Trump and America ’s Longest War

Today ’s high schoolers don’t know a time when the United States was not at war in Afghanistan. Conservative estimates find thatU.S. taxpayers have spent almost $1 trillion in the country since 2001. Of this amount, $126 billion has gone toward Afghanistan reconstruction – more in inflation-adjusted dollars than was spent to rebuild Europe after World War II. At least another $750 billion has been spent on warfighting. Despite such efforts, the Taliban controls more territory than at any timesince the war began. It is obvious that reversing these trends would require a level of effort that Americans will not abide.President Trump was correct, therefore, to call attention in hisState of the Union address to the “constructive talks” that his administration was engaged in “with a number of Afghan groups, including the Taliban.” Presidential envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, a former ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, reported last week that the negotiators had agreed in principle toa framework to end the war.“As we make progress in these negotiations,” President Trump explained, “we will be able to reduce our troop presence and focus on counter-terrorism.” On another occasion in the speech, he stated, succinctly, “Great nations do not fight endless wars.”Theeditorial board of theNew York Times– not normally thought of as a Trump ally – has reached a similar conclusion: “The troops have fought bravely in Afghanistan. It’s time to bring them home.”A nu...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs