Maybe the calculus does not rely on metronomic time frames but rather historical push-pull factors from surrounding empires? That's the nuanced, complex reality of Afghan history - a place that exists on/as a natural invasion/trade route, much like Laos, Armenia, Poland, etc. The list of rebuffed invaders is long, and we can now add the U.S.A. and its allies who are now leaving. It is, indeed, the graveyard of empires:
Afghanistan the graveyard of empires. They called and America came.
None of the politicians seem to grasp what they are fighting is not only a ideology, but also the human condition, driven to a near constant edge of treason and combat.
There certainly are multiple things rotten in the US, but a glance at history shows us that this sort of challenge has always been nearly impossible.
Specifically, I'm talking about the challenges faced by a wealthy, technologically superior nation-state seeking to subdue a remote, decentralized coalition of irregular military forces whose fighters can blend in with the general populace when needed.
The birth of the USA was something somewhat similar, with the colonies' "ragtag" army defeating the British.
It's also something the Roman Empire struggled with. They conquered city-states with relative ease, rolling them into their empire with a combination of carrot and stick. Decentralized peoples were often another story.
It's also not like there's a shortage of writings about how Afghanistan is essentially unconquerable, thanks to geography and culture. "Graveyard of empires," indeed.
Afghanistan is known as the graveyard of empires. No western country has ever invaded Afghanistan and won. The British failed, the Russians failed, it was no surprise for the US to fail.
Especially when neither the terrorists nor the masterminds of 9/11 were Afghani. And especially when Afghanistan is called the graveyard of empires for good f*cking reason.
> Over the past 200 years, the British, Soviet, and American empires have all failed to pacify Afghanistan. Probably the Mongols and Alexander the Great struggled too, I need to dig into the history of those campaigns for more specifics.
I recommend checking out this thread, as the whole Afghanistan = Graveyard of empires meme only applies to quite recent history.
Judging by the history that i'm naturally close to and know well, i.e. Russia history, the drive to free your Motherland from foreign occupants is like 10-100x multiplier of force.
Afghanistan was a modern state (and do research instead of simple downvote) as recently as 1960s. They had women studying at Universities, they had modern hospitals, you name it.
War radicalized the society. Put them back in stoneage. They have had wars for the past 30-40 years.
USSR death started with Afghanistan. USA death will start with it too. The place is a graveyard of Empires.
It's easy if you question all of the presuppositions in that question. Did anyone really try to conquer Afghanistan? What does it even mean to "conquer" the frontier? Do we consider the Australian outback the "graveyard of empires" too?
Apparently that hasn't changed yet.
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