{"id":394774,"date":"2019-01-31T18:55:06","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T17:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/william-j-astore-on-the-absurdity-of-americas-afghan-war\/"},"modified":"2019-01-31T18:55:06","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T17:55:06","slug":"william-j-astore-on-the-absurdity-of-americas-afghan-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/william-j-astore-on-the-absurdity-of-americas-afghan-war\/","title":{"rendered":"William J. Astore on the Absurdity of America’s Afghan War"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The ongoing absurdity of America\u2019s Afghan War was captured in two headlines today from my New York Times<\/em> feed. Here\u2019s the first:<\/p>\n

NEWS ANALYSIS<\/em>
Taliban Talks Raise Question of What U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Could Mean<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
By MARK LANDLER, HELENE COOPER and ERIC SCHMITT<\/em>
A hasty American withdrawal, experts said, would erode the authority and legitimacy of the Afghan government, raising the risk that the Taliban could recapture control.<\/em><\/p>\n

Think about this. What kind of \u201cauthority\u201d and \u201clegitimacy\u201d does an Afghan government have if that authority and legitimacy can be fatally undermined by a \u201cquick\u201d withdrawal of U.S. troops over 18 months? The Taliban, meanwhile, does not pose a serious threat to the United States, and anyway who are we to say which group should rule in Afghanistan?<\/p>\n

Here is the second headline:<\/p>\n

To Slow U.S. Exit, Afghan Leader Offers Trump a Cost Reduction<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
By MUJIB MASHAL<\/em>
A letter from President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan to President Trump is among the strongest signs yet that Mr. Ghani is worried about an American withdrawal.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, all of a sudden, faced with the prospect the U.S. military may finally end its quagmire war and the $40 billion or so it spends in Afghanistan each year, Afghan governmental leaders are finally suggesting ways to reduce the cost of the U.S. occupation. Shouldn\u2019t that tell us something about the nature of U.S. efforts there, as well as the motives of America\u2019s putative allies?<\/p>\n

No matter how grim the news, no matter how high the price, America\u2019s foreign policy experts favor forever war rather than a negotiated settlement. That\u2019s my grim conclusion from these headlines today.<\/p>\n

Speaking of grim news: I just received some data from SIGAR, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. These data points suggest no real American progress in Afghanistan. Indeed, the Taliban is stronger, the Afghan government is weaker, corruption is increasing, and so too is the drug trade, even as the U.S. military drops more and more bombs and missiles. And we should keep doing this?<\/p>\n

From the SIGAR report<\/a> (RS is Resolute Support<\/a>, ostensibly a NATO mission to support the Afghan government, but of course commanded and driven by the U.S.):<\/p>\n