this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2023
877 points (96.0% liked)

World News

38976 readers
3202 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News [email protected]

Politics [email protected]

World Politics [email protected]


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Smacks 63 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

There was an attempt at nation building and it didn't go well. Afghanistan and the Middle East is a culturally complicated place, it's mostly tribes and smaller villages with a lot of history. It's hard to point fingers at the US for leaving when a decent chunk of the country either didn't care, or didn't want them there anymore.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Even if the US intentions were good (and they were not great, basically being revenge for 9/11), who wants to be ruled by a foreign invader?

If some alien superpower invaded the USA tomorrow, gave them free healthcare, 40 days holiday a year from work, legalised abortion again and mountains of affordable housing in the places people actually wanted to live, they'd still fight back. Even if it meant things going back to how they were before.

[–] Shagdaddy 36 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Bold of you to think people would fight back against that lol.

That actually sounds incredible

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Just like Afghans, many liked the US, the taliban didn't. There'd be a percentage of the population fighting tooth and nail.

[–] assassin_aragorn 10 points 1 year ago

And it creates the question -- what should the aliens do long term?

If they leave, what do they owe those of us who liked them?

I really struggle with this. I can't say as an American that we don't owe them anything. But I also can't say that it's our job to go back and invade once more. We've done that. I don't know what changes we could make to change the outcome.

Sorry for the sudden musings, haha

[–] joel_feila 3 points 1 year ago

They would. Just point anyone they think deserves less then themselves and they Will fight tooth and nail. So so many americans will gladly cut off their nose to spite their face

[–] Mediocre_Bard 6 points 1 year ago

I would take that deal. All hail our Alien overlords. Now, the south would not be pleased ... but they have a losing record in armed conflict.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I would not fight that. I already think that we are ruled by outsiders (rich, geriatric boomers).

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Most boomers are just who the oligarchs have pointed angry millennials at.

They'll watch you fight for crumbs while they scoff cake. This is Bumfights for them.

[–] chemical_cutthroat 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I mean, literally any other country in the world is welcome to step in and fix it. Imagine the bragging rights at the next UN summit. "We fixed Afghanistan!" No? No takers? Alright.

[–] joel_feila 4 points 1 year ago

As cynical as a take as that is, yeah national building hard espically out there. People will resist change, you have very little infrastructure to work with, and a poor little esucation population

[–] Kahlenar 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The proper noun Middle East needs work.

[–] Smacks 1 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The second part sounds a bit like a copout. They have done military interventions in a lot of different regions. The US has ransacked a growing number of countries just to get rid of a small amount of "baddies".

You don't get to destroy shit and leave. If you play world police, start doing the whole job, not parts of it. And I'm totally fine with US starting less interventions because they don't wanna clean up after themselves. Probably a net positive given the history in the middle east.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

I think at this point it's best that the administration just got out because it appeared it was never going to get better. Just my perspective at reading about the attempts to build administration and actually get local citizens to build and manage their own sustainable government structures in place and it never taking off. Just read anything about the army's attempts to create a competent Afghani security force.

We never should have intervened in the first place, and should have gotten out as soon as we could.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I agree with you, but also... they absolutely did not want us there. America isn't trying to colonize.

The people in power are corrupt, the world around. Religious states, doubly so.

We can't even control the zealots rising up in our own country.

[–] assassin_aragorn 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The thing is, we weren't there for a decade just destroying things. A few years, absolutely. But the rest of the time was spent trying to clean up and rebuild. Maybe the US just isn't good at that, but what else can we do at this point? Returning would just be meddling again and earn ire.

[–] Historical_General 1 points 1 year ago

Rebuilding translates to funding the lavish lifestyles of our puppets. Very colonial.