What Will Be The Cost Of Losing The Afghan War

People take selfies with a Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan June 16, 2018. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail/File Photo

Long War Journal: Analysis: The costs of withdrawal from Afghanistan

First it was Syria, then came Afghanistan. Two days ago, President Trump shocked the foreign policy community by announcing the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, wrongly claiming the Islamic State has been defeated. Within the last 24 hours, reports have emerged that the US military will quickly pull nearly half of its forces from Afghanistan, and likely withdraw the rest by the end of 2019.

Trump’s decision is unsurprising to us. We’ve reported since October that the order to withdraw from Afghanistan could come at any time.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Taliban are trying to change their image .... Taliban seeks image makeover as Afghan peace talks gain momentum (Reuters). But they are who they are .... hard core Islamists with dreams of a caliphate in their part of their world. It is because of the Taliban's alliance with Al Qaeda that there will always be a U.S. presence in Afghanistan .... albeit not with the big foot print of the past.As for 2019 .... the war is going to escalate even further.