Withdrawing Under Fire

Dear Mr. President,
“U.S. Military Faces Fire as It Pulls Out of Afghanistan” (today’s NYT) is a depressing account of what 11+ years of war has accomplished. On the day you gave your State of the Union speech, telling Congress and the American people that the war in Afghanistan is coming to an end, that half the troops will be home by year’s end and that Afghan forces will be taking the lead in the war, a platoon of American soldiers was leaving Haji Rahmuddin II, “a squat, lonely outpost” near Kandahar. The article describes that departure. It provides a stark view of what our withdrawal will look like and, intentionally or not, the failure of our “mission.” While the Americans were preparing to leave, the Taliban was preparing to take over, and when the first radio antennas came down, they launched a direct assault to see how vulnerable the outpost was. It didn’t last long, just a quick probe, but they knew this was a vulnerable time for the Americans as they dismantled surveillance and early warning systems. Even more ominous, “…intelligence reports indicated that they had been working with sympathetic villagers to strike at the departing soldiers.” So much for winning hearts and minds. It’s clear we’ll be withdrawing under fire at every one of these outposts and right there, Mr. President, is the definition of defeat—withdrawal under fire. Here you are, on television, saying that Afghan forces are taking over the war while our guys are taking fire and the 16 Afghan soldiers left on the base are clearly not prepared to hold it. They “watched warily [as the Americans were preparing to leave], telling [them] that they had to stay.” As the article states, “the idea of Afghan-led security remains an abstraction.” So much for ensuring that Al Qaeda can never again use Afghanistan as a base. Your “smart” wars accomplish nothing, Mr. President. Your surge accomplished nothing and 11+ years of war accomplished nothing but to create new enemies. The war may be ending for us in Afghanistan but not here at home. We now have a militarized police, a security state with secret laws, suspension of Constitutional rights, the threat of indefinite detention and extra-judicial assassination, a depleted treasury, a depleted moral consciousness, and a president obsessed with kill lists and drones. We also have thousands of troops returning with the emotional and physical scars of war. America will pay dearly for your wars and your predecessor’s wars for generations to come.