to
Kabul to reestablished British rule.
By 1880, a
large Afghan force was forming. Kabul
prepared for a siege.
In June, Word
came that that an advanced Afghan force was moving toward Kandahar. A combined British/Afghan unit under General
Burrows, consisting of a British brigade and a 6,000 Afghan army troops, was
dispatched to engage them. It soon
became evident to the British officers that the Afghan Army troops could not be
trusted and a plan was devised to disarm them.
But before the action could be taken the Afghan troops mutinied taking
most of the horses, resulting in the British troops having to abandon much of
their ammunition.
On July 28
Burrows was notified that the Afghan force of about 12,000 had taken Maiwand. General
Burrows, with superior weaponry and 2,500 battle hardened troops decided to
attack. The battle was a disastrous
loss. 1,757 dead, 175 wounded. The
massacre would have been complete had not the Afghan army diverted to loot the
field. The remnants of the British
forces retreated to Kandahar.
When British General Roberts in Kabul received word of the defeat, he assembled his troops and marched to relieve the garrison at Kandahar. On September 1st Roberts attacked the Afghan forces achieving total annihilation.
The British
Parliament decided to exit Afghanistan on that high note.
In one
hundred and forty years little has changed in Afghanistan, other than the
advancement in weaponry.
Russia also
had their disastrous turn in attempting to rule Afghanistan.
AFTER A TWENTY YEARS WAR THE U.S. EXITS
AFGHANISTAN
The U.S.
entered Afghanistan with a mission to kill Bin Laden. Then we, the infidels, decided to stay
and form a stable democracy in a corrupt and backwards Moslem country fractured by various
warlords. Who can think this shit up?
Twenty years later we pull out, and within weeks the well-trained and well-armed, superior Afghan army lay down their guns; the government officials readily make deals with the Taliban; and the country reverts to its original state.
We should
have never tried nation building in a middle-eastern, religious theocracy that
has remained in a mid-evil mind set for two thousand years.
I am not a
historian so the account is probably not accurate to the detail. But it gives a general overview to the best
of my ability.
Being a veteran of Vietnam I understand the feelings of military men who fought in Afghanistan. When you retreat from a war, all the deaths and injuries seem for naught.
But the problem is not the order to retreat; it is the order to engage in the first place.
Republicans trying to make points against Biden will make comparisons to Korea, Japan and Germany which have American forces permanently based. But, these governments are stable allies, and American soldiers aren't dying on their battlefields.
You've got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away....
the
Ol’Buzzard
