How should we characterize the impending end of Western military operations in Afghanistan? Was it a painful defeat, a hard-won success, or something in between? Columnist Danièle Fonck of Luxembourg’s Le Jeudi writes that nothing worthwhile has been gained by the Afghanistan invasion, and the soldiers who died – whether Westerners want to admit it to themselves or not – did so in vain.
For Le Jeudi, Danièle Fonck writes in part:
No war is good, because they transform human beings into professional killers. The one now taking place far out of sight, in Afghanistan, is no exception to this rule.
The initial goal being forgotten, the war is bogged down. Worse, it appears that once Western coalition troops depart, the barbarians will return to power. It is a sad lesson of history. You don’t impose your values on others with goose-down pillows you left behind.
Early on, the Occidental armada lost the battle to win the sympathy of the people. It despised the population. It failed to draw up plans for the future. And it has protected the superbly corrupt leaders in Kabul. It has committed one blunder after another. So now, behind every Afghan, Western troops sense a threat and no longer know who to trust.
Why then prolong the torment? Each passing day brings its own share of misery and death. It is pointless to bury soldiers who fall on the battlefield with all national honors; the fact remains that they will have died for nothing. That is the most terrible of defeats: to come home from war and know that the soldiers sacrificed and died for nothing.
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