Oh, It's a Lovely War! (Archive)

Thunder roars and rain drops fall.

But imagine the thunder is that of guns, and the rain that of bullets. In the dark night, they are not seen, but they are heard. The bullets land in the cold mud with their eerie whistles. All around is a cacophony of chaos.

The wounded moan and scream, and the ground shakes incessantly as the shells fall. Everything is cold, and everything perpetually wet. This is war. Industrial war. A war of machine guns, turbine-powered steam ships and infernal trenches.

War has evolved much since the time of the massive battles of the First World War. A century has passed since the armistice was signed and hostilities ceased. At the time, it was known as the war to end all wars. Unfortunately, it did not. If there is one thing the First World War should have taught humanity, it is that modern war is brutal, expensive and senseless. 

On Sunday, Nov. 11, we celebrated Veterans Day, which is known as Armistice Day outside the United States. Memorial services took place, and President Trump went to France for a commemoration event held there.

But there is one thing we could do which would honor our men and women in uniform more than anything else: bring them home from Afghanistan. As of this year, our campaign against terrorism in war-torn Afghanistan has raged for 17 years. It has claimed tens of thousands of lives, including over 2,000 American troops. It is the longest war we have ever fought.

Americas position in Afghanistan is like that of a gambling addict hoping for one more try in a game where the odds to win are a million to one. With every passing year, we dig ourselves deeper into a financial and moral hole. The longest war in U.S. history has cost us nearly 5 trillion dollars and has caused untold suffering to the Afghan population. It is a war that is simply unwinnable.

No amount of additional men or additional equipment will change the unavoidable truth: the campaign in Afghanistan has achieved nothing concrete. The Taliban remains stronger than ever and is a persistent threat.

Despite the fact that the U.S. is now training Afghan troops as part of Operation Resolute Support, Afghan troops struggle to hold off the Taliban. The most evident effects of our presence in Afghanistan are the negative ones: a resurgent Taliban and hundreds of thousands of Afghans killed.

In every chapter of the conflict, a similar scenario plays out: troops in Afghanistan, and their Afghan colleagues fight ferociously to drive off a relentless Taliban, only for the Taliban to return with relative ease following the battle.

In the background, insider attacks, like the incident which occurred just over a week ago, plague the mission in Afghanistan. All the while, we seem to ignore the fact staring us in the face. Afghanistan has never been fully conquered. Neither the British, nor the Soviets who came before us were able to subdue it. There is a reason it is known as the “graveyard of Empires.”

When these factors are considered, the notion that an extra few thousand men will ameliorate our situation in Afghanistan is fallacious.

The war is also taxing in a way that we can never accurately quantify. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has become an epidemic among our veterans, with over thirty percent of them returning with PTSD after a year of deployment.

It is also hard to measure the damage this and other parts of our “War on Terror” have done to our international image. What is certain is that our reputation with regards to human rights, freedom of speech and right to due process has been irrevocably hamstringed.

The war in Afghanistan must end, because there is no metric by which we can win it, and there is no concrete enemy we can defeat. There is only more expense, more suffering, and more death.

The best thing the United States can do in this conflict is to call it quits, not only for the good of Afghanistan, but for the good of our veterans and for the long-term health of our country.


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