President Trump's Instincts On Leaving Afghanistan Are Right, So Why Are U.S. Forces Still There

U.S. President Donald Trump announces his strategy for the war in Afghanistan during a speech from Fort Myer, Virginia, on August 21.

Daniel L. Davis, War On The Rocks: Trump’s Instincts on Afghanistan Are Right, So What Happened?

Before agreeing in April to support President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, Sen. Rand Paul said Trump “told me over and over again in general we’re getting the hell out of [Afghanistan].” Based on my experiences during two combat deployments to Afghanistan in 2005 and 2011, the president’s instincts are spot-on correct.

Last month marked the 40th anniversary of the 1978 coup that violently brought communist rulers into power in Kabul. Two years later the Soviet Union invaded. Ten years later, they withdrew, laying the foundation for the Mujahideen Civil War that led to the rise of the Taliban in 1996 and their war against the Northern Alliance. This war was still raging on 9/11 when the U.S. military entered the scene. The fundamental causes of these various civil wars still remain today. After 40 years of fighting, the Taliban’s fight against Kabul is not going to simply end due to U.S. intervention.

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WNU Editor: Making the case to leave Afghanistan.