Afghanistan Postscript: The Lost Opportunity

The real opportunity the occupation provided – the one tragically missed – was the chance to wipe Afghanistan off the map.

U.S. General John Campbell rolls the flag of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force force during a ceremony marking the end of the combat mission in Afghanistan.

by Rod D. Martin
December 31, 2014

Sunday’s ceremonies marking the end of the 13-year NATO mission in Afghanistan rightly honored the successes and sacrifices of American and allied troops, who rescued an Al Qaeda and Taliban-led failed state where teenage girls were routinely executed for the “crime” of learning how to read.

But the real opportunity that the occupation provided – the one tragically missed – was the chance to wipe Afghanistan off the map.

No, I’m not suggesting more killing. I’m simply pointing out the obvious. Afghanistan isn’t a real country. Afghanistan was created to be a buffer between the British and Russian Empires. Full stop. There is no other reason for its existence, and in the words of Jack Wheeler (whom the Wall Street Journal once called “the architect of the Reagan Doctrine”) “the world…