Remembering Afghanistan
A proposal to bring healing three years after the end of America's longest war
Preface - Austin
My oldest son asks a lot of questions.
If you’ve ever spent time with an inquisitive 7-year-old, you know what I mean.
I’ve had some version of the following conversation at least five times with him. Each time he asks about my participation in the Afghan War, his questions get sharper and his demand for actual, rather than BS answers, gets more pronounced.
Son: Daddy, why did you fight in Afghanistan?
Me: That’s a hard question buddy, with no easy answer.
Son: But why?
Me: There was a group of bad people in charge of Afghanistan called “The Taliban.” They were friends with terrorists who wanted to destroy America. So, we went over there to stop them and try to help the country get better.
Son: Did we win?
Me: No, we decided that we didn’t want to fight anymore so we left.
Son: So they won?!
Me: Essentially. We probably could have won if we wanted to. But it was a complicated situation, and no one really knew what to do or how to solve the foundational problems with the country, so our government decided that it would be best if we just left.
Son: Well, I am going to go back and KILL The Taliban!
Me: My son, I know how you feel. But it’s probably best to just leave it in the past.
Of course I want to leave it in the past; I can’t give satisfying answers to a child about why we were there, why we stayed so long, or why we left. Every time I try to explain it, the whole thing seems increasingly ridiculous. Why were we there in the first place? Why didn’t we fight harder? What could we have done to win? Who should be held responsible? These cyclic ruminations are the lasting curse of the defeated soldier—the Sisyphean psychic injunction imposed by Ares himself for offenses committed against him on the field of battle. The victor of a conflict, though not totally liberated from psychic scars, can at least revel in the glory of having vanquished his foe; the how and why of a conflict are more easily forgotten in the glow of victory.
Had our cause been a worthy one, or our efforts more complete, perhaps Ares would have shortened or commuted the sentences of the nation’s warriors. But for me, though perhaps not for all others, standing before him in judgement I have no case to present and, apparently, no witnesses to speak in my defense.
A Brief Introduction - Austin
My good friend Ben Van Horrick wrote a short essay that he asked me to share on The Distro. I think his idea is a noble one, and I ask that you take the time to read it and share this with others.
A Small Request - Ben
As Kabul fell, President Biden addressed the American people about the final departure of American troops from Afghanistan. He rightly honored the “incredible skill, bravery and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals” in executing an airlift that brought tens of thousands of people to safety. As Commander-in-Chief, he paid respect to the 20 service members “wounded in the service of this mission” and the heartbreaking loss of the “13 heroes who gave their lives” in the evacuation effort — one sailor, one soldier and 11 of my fellow Marines.1
His words were fitting but incomplete; despite the fact that years have passed since the furor of Kabul’s final days, the president still has an opportunity to communicate to the American public what the sacrifice of American service members in Afghanistan — not just in its final weeks, but over two decades — has meant to them and the nation.
Pericles' funeral oration commemorated those who fought when the outcome of the Peloponnesian War was in doubt. He told the survivors of battle that they “must determine to have as unfaltering a resolution in the field” as those who died on the field for their cause. His words underscored the significance of fighting for democracy amid uncertainty. Celebrating the lives of the fallen and honoring the living is a daunting task, but President Biden can tackle the challenge.
With the Biden administration now liberated, not limited, by election outcomes, a proclamation can honor those who fought in America’s longest and still least understood war. The President should declare a National Day of Remembrance for America’s War in Afghanistan. As the President who drew the war to its close, the Commander-in-Chief owes citizens and veterans a day to mourn those who gave their lives for their country, to recognize those who served and returned, and to ask those who didn’t to consider what was done in their names. The war’s outcome is now determined, but the President can begin shaping how both citizens and those who served in Afghanistan understand the sacrifices made.
A speech commemorating the Afghan War and eulogizing the fallen, both American and Afghan, plays to President Biden’s rhetorical strength. Over his career, President Biden distinguished himself as eulogist, memorializing political friend and foe alike. As the President responsible for drawing the Afghan War to its close, eulogizing the fallen, comforting families, and explaining the war to civilians is not only good politics, but a moral imperative. A National Day of Reflection is a necessary step toward bringing Afghan veterans back — not just in body, but in spirit — into civil society to continue their service.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq eroded public trust over the past 20 years, but an honest assessment and acknowledgment of strategic missteps can begin to restore that trust. Thanking veterans for their service is not enough. At best, a simple “thank you” to veterans neglects public responsibility for how and why America wielded its military might over the past two decades. As the Commander-in-Chief who ended this war without a victory, Biden can fill the void created by his predecessors who failed to provide an adequate explanation of these conflicts. Such an assessment may help guide the use of America’s military force in the future and ease the burden placed on veterans as they explain the war to their fellow citizens.
Celebrating the lives of the fallen is a daunting task, but the president should tackle the challenge.
This day wouldn’t just be another national holiday on the calendar. It would be a reckoning, one that Americans deserve but didn’t receive after the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. On this day, Biden could provide an honest appraisal for a war that exacted a considerable toll on Afghanistan, America, its combatants and their families: The cycle of deployments and homecomings marked and remembered for missed weddings, births, and funerals placed a burden on those in uniform and their families. As Kabul collapsed the president, spent his time explaining the logistics of withdrawal, but now he can devote more attention to confronting the disconnect between the intentions with which America went to war in Afghanistan, the results we achieved and the cost we paid — not just by military families but by the entire nation.
Thank you for taking the time to read Ben’s essay.
Please hit the like button to say thank you to Ben for taking the time to write this.
If you would like to publish something on The Distro, please send me a message!
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps, the Department of Defense, or the US Government.
The original post listed one sailor and 12 marines. This is now the corrected version.
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We won that war in 90 days and should have left the SF guys to their FID mission. Such goes wars, always have, unfortunately probably always will. And honestly I think Iraq was a bigger debacle. I spent 2 years in each shit hole.
Also I’d like to suggest to you that you find some solace in just being a proud member of the warrior club. Find some other combat vets and make an attempt to help some that need it. Neither the government nor civilians are capable of understanding. And while I appreciate the “thank you for your service” type platitudes they’re just that. Empty.
Austin and Ben,
I deeply appreciate your efforts here and I understand what you both are trying to do to bring some understanding and closure to a war that started out well and ended very, very badly. I particularly liked the classical allusions to Sisyphus, Ares, Pericles and the Peloponnesian War, as it might give non historians and non military professionals a grasp of how long this dilemma has been going on.
I very respectfully offer a few points from my own experiences as a fellow Afghanistan survivor (Consolidation II - 2007 to 2008 in N2KL):
1 - “Had our cause been a worthy one, or our efforts more complete, perhaps Ares would have shortened or commuted the sentences of the nation’s warriors.”
It was a worthy cause and none of us should forget that. A great number of factors led to the 9-11 attacks, but no one forced the Taliban to host Osama bin Laden, facilitate his attacks or give him cover from the US. They own that and were, and still are, exceptionally nasty people who are unfit to herd miniature goats, let alone run a country. We tried our absolute best to defeat them permanently and then help stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan. Politics got in the way, along with other things.
I posit what truly let us down was our national leadership over multiple Administrations and permanent members of various executive departments who did NOT want to go to the field in Afghanistan (State, US AID, Agriculture, International Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement, etc.) and actually WORK (as Robert Gates pointed out in Duty). You cannot win at the operational or strategic levels if your leadership cannot clearly define and will not fully resource:
A - What our Victory conditions are (i.e. what is the end state is that we must achieve).
B - How, using the different powers of the nation state (Diplomatic, Information, Military and Economic) we will do this and who, precisely, is responsible for what efforts.
C - What our real measurements are for effectiveness (it’s not body counts folks!).
Austin, it is very appropriate, and actually brilliant, that you opened this post with a photo of you giving an OPORD briefing. That is something we were owed, but never received. As warriors, we did our level best, even in non traditional missions, but we never really had a clear understanding of the above requirements and where we were really going. I also believe that we received very little constructive help from non DOD US, coalition and Afghan partners. If the Provincial Reconstruction Teams were a key to our efforts, where were the State, US AID, Agriculture and other non DOD folks? Also, sometimes I was sure that some of our Coalition partners were working at cross purposes to us. The German and European Police efforts to reorganize the Afghan National Police to focus on community policing did not help when we were in the middle of a counterinsurgency fight with ongoing Level II and Level III attacks (seriously did not help). I am sure each of us could cite multiple examples of the problems caused by Afghan corruption and dysfunction.
If I, as the Theater Commander, have a clear understanding of what I need to do, what I have to work with and who is supporting me, I have a fair chance to achieve victory. I do not think we ever really had that, nor the unity of effort we really needed (Creighton Abrams had most of that 1968 to 1975 in Vietnam, but was eventually undercut by Westmorland and others, as Lewis Sorley notes in A Better War). We deserved better leadership and support, but did not get it, especially after OIF became the priority (I felt one day that TF Phoenix had become a supporting effort to a supporting effort in a secondary campaign).
2 - “But for me, though perhaps not for all others, standing before him in judgement I have no case to present and, apparently, no witnesses to speak in my defense.” Actually we do as I tried to note above and we also have each other and the people we were able to help. Do I have regrets and lots of unanswered questions? You bet I do and I wonder what happened to the Afghans I worked with who may haven trapped there post collapse. However, I know I did what I was supposed to do and the best way I knew how.
Ben, I understand what you are asking for, but personally I would be very pleased to never hear anything from Joe Biden ever again. I hold him and his advisers personally responsible for this entire debacle. We here in the US, as well as lots of people around the world, will continue to suffer the severe consequences of his very bad decisions. You are right that we all are definitely deserve an apology and explanation for the utter failure in Afghanistan, but not from him.
Not to be pedantic, but it was not “…one sailor and 12 of my fellow Marines… .” as Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss was a Soldier assigned to 9th Battalion, 8th
Psychological Operations Group (Airborne).
God bless both of you.