The numbers tell the story. After 20 years in Afghanistan a total of 2448 members of the U.S. military were killed in action. I know those losses are incalculable for the families who lost a son, daughter, husband or wife. But that equals the number of U.S. soldiers who died on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.
Now, let’s look at how many Americans were murdered in 2019 and 2020 in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago–2916. In other words, your son or daughter–especially if they are black or latino–would have been safer in Afghanistan on military deployment than walking the streets of the three large American urban nightmares.
I want to be clear that I am not questioning nor disparaging the blood, limbs and sanity that the American military veterans and their families have shed over the last 20 years in our so-called “war” in Afghanistan. There is no denying that a civil war has ravaged the mountains, valleys and deserts of Afghanistan, but the United States has not fought a sustained war. Look at the following graph. It was only during the reign of Barack Obama that our troop levels soared from 30,000 to over 100,000.
Yet, that level of military activity was not sustained. This was sold to the American public as a “counter insurgency” campaign, but we were not about “winning.” (And I am not trying to advance the argument that if only we had deployed 500,000 troops we could have “won.”)
Here is the ugly truth–Afghanistan was an excuse to justify a bloated Defense Department budget and a guaranteed payday for hordes of politically connected contractors that now infest the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
Seems to me a long time ago a two time recipient of the CMOH said “War is a racket”
Well that is what the Afghanistan disaster is, a multi-Trillion $ racket.
Local mom and pop grocery store in my childhood town. A pillar in the community for 75 years. Some of the nicest people in the country. Two shot dead this past week. Trying to get my widow mother to check out of there. The financial mismanagement of fiat printing and corporate raiding has destroyed the middle class. It will have to be dismantled or it will continue to dismantle itself.
What a terribly sad story and commentary on the American spirit.
Typically the string of 7-11’s swiftly moves into to take the place of “mom and pop” operations providing a convenient network for EBT card benefits trading.
I avoid any neighborhood shop prominently claiming they accept EBT cards, or whatever euphemism they use today – -Food Fresh or what ever other blatant disguise for free handout money, no restrictions, and providing good as gold bartering opportunities backed by Uncle Sam.
Just attended a Larry Elder fund-raiser for replacement California Governor in our community. Part of his stump speech is to lay out the real statistics about black on black violence and police on black violence. Including exposing the stats on the woefully exaggerated perceptions of police on black violence, over estimated by to be 100 fold.
That can only lead to hateful resentments. And the increasingly brazen crime we are now seeing. We continue to live in a swirl of disconnect between facts and perceptions. This simply cannot hold. Because that is what very readily leads to the tragic consequences of the murder of two very innocent shopkeepers.
Larry Elder was a comfortable speaker, personally engaging, disciplined in his message and made just the right talking points to introduce himself in person to the California political stage.
Biggest surprise was the very large local turnout at $250 each – several hundred more than willingly came out in this local hot bed of progressive politics. His message enthusiastically received. The second point as no surprise – zero coverage of this event in the local media. Yet they splash the antics of the Unitarian “Dangerous Grandmothers” across the front pages for their latest bleeding heart and 100% ineffectual progressive stunt.
Shame Baltimore wasn’t in the graphic. 😉