{"id":43476,"date":"2022-08-18T19:22:19","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T19:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/18\/learn-from-afghanistan-and-keep-our-kids-out-of-needless-wars\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:47:12","slug":"learn-from-afghanistan-and-keep-our-kids-out-of-needless-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2022\/08\/18\/learn-from-afghanistan-and-keep-our-kids-out-of-needless-wars\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn from Afghanistan and keep our kids out of needless wars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last year, Americans watched in disbelief as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2021\/08\/15\/taliban-enter-kabul-await-peaceful-transfer-of-power\/\" target=\"_blank\">Taliban took control of Kabul, Afghanistan<\/a>. The next few weeks were filled with horrible images of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/08\/16\/the-race-is-on-to-evacuate-22000-afghans-by-aug-31-withdrawal-deadline\/\" target=\"_blank\">men and women desperately trying to escape<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2021\/08\/28\/here-are-the-names-of-the-13-service-members-who-died-in-afghanistan-attack\/\" target=\"_blank\">American troops killed in a bombing outside the airport<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My mind went immediately to my son\u2019s service in the Army in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Afghanistan<\/a>. I remember feeling relieved he\u2019d been there many years earlier and was no longer in danger. But I also felt the weight of worry and fear felt by parents of the service members who were still there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some would see their children again; others would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/08\/29\/biden-paying-respects-to-13-us-troops-killed-in-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\">meet a flag-draped coffin at Dover Air Force Base<\/a>. That is the heartbreaking reality of war and our nation\u2019s foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As we continue to demand accountability for the handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal and entire war, we should also be calling for a change to our whole approach to war, including our leaders\u2019 propensity to lead with military engagement first and to use open-ended Authorizations for Use of Military Force instead of securing Congressional approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more than 20 years, America\u2019s military parents have seen our children sent off to conflicts in the Middle East and beyond. Sometimes we understand the reasons, and sometimes we don\u2019t. But our kids do their duty all the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/commentary\/2021\/08\/17\/to-troops-who-served-in-afghanistan-yes-you-made-a-difference\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIL-THORNBERRY-MAIN.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">To troops who served in Afghanistan: Yes, you made a difference<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Former Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, argues troops in Afghanistan should remain proud of their accomplishments.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the case of Afghanistan, I knew the U.S. military needed to engage there, at least initially. The perpetrators of Sept. 11, 2001, and those who harbored them, needed to be punished. We accomplished what we originally set out to do, though we long outstayed the missions there. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2021\/09\/10\/wyoming-troop-deaths-20-years-apart-bookend-afghanistan-war\/\" target=\"_blank\">The war\u2019s tragic end<\/a> remains a testament to how far in the wrong direction our nation\u2019s foreign policy has gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In that wrong direction lies the War in Iraq. The case for going into Iraq was weak at best but played on the raw emotions of a country still reeling from 9\/11. There were no vital national interests at stake in Iraq, nor was our security at home at risk. The <a href=\"https:\/\/watson.brown.edu\/costsofwar\/2022\/IraqWarCosts\" target=\"_blank\">result<\/a> has been more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2021\/08\/18\/cost-of-caring-for-iraq-afghanistan-vets-could-top-25-trillion-report\/\" target=\"_blank\">4,500 American service members killed, thousands more wounded, and trillions of dollars spent<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But still, our children answered the call to serve and did so with courage and honor, even to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The combat mission in Iraq is over in name but not in actuality. Troops may not be officially engaging in combat, but they are actively in danger. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/03\/18\/us-troops-will-likely-be-in-iraq-for-years-to-come-central-command-boss-says\/\" target=\"_blank\">Every day our troops are on the ground in Iraq<\/a> is a day their lives are needlessly at risk \u2014 sometimes from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wearethemighty.com\/articles\/how-iran-backed-militias-are-running-around-in-m-1-abrams-tanks\/\" target=\"_blank\">militias <\/a>that regularly cooperate with and are sometimes even supplied by the very Iraqi security forces our troops are sent to train. This is because our elected leaders at home have failed to take responsibility for their military engagement decisions, just like they did for two decades in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">America has an endless war problem. In our foreign policy, we\u2019ve turned to military engagement as a first resort, not the last as it should be. We task our brave men and women, my son included, to fight an enemy that is ill-defined and, despite their hostility elsewhere, not a credible threat to us at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service members\u2019 lives are at risk because Congress lacks the courage to vote on when to send them into harm\u2019s way, to ask tough questions, or to say, \u201cenough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking back a year after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, I\u2019m so thankful our troops are no longer deployed there. I\u2019m hurting for those from whom the withdrawal took their children. I\u2019m all the more committed to getting closure and accountability for them and ensuring any troops deployed in operations that don\u2019t serve a national interest are brought home safely and without delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress can do its job by learning from the war in Afghanistan as a whole, including both the strategic mistakes made in choosing to nation-build and in executing the withdrawal. It should apply those lessons to any current or future military engagements we consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our sons and daughters did the jobs they were asked to do in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and beyond. The least we can ask of our elected officials is to honor them by making tough decisions about war and keeping them out of unnecessary danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Russ Duerstine is executive director of Concerned Veterans for America, an Air Force veteran and the father to a combat veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have an opinion?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This article is an Op-Ed and as such, the opinions expressed are those of the author. If you would like to respond, or have an editorial of your own you would like to submit, please <\/i><a href=\"mailto:opinions@militarytimes.com\"><i>email us<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Want more perspectives like this sent straight to you? <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/link.militarytimes.com\/join\/5b9\/sign-up-opinion\"><i>Subscribe to get our Commentary &amp; Opinion newsletter<\/i><\/a><i> once a week.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congress should apply lessons learned from Afghanistan to current or future military engagements we consider, writes this veteran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":80573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":78,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[78,100,22,23,93,25,14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6268],"class_list":["post-43476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-middle-column","category-newsletters","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JSDSFKUKJVBAPNYHFHB7MWQVVM","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/commentary\/2022\/08\/18\/learn-from-afghanistan-and-keep-our-kids-out-of-needless-wars\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Learn from Afghanistan and keep our kids out of needless wars - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Congress should apply lessons learned from Afghanistan to current or future military engagements we consider, writes this veteran.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Learn from Afghanistan and keep our kids out of needless wars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Congress should apply lessons learned from Afghanistan to current or future military engagements we consider, writes this veteran.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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