{"id":70878,"date":"2020-03-01T16:00:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T16:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/01\/lets-go-home-afghan-war-vets-torn-on-us-taliban-deal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:41:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:41:23","slug":"lets-go-home-afghan-war-vets-torn-on-us-taliban-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2020\/03\/01\/lets-go-home-afghan-war-vets-torn-on-us-taliban-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Let\u2019s go home\u2019: Afghan war vets torn on US-Taliban deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAVANNAH, Ga. \u2014 Veterans of America\u2019s longest war are finding themselves torn as the U.S. signs a potentially historic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/02\/29\/all-us-troops-to-leave-afghanistan-in-14-months-if-taliban-meets-commitments-of-peace-deal-signed-today\/\" target=_blank>peace accord with the Taliban<\/a> in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many, the U.S. is long overdue in withdrawing its forces after more than 18 years of fighting. Others question the trustworthiness of the Taliban, whose hard-line government the U.S.-led forces overthrew in 2001. Skeptics worry the Taliban\u2019s re-integration could cause Afghanistan to backslide on such issues as human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf they sign a peace treaty and Afghanistan goes back to the Taliban or Sharia law, then it\u2019s all been for nothing,\u201d said former Army Staff Sgt. Will Blackburn of Hinesville, Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though doubtful the Taliban will abide by the peace deal, Blackburn said he\u2019s ready for hostilities to end. He first deployed to Afghanistan in 2004 with an infantry unit of the Army\u2019s 10th Mountain Division. A decade later, his son headed overseas for the same fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnything that would get us out of that country, I will support fully,\u201d said Blackburn, 58, who left the Army in 2010.<\/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\/flashpoints\/2020\/02\/10\/us-military-budget-request-for-afghanistan-lowest-in-a-decade\/\" 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=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5877691.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\">US military budget request for Afghanistan lowest in a decade<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Defense Department detailed that the OCO budget request for Afghanistan \u201cassumes a drawdown of forces.&quot;<\/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\">Other Afghanistan veterans interviewed by The Associated Press said that, while the peace deal may not be perfect, it\u2019s time to end the war that began weeks after the 9\/11 terror attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The toll has been heavy. More than 2,300 U.S. service members have been killed and more than 20,600 others wounded in Afghanistan since the war began in October 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former Sgt. Michael Carrasquillo served as an infantrymen in the Army\u2019s 173rd Airborne Brigade when his unit was ambushed in Afghanistan in 2005. Shot five times while dragging a wounded comrade to safety, Carrasquillo spent the next two years in the hospital and underwent dozens of surgeries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeace in any way, shape or form is a good thing,\u201d said Carrasquillo, 36, of Monrovia, Maryland, who leads a support group for wounded veterans through the Wounded Warrior Project. \u201cWe don\u2019t want more guys to die or to get injured.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=9261640f-6be9-4d1a-ae46-edf6b2de6e59\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-9261640f-6be9-4d1a-ae46-edf6b2de6e59.png\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper make remarks on the recent peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The peace plan calls for the Trump administration to initially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/congress\/2019\/08\/29\/trump-says-8600-us-troops-will-stay-after-afghanistan-withdrawal\/\" target=_blank>draw down U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan<\/a> from 13,000 to 8,600, with the remaining American forces withdrawing in 14 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In return, the Taliban promise not to let extremists use the country to stage attacks on the U.S. or its allies. The Taliban and representatives from Kabul must negotiate a framework for a postwar Afghanistan.<\/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\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/20\/esper-says-reduction-of-american-forces-in-afghanistan-relies-on-a-peace-agreement-with-taliban\/\" 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=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19293426372772.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\">Esper says reduction of American forces in Afghanistan relies on a peace agreement with Taliban<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived Sunday in Afghanistan, where stalled peace talks with the Taliban and persistent violent attacks by the insurgent group and Islamic State militants have complicated the Trump administration\u2019s pledge to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops.<\/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\">\u201cI know the Taliban, and I never thought they could be trustworthy,\u201d said Cmdr. Tom Porter of the U.S. Navy Reserve, who oversaw media operations in Afghanistan during the U.S.-led troop surge that began in 2010. \u201cI know they have a different view of time and history than we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Porter said he\u2019s concerned the Taliban could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2020\/02\/25\/taliban-attacks-significantly-down-as-reduction-in-violence-deal-appears-to-hold\/\" target=_blank>abide by the accord long enough<\/a> to see American forces leave, then try to wrest control of Afghanistan under an assumption the U.S. won\u2019t be willing to return for another fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re the Taliban, people have come and gone and invaded that place for thousands of years,\u201d said Porter, head of government affairs in Washington for the group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. \u201cGenghis Khan has come and gone. They\u2019ve got a long view of things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5616\" height=\"3744\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060263531057.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Marines, Afghanistan, Taliban, 2011\" class=\"wp-image-105249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060263531057.jpg.jpg 5616w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060263531057.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060263531057.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060263531057.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060263531057.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060263531057.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5616px) 100vw, 5616px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this Aug. 25, 2011, file photo, a U.S. Marine fires a heavy machine gun to counter Taliban fire from a nearby tree line in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. (Brennan Linsley\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former Army Capt. Emily Miller\u2019s job focused on communicating with Afghan women and children on deployments in 2011 and 2012 to assist U.S. special operations forces. She said protecting women\u2019s rights and human rights overall needs to be a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, Miller said, she\u2019s thrilled to see a chance for Afghanistan to break from its long history of perpetual war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is this new generation and I think it\u2019s really time to unlock that hope and optimism of Afghans that are really open to peace,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat\u2019s the alternative to peace? This endless cycle of violence doesn\u2019t really lead anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia, Army Staff Sgt. Phillip Wright thinks of himself as \u201cone of the older guys\u201d at age 33. He deployed to Kabul in 2010 with a field artillery unit to help train Afghanistan\u2019s army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nowadays, Wright works alongside many young American soldiers who\u2019ve never been overseas. He thinks it\u2019s time for Afghanistan\u2019s military to stand on its own after years of U.S. mentoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were able to train an army for another country. So I do believe there has been a lot of good that\u2019s come out of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3648\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060061742775.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Goble, Dover AFB\" class=\"wp-image-46396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060061742775.jpg.jpg 5472w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060061742775.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060061742775.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060061742775.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060061742775.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20060061742775.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5472px) 100vw, 5472px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this Dec. 25, 2019, file photo, an Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Goble at Dover Air Force Base, Del. (Alex Brandon\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s no hesitation from Chris Collins, a former Army Reservist, when asked if it\u2019s time for a U.S. exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not worth one more American life,\u201d said Collins, 38. \u201cEnough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins\u2019 unit from Missouri deployed to neighboring Uzbekistan in 2004 to run a supply warehouse for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Returning as a civilian contractor five years later, he concluded little had changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLet\u2019s go home,\u201d said Collins, now training to be a nurse. \u201cWe can\u2019t stay there forever. They don\u2019t want us there. It\u2019s no different today than it was 18 years ago, essentially.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>The spelling of \u201cCarrasquillo\u201d has been corrected in the 9th paragraph.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Veterans of America\u2019s longest war are finding themselves torn as the U.S. signs a potentially historic peace accord with the Taliban in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":105244,"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":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,89,12,26,62,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2935],"class_list":["post-70878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UJ7TIFHG45FEVL5XRQCIMEDSFU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/03\/01\/lets-go-home-afghan-war-vets-torn-on-us-taliban-deal\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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