We kicked the can in Afghanistan.
It cost the US $2.2tr to occupy and try to rebuild the place. That’s more than a respectable effort, spending the equivalent of accumulated 10% of its own GDP to get it done over 20 years.
This is hardly running away. It is admitting that some things can’t be fixed.
It wasn’t all wasted spending. We gave the Afghans another taste of freedom if they want to take it in the future. We all but eliminated Al Qaeda.
It is now going to fall apart and turn atavistic. But any realist has known this is coming for a long time, if not from the very beginning. Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires.
Such undertakings at social reconstruction usually fail. Peter Hartcher has a good take on the lessons.
Yes, terrorism will now mushroom in the region and then globally. We can kick that can too when it becomes necessary.
For now, let’s give China a chance at it, and see how it goes with its endless trillions and Muslim genocides.
