#Vets watch Afghanistan crumble with anger, sadness

#Vets watch Afghanistan crumble with anger, sadness

“#Vets watch Afghanistan crumble with anger, sadness” The speed of the Taliban’s advance across Afghanistan in the past few weeks left US veterans who served in America’s longest war “stunned and dismayed.” “This one will hurt for a long time, man,” Sean Gustafson, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who deployed to the city of Herat…

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#Running away from a ‘nation building’ mess

#Running away from a ‘nation building’ mess

“#Running away from a ‘nation building’ mess” Where America got Afghanistan wrong is “nation-building.” That’s a myth. Nations don’t build nations. Nations rebuild themselves. President Biden, predictably, learned the wrong lesson. The opposite of nation-building is not running away. It is being realistic.   After World War II, Japan rebuilt Japan. West Germany rebuilt West Germany….

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#Letters to the Editor — Aug. 14, 2021

#Letters to the Editor — Aug. 14, 2021

“#Letters to the Editor — Aug. 14, 2021” The Issue: The Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan after President Biden began to pull out American troops. As much as I do not agree with anything President Biden does, I do not blame him for what is happening in Afghanistan (“Biden’s Saigon,” Aug. 13). Former President Donald Trump…

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#Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan could fuel surge in drug trade

#Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan could fuel surge in drug trade

“#Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan could fuel surge in drug trade” The Taliban’s aggressive expansion across Afghanistan following the US withdrawal from the country could fuel a surge in the export of heroin and other drugs — including methamphetamine — as the radical Islamic militants seize critical international trade routes. Opium poppy, which grows wildly in the Afghan…

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#Sloppy Afghanistan exit has left a people in peril

#Sloppy Afghanistan exit has left a people in peril

“#Sloppy Afghanistan exit has left a people in peril” The United States’ recent decision to withdraw from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 will bring a two-decade-long presence to a close. Many regard the move as strategically sound, emitting a sigh of relief at the prospect of ending “America’s longest war.”  But our exit won’t be without…

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