I served in Afghanistan as a US Marine, twice. Here’s the truth in two sentences

[GotGrace]

I have come to realize that the Afghans are not interested in American culture or Christian culture. I believe they are so steeped islam they could care less about the things we care about and now thousand of them are coming to our shores or are already here.

 

[Rocky R.]

We will never win another war if we fight with political correctness tying our hands. In my opinion, we never should have stepped into Afghanistan in the first place and instead sent the Enola Gay.

 

[DWB]

Tha

What we are seeing in Afghanistan right now shouldn’t shock you. It only seems that way because our institutions are steeped in systematic dishonesty. It doesn’t require a dissertation to explain what you’re seeing. Just two sentences.

One: For 20 years, politicians, elites and D.C. military leaders lied to us about Afghanistan.

Two: What happened last week was inevitable, and anyone saying differently is still lying to you.

I know because I was there. Twice. On special operations task forces. I learned Pashto as a U.S. Marine captain and spoke to everyone I could there: everyday people, elites, allies and yes, even the Taliban.

The truth is that the Afghan National Security Forces was a jobs program for Afghans, propped up by U.S. taxpayer dollars — a military jobs program populated by nonmilitary people or “paper” forces (that didn’t really exist) and a bevy of elites grabbing what they could when they could.

You probably didn’t know that. That’s the point.

And it wasn’t just in Afghanistan. They also lied about Iraq.

I led a team of Marines training Iraqi security forces to defend their country. When I arrived I received a “stoplight” chart on their supposed capabilities in dozens of missions and responsibilities. Green meant they were good. Yellow was needed improvement; red said they couldn’t do it at all.

I was delighted to see how far along they were on paper — until I actually began working with them. I attempted to adjust the charts to reflect reality and was quickly shut down. The ratings could not go down. That was the deal. It was the kind of lie that kept the war going.

So when people ask me if we made the right call getting out of Afghanistan in 2021, I answer truthfully: Absolutely not. The right call was getting out in 2002. 2003. Every year we didn’t get out was another year the Taliban used to refine their skills and tactics against us — the best fighting force in the world. After two decades, $2 trillion and nearly 2,500 American lives lost, 2021 was way too late to make the right call.

https://news.yahoo.com/served-afghanistan-us-marine-twice-100000389.html

I thought that what this Marine had to share was worth reading. I believe it shines some light on the reality of what occurred.

Thank you for your service!!
Good info.

 

[Awaiting Transport]

I was already in the USAF when they had the first draft lottery...1971 or thereabouts? I could have changed my name to Bond, James Bond...007! I would have been a ground pounder in 'Nam for sure!

As it turned out, my brother-in-law got drafted within a week of his getting an MFA degree as he was from a small town in northern Wisconsin. He did a year in Texas then 'Nam as a map maker. To this day, he will only admit: "Yes, I was there'.

I lost a couple of friends in 'Nam. One was MIA until about 20 years ago. It took me until 2008 before I could work up the courage to see the Vietnam Memorial despite driving past it while on contract in DC many times.

 

[Rocky R.]

I have come to realize that the Afghans are not interested in American culture or Christian culture. I believe they are so steeped islam they could care less about the things we care about and now thousand of them are coming to our shores or are already here.

The churches that still preach the Bible ought to take up these Afghans and evangelize them. Turn this thing around.

 

[Tall Timbers]

I lost a couple of friends in 'Nam. One was MIA until about 20 years ago. It took me until 2008 before I could work up the courage to see the Vietnam Memorial despite driving past it while on contract in DC many times.

The first time I went to D.C. was to accept an award. Myself and the rest of the aircrew receiving the award stopped at the Vietnam memorial. As I looked at all of those names the tears just started streaming. So much American blood was spilled over there with nothing to show for it. I went back to the memorial a few times later in life when I was living in D.C. The tears flowed every time. It's a powerful monument.

 

[Carl]

Ever since the US policy became about “Winning the Hearts and Mind’s” of oppressed peoples, instead of actually “Winning a War”, we have not won a war. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan were all wars the US could have won.

You cannot defeat a enemy you refuse to define. You cannot defeat a ideology without totally annihilating it. Everyone knew it was radical Muslims who attacked America. So what was our response, we declared war on terror. Basically we declared war against a word. Terror, how can you defeat terror?

Islam is at war with the US and if the US cannot decide who the enemy is then we cannot defeat them.

We used to know! "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli" Thomas Jefferson met a muslim while in England and found out why they were fighting us. Jefferson then created our military. After we shut up the Tripolis we interfered with the slave trade shipments.

 

[Lastcall]

Jefferson then created our military.

Side bar - but is the above accurate? He was a young member in the second continental congress in 1775, age 32, but he did not create the military, but Congress did.

 

[3 Nails 4 Given]

The first time I went to D.C. was to accept an award. Myself and the rest of the aircrew receiving the award stopped at the Vietnam memorial. As I looked at all of those names the tears just started streaming. So much American blood was spilled over there with nothing to show for it. I went back to the memorial a few times later in life when I was living in D.C. The tears flowed every time. It's a powerful monument.

The first time I saw it I had the same results, tears flowed. Same thing the first time I toured Arlington National Cemetery and watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

My next trip the Korean War and WW2 memorials were finished and I toured all of them. My uncle served two tours in Korea and two in Vietnam. He retired as a Master Sargent Green Beret.

My grandmother’s brother served on the USS Indianapolis, but had just got off prior to its ill fated cruise.

 

[katt]

I had a friend whose brother served in Afghanistan also and he use to say they would drench their bullets etc in pork as an added insult to the Muslims there LOL

I don't understand why we don't use their aversion to pork against them, fill the streets with heards of pigs, and there won't be a taliban to be found.

 

[GotGrace]

The first time I went to D.C. was to accept an award. Myself and the rest of the aircrew receiving the award stopped at the Vietnam memorial. As I looked at all of those names the tears just started streaming. So much American blood was spilled over there with nothing to show for it. I went back to the memorial a few times later in life when I was living in D.C. The tears flowed every time. It's a powerful monument.

I have not had the opportunity to view it but would be a blubbering mess if I ever do as I knew people involved in that conflict.

 

[3 Nails 4 Given]

The first time I went to D.C. was to accept an award. Myself and the rest of the aircrew receiving the award stopped at the Vietnam memorial. As I looked at all of those names the tears just started streaming. So much American blood was spilled over there with nothing to show for it. I went back to the memorial a few times later in life when I was living in D.C. The tears flowed every time. It's a powerful monument.

When I lived in Florida, I lived next door to a Vietnam Veteran who served with Lt. Kelly at
Mai Lai. He told me about it and said Kelly was well respected by his men and they were following orders. He said when it went bad the Army turned against Kelly.

He was severely wounded in a firefight soon after Kelly was brought up on charges. His left leg was a full inch shorter after they put him back together. After numerous surgeries he was back in the US, with a uniform full of medals.

After Kelly’s court martial he boxed up his uniforms, discharge, and medals and sent them back to the Army and told them he didn’t want them anymore because what they had done to Kelly was wrong.

He told me a few weeks later some Army officers showed up at his door with his box of uniforms and medals and asked him to take them back. He said they offered him a vague political apology and explained their hands were tied up in Army bureaucracy. He took his property back and told them he’d stand or fall with Kelly.

The VA had him on so much medication it was unbelievable, I saw his whole dresser top covered in VA filled prescriptions. He told me he was in pain everyday and showed me some obvious bullet wounds. He drank quite a bit of alcohol, he said the pain medication alone didn’t work.

The sheriffs used to pull his handicapped rigged van over and they would drive him home. I saw some of his photos, medals, certificates of accommodations and his discharge. I had no reason to believe he was lying about anything. There’s no doubt in my mind he had severe PTSD.

After seeing my Uncle come home from Vietnam as a kid, I had nothing but respect for those men. My uncle never really left the Army and I know Vietnam hardened him mentally.

Out of the dozens of years I was around him, he only spoke about Vietnam once. That one time he talked to my cousin and I for about 15 minutes. He broke out in tears and got up and left the table. My cousin said, Wow, dad has never talked about any of that before. It was a story about a close friend getting killed in action, and he didn’t finish the story. He never said a word to me about any of that afterwards.

Thirty some years later I attended his funeral at a Veterans cemetery. He was buried with full honors, 21 gun salute and all by a US Army color guard team.

Our Vietnam Veterans deserve the respect they were not given upon returning home. The disrespect my uncle received is one of the reasons I enlisted at 17, it was the least I could do.

 

[Tall Timbers]

Our Vietnam Veterans deserve the respect they were not given upon returning home. The disrespect my uncle received is one of the reasons I enlisted at 17, it was the least I could do.

Bless you. I hope none of our current military members are treated poorly by others because of the Afghan fiasco. Responsibility for the mess belongs in diben's lap.

 

[3 Nails 4 Given]

Bless you. I hope none of our current military members are treated poorly by others because of the Afghan fiasco. Responsibility for the mess belongs in diben's lap.

Unfortunately I really see history repeating itself. This Afghanistan Debacle is worse than Saigon. I was young when that happened but I can remember watching it in the news every night as it unfolded.

I felt the same way then for the South Vietnamese people we stranded, and the POWs we left behind. It’s hard watching it happen again. I have quite a few friends who were in Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

[TrustinHim]

The tide turned when it became obvious we were losing 500+ men weekly. And to think there was never a time when we could claim even one square inch of South Vietnam was secure.

The Tet offensive was actually an American victory. The V.C. were severely decimated and we had learned to destroy the tunnel complexes with B52 heavy bombs that had made it possible for enemies to remain a viable insurgency in the south. The News in America via Cronkite and others painted a negative defeatist assessment that led to the withdrawal when North Vietnam was ready to negotiate at the peace table. That's why I cringe when the likes of Cronkite are remembered fondly.

 

[katt]

Side bar - but is the above accurate? He was a young member in the second continental congress in 1775, age 32, but he did not create the military, but Congress did.

No, Not the military, the Navy, we had no Navy until he read The Koran and understood the Muslims, once called Moors...they were the first pirates and the first slave traders..still are, but I digress, the moors, pirates, muslims, whatever one wants to call them were charging our trade ships through the roof to go through a certain part of the ocean, Jefferson said..only in your dreams, not on my watch you won't, then he built our Navy sent them to The Barbery Coast and blew them out of the water, America had no more problem with the Muslims until Carter became President and they took our Embassy in November of 1979 and because of our weak kneed Government, we've been fighting them ever since...

 

[heisable2]

I was already in the USAF when they had the first draft lottery...1971 or thereabouts? I could have changed my name to Bond, James Bond...007! I would have been a ground pounder in 'Nam for sure!

As it turned out, my brother-in-law got drafted within a week of his getting an MFA degree as he was from a small town in northern Wisconsin. He did a year in Texas then 'Nam as a map maker. To this day, he will only admit: "Yes, I was there'.

I lost a couple of friends in 'Nam. One was MIA until about 20 years ago. It took me until 2008 before I could work up the courage to see the Vietnam Memorial despite driving past it while on contract in DC many times.

 

[heisable2]

Thank you for your service. I was a flight attendant based in Atlanta from 1967 to 1972. During that time I saw many military flying on Delta's planes going back and forth to the west coast either to go to Vietnam or to go home here in the states.

What I remember most about the flights was how the military wanted to help us on the plane. So we let them serve the meals and pour the coffee and just have some fun. I remember one soldier actually put on a tunic and wore our hat as he was serving meals. It really lightened up the flight for them especially when they were going to the West Coast. They knew where they were finally going to go to.

Another light-hearted moment was flying a night flight from the West Coast back to Atlanta and the 747 had a large area where you could congregate in the galley. The guys would stand around and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes. It was always a good time having them on board.

Those times affected me so much that when I went back to college I had an opportunity to write an essay in my English class about something that affected me deeply. And I wrote about those guys on the plane being in a light-hearted mood even though it was dead serious going to war.

I'm sure the whole thing is working like that now in present day with the military flying back and forth from coast to coast to either go home or go to war.

Thank you again for your service. It means so much to have a strong military. They have a strong presence and whenever I get a chance to see one in uniform or wearing a hat that says Vietnam I thank them for their service. They deserve it and more people should recognize that.

God bless America and God bless our troops. We need you God more than ever.

 

[Len]

It doesn’t require a dissertation to explain what you’re seeing. Just two sentences.

how about just two words "they Lied"