LogFAQs > #979916948

tankboy posted...

The one weakness of the US was a tendency to get mired in nation-building ("losing the peace")

I think the real weakness of the US was lacking both a clear understanding and policy on how to put a country back together again after having taken it apart, not that it tried to do so.

The slide of Afghanistan into chaos after the Soviets finally cut their losses and ran had consequences that sucked for thousands of Americans in September 2001. It proved that malign neglect of what seem to be reassuringly distant backwaters that rarely rate a glimpse on a TV screen can come back to bite you badly on the ass. Uncle Sam wanted the Russian bear out of Afghanistan and once that was accomplished, dusted off his hands, turned around and walked away because as far as he was concerned, that was the end of the story and what happened to the Afghans themselves afterwards didn't matter. But history decided otherwise.