Dan Rather discusses Afghanistan

I read Dan Rather's weekly report (you can sign up here if you want.) This week he discussed Afghanistan and the pull out. You can read his article and insight here - well worth it.

But if you don't read it, read small snippet below from his newsletter. It is humbling.

Finally, I want to address all those who served in Afghanistan, and for that I wish to share the words of Daniel Barkhuff, a graduate of the Naval Academy and former Navy SEAL, now serving as an emergency room doctor. This was what he wrote recently on Twitter: 

“So first of all I'm not an "Afghanistan guy," my combat was Iraq and Africa. I spent 90 days in Kabul, that's it. Wars never end perfectly. Never. Civil War led to the failures of Reconstruction, WW1 led to WW2, WW2 to the Cold War and Iron Curtain, Korea is still a thing, Vietnam was the fall of Saigon. 

My point is, it's never the best case scenario. A lot of my fellow veterans spent a lot of their youth in the Hindu Kush, and I get it. But for us, we ought not to forget our job was to follow lawful orders, watch one another's backs, and kick the Taliban's ass when we met them in battle. We did that. We denied a safe haven to AQ and kept the homeland safe for decades. 

The mission creep of nation building was, in all probability, undoable. But you all served with honor and courage. And that's enough to hold your head high. I genuinely don't believe we lost when we're instead choosing it's time to go home. I know others may feel differently, but that's how I see it. You came home with your shield or on it, you kept the faith, and you finished your fight.”

I too honor those who served in Afghanistan at the behest of their nation. What is happening is not due to a failure of their sacrifice or duty.