Humiliation of the "World's Most Powerful Military"Military might will never make right. No problem can be sorted out with the use of force. Problems require solutions that befit the problem. They require politics which empower the people to decide what can be done under all conditions and circumstances.
Indeed, for days many media reports and editorials as well as those from various non-governmental organizations focused all attention on meeting this "moral obligation" and debating whether the evacuation was mismanaged, not soon enough, should carry on, and the like. All serve to divert from both the crimes committed and the humiliation of the U.S. and its military at the hands of the people of Afghanistan. The fact is that the war was not for any political purpose, but rather a war of destruction of human productive powers, including the deaths of more than 240,000 people caught in the cross hairs of the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Pakistan. There is no talk of the moral obligation for the U.S. and NATO to pay reparations for their crimes or of holding those responsible accountable, including U.S. presidents and military leaders or Canadian and NATO commanders. Nor is their talk of ending all U.S. wars and aggression abroad. A mother from Military Families Speak Out put it this way: "As a mother whose son served three tours after the 9/11 attacks, I welcome the news that our troops are coming home from Afghanistan after 20 years. I hope this is just the beginning of troop withdrawals from everywhere we have participated in unjust wars. I know firsthand the damage that this war caused not just to the loved ones of veterans, but also to those affected by the thousands of innocent lives lost in Afghanistan."
What purpose then did the deaths of so many serve, other than destruction? Soldiers are right in saying the war should never have started and many did die in vain. For those returning home the crimes committed and witnessed has meant that on average, 18 veterans die in the U.S. by suicide every single day. A great tragedy indeed. Many rank and file soldiers have denounced the war, the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the U.S. and NATO forces as well as the ongoing lies and disinformation spread by the military. An active-duty Marine commander, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Scheller said, "Potentially all those people did die in vain." He said, "People are upset because their senior leaders let them down and none of them are raising their hands and accepting responsibility and saying we messed this up." To the shame of the authorities in charge, he was immediately removed. The humiliation belongs to the U.S. government and its military because the defeat belongs to them. No amount of proclaiming otherwise will change that reality nor will it repair the loss in standing and credibility both at home and abroad -- and the growing discontent and anti-war stand of the peoples.
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
After the world witnessed the
U.S. defeat in Afghanistan on live media feeds, every effort was made
by elected officials and the media, to direct all attention to the
alleged "moral obligation" of the U.S. to rescue its collaborators in
Afghanistan. It has been done to divert attention from the need to hold
the U.S. to account for the crime of illegal aggressive war and
collective punishment of the people of Afghanistan. The same can be
said of Canada, which too needs to be held to account but where the
issue has also been made that of its moral duty to rescue collaborators.
The humiliation
of the U.S. military is such that top officials from the Army, Navy,
Air Force and Marines all sent letters to their forces saying that U.S.
forces did not die in vain. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General Mark Milley asserted: "One thing I am certain of: For any
soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine and their family, your service
mattered, and it was not in vain." Even Biden admitted: "We no longer
had a clear purpose in an open-ended mission in Afghanistan. After 20
years of war in Afghanistan, I refused to send another generation of
America's sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long
ago."