US Experts: We Lost the War in Afghanistan

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After 20 years of US presence in Afghanistan, a panel of US experts deduced the causes of US "failures," referring to fabrications, US arrogance, short-term strategies, and unrealistic goals.

These conclusions came as White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan will conclude by the end of August.

Spoko: We Will Do This Again 

John Spoko, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan reconstruction said that “there are two words to describe the US effort in Afghanistan. “One is this hubris that we can somehow take a country that was desolate in 2001 and turn it into a little Norway." The other, mendacity: "we over-exaggerated, our generals did, our ambassadors did." 

Sopko noted that numerous officials had spoken about "just turning the corner in the fight against the Taliban”. 

"Well we turned the corner so much, we did 360 degrees, “he stressed.

Spoko continued his criticism of the US policy, stressing that a failure to assist the formation of an Afghan military force with basic pay, logistics, medical care, and other elements that made local troops believe risking their lives was worthwhile. Spoko repeatedly stated that fuel supplies are not under proper government control and that up to half of them may have been stolen.

"Don't believe what you're told by the generals or the ambassadors or people in the administration saying we're never going to do this again," Spoko said. "That's exactly what we said after Vietnam: We're never going to do this again. Lo and behold, we did Iraq. And we did Afghanistan. We will do this again."

The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan reconstruction has also warned that Afghanistan’s government may face an "existential crisis," and offers a highly critical assessment of the US's strategy and conduct throughout the nearly 20-year war.

Malkasian: We Lost The War

On his part, Carter Malkasian, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the author of the American War in Afghanistan, said that “as the United States leaves Afghanistan after 20 years of war, there can be little doubt that we lost the war.”

Malkasian wrote in his book that “the Taliban fight in part because they believe it is their Islamic duty to resist occupation and is convinced their cause will enable them to win.”

“Jihad against foreign occupation was a religious obligation, undertaken to defend their values.” He added, "Jihad was about identity."