America’s so-called “longest war” in Afghanistan has been a strategic failure. Although it was not a misadventure in folly like the invasion of Iraq nor did it result in a national tragedy on the scale of Vietnam, the patterns of military misfortune and poor government performance, fueled by political and strategic fallacies, are all too similar. The agreement with the Taliban, signed in February 2020, gives the United States an alibi for exit, but war in Afghanistan will not end, and there will be consequences.
Dr. Todd Greentree served as an expeditionary diplomat in five wars during his three decades as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer.