The Key Reason we did not prevail in Afghanistan

[Persuader]

I'd disagree with this. There are plenty of place to use for terrorist operations, like Syria and Libya and Yemen.

Afghanistan has no resources, which makes it strange that the US stayed so long.

Perhaps it's as simple as, the US went in to get ibn Laden, and stayed because he hadn't succeeded in taming the country, and couldn't accept failure when it was so easy.

Somalia, for example, was easy to get out of, because it turned into a disaster, but Afghanistan was always a slow burner.

Also what strategic position does Afghanistan hold? The US had bases near Pakistan, but especially Iran.

When the US invaded Iraq, it wanted to also invade Iran. But Iraq got bogged down. Imagine being able to invade from two sides. Instead policy went to sanctions because the US never got to the point where an invasion met the Powell Doctrine.

All those countries you mention are very unstable even for the Taliban.

The taliban wanted their own state and they chose Afghanistan....case closed.


Also you are being incoherent. You might have a point but seem unable to spell it out logically and clearly. You might want to try again.

You are also wrong about Afghanistan having no natural resources.

Afghanistan has several oil reserves in the north and rare and very valuable minerals in the south, its main value however is given by its geopolitical situation; Afghanistan becomes a transit place for the energy resources coming from Iran and Turkmenistan to Pakistan, India, and even China.

Afghanistan will be a very strategic asset for China who are lusting for it and ultimately China will be the big winner from this mess.

We should have invaded Iran instead of Iraq. Just another huge mistake by the moron better known as W.

Why Communist China is Entering Afghanistan As US Military Officially Leaves — Young Americans Against Socialism

Experts are warning of a potential Chinese entrance into Afghanistan once the U.S. military officially removes itself from the region. China’s entrance is supposedly intended to protect their massive investments in the Middle East.

yaas.org

 

[frigidweirdo]

All those countries you mention are very unstable even for the Taliban.

The taliban wanted their own state and they chose Afghanistan....case closed.


Also you are being incoherent. You might have a point but seem unable to spell it out logically and clearly. You might want to try again.

You are also wrong about Afghanistan having no natural resources.

Afghanistan has several oil reserves in the north and rare and very valuable minerals in the south, its main value however is given by its geopolitical situation; Afghanistan becomes a transit place for the energy resources coming from Iran and Turkmenistan to Pakistan, India, and even China.

Afghanistan will be a very strategic asset for China who are lusting for it and ultimately China will be the big winner from this mess.

We should have invaded Iran instead of Iraq. Just another huge mistake by the moron better known as W.

Why Communist China is Entering Afghanistan As US Military Officially Leaves — Young Americans Against Socialism

Experts are warning of a potential Chinese entrance into Afghanistan once the U.S. military officially removes itself from the region. China’s entrance is supposedly intended to protect their massive investments in the Middle East.

yaas.org

The Taliban has done well in Afghanistan because of the terrain. That doesn't mean it "chose" Afghanistan. It's more Afghanistan is just the place where they're successful. The insurgency in Iraq and the Civil War in Syria have also seen Islamic militants, remember ISIS? They're essentially the same as the Taliban, different people, same mentality.

List of countries by proven oil reserves - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

According to this Afghanistan has zero PROVEN oil deposits, and 80 million barrels of oil potential.

Cuba has more. The Netherlands has more. Denmark, Germany, Bolivia have more. Yemen has more. Syria has more. If the US wanted oil, Afghanistan would be a poor investment.

The US hasn't, as far as I know, tried to get these valuable resources. So resources isn't the principle reason for being in Afghanistan. But does the US ever do anything that doesn't include resources? So where are the resources? IRAN. Happens to be on Afghanistan's border.

 

[JoeB131]

The dates are irrelevant, the war was winnable at anytime.

In order to win it would have required going into the tribal lands of Pakistan. It was that simple.

The powers that be were not willing to alienate Pakistan, claiming that Pakistan was a key component of our war against terrorism.

All the while admitting that Pakistan was playing a 'double game' harboring bin laden, giving support and refuge to the taliban etc.

Thus in a nutshell the war was winnable but the powers that be refused to do what was required to win the war because it would have alienated our ally (supposed) Pakistan.

Yes, Pakistan's support was crucial... We'd have never gotten anywhere near Afghanistan without their tacit cooperation. That said, they followed their interests, and someone decided it was in their interests to keep the radicals in their pocket.

You are more than a tad confused. We did not chase the Taliban into Afghanistan, we chased them into the tribal lands of Pakistan and did not pursue them because we did not want to alienate Pakistan...thus we abandoned any hope of ultimate victory.

Yes, we did. We weren't going to war with Pakistan... Kind of hard to go to war with a country all your logistics are passing through. Pakistan has a population of 225 Million, a pretty professional army and, oh, yeah, nukes.

Unfortunately Trump got the idea we had been there too long and he wanted to end it. Big mistake, which was compouned and really turned into a disaster by Biden.

NOt really. Frankly, you were going to get this result no matter what the policy was, no matter who was in charge.

So the "disaster" is we got one day of chaotic images from an airport before the Taliban agreed to just let all the quislings who want to go to America leave.

Hardly a disaster.

 

[Persuader]

Ridiculous to assume there was ever any chance of war with Pakistan to begin with.

Pakistan would have went to hell and back to prevent that.

Regarding logistics....we used the logistic route through Pakistan simply because it was cheaper.

There were other routes available:
Afghanistan also borders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, so alternate supply routes, termed the Northern Distribution Network, existed to move supplies into Afghanistan through these countries.

Also, if we had not engaged in nation building in Afghanistan our need for logistical support would have been greatly reduced.

After running the Taliban out of Afghanistan with very few troops..on the ground, we should have kept our personnel there to a very minimum which would have not required that much logistical support.

I contend someone in Washington was too enamoured with Pakistan to begin with. Pakistan with their double game helped us just enough to keep the morons in Washington on their side.

There needs to be an in-depth investigation of why we allied with Pakistan and who supported that and why? I would contend a major factor being someone was reaping huge financial benefits from that unholy alliance which had more to do with this stupidity of allying with Pakistan than any military necessity.

To Trump's great credit he cut off all financial support to Pakistan.

The disaster now going on in Afghanistan will get even worse as the ramifications of that will be seen to go far and wide....China is already using it against Taiwan; telling them they cannot depend on America now and that America will abandon them and they are correct unfortunately.

Why Pakistan supports terrorist groups, and why the US finds it so hard to induce change

 

[Persuader]

The Taliban has done well in Afghanistan because of the terrain. That doesn't mean it "chose" Afghanistan. It's more Afghanistan is just the place where they're successful. The insurgency in Iraq and the Civil War in Syria have also seen Islamic militants, remember ISIS? They're essentially the same as the Taliban, different people, same mentality.

List of countries by proven oil reserves - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

According to this Afghanistan has zero PROVEN oil deposits, and 80 million barrels of oil potential.

Cuba has more. The Netherlands has more. Denmark, Germany, Bolivia have more. Yemen has more. Syria has more. If the US wanted oil, Afghanistan would be a poor investment.

The US hasn't, as far as I know, tried to get these valuable resources. So resources isn't the principle reason for being in Afghanistan. But does the US ever do anything that doesn't include resources? So where are the resources? IRAN. Happens to be on Afghanistan's border.

Afghanistan has 1.8 billion barrels of oil between Balkh and Jawzjan Province in the north of the country, discovered in 2010. This is an enormous amount for a nation that only consumes 5,000 bbl/day.

Afghanistan’s Mineral Resources Are a Lost Opportunity and a Threat

Without a coherent strategy, Afghanistan’s vast mineral resources represent both a lost opportunity and a threat to national security.

thediplomat.com

 

[frigidweirdo]

Afghanistan has 1.8 billion barrels of oil between Balkh and Jawzjan Province in the north of the country, discovered in 2010. This is an enormous amount for a nation that only consumes 5,000 bbl/day.

Afghanistan’s Mineral Resources Are a Lost Opportunity and a Threat

Without a coherent strategy, Afghanistan’s vast mineral resources represent both a lost opportunity and a threat to national security.

thediplomat.com

Maybe, but the US uses 19.4 million barrels of oil A DAY. That's 7 billion barrels a year.

You think the US is going to invade a country, set up oil facilities, for 4 months worth of oil?

Iraq has a 147 billion barrels of proven reserves and the US wanted to destroy OPEC.

Afghanistan isn't a part of OPEC because it doesn't have enough oil.

Iran does. Iraq on one side. Afghanistan on the other. Nice staging posts for an invasion.

 

[Persuader]

Maybe, but the US uses 19.4 million barrels of oil A DAY. That's 7 billion barrels a year.

You think the US is going to invade a country, set up oil facilities, for 4 months worth of oil?

Iraq has a 147 billion barrels of proven reserves and the US wanted to destroy OPEC.

Afghanistan isn't a part of OPEC because it doesn't have enough oil.

Iran does. Iraq on one side. Afghanistan on the other. Nice staging posts for an invasion.

Who said America invaded Afghanistan for the oil?

Certainly not me.

Try and keep up.

 

[frigidweirdo]

Who said America invaded Afghanistan for the oil?

Certainly not me.

Try and keep up.

Seems like a pointless conversation. I'm out.

Bye.

 

[Persuader]

Seems like a pointless conversation. I'm out.

Bye.

You certainly have no point.