Crenshaw Debunks the ‘Endless Wars’ Fallacy . .
Texas | August 19, 2021
Dan Crenshaw may be a rising Republican star thanks to his ability to speak with uncommon pointed clarity on the issues of the day. But his latest op-ed on Afghanistan is the fruit of his intellect and his experience: “He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 as a member of the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team 3.” Crenshaw writes: The “no more endless wars” position has a blind spot: Its advocates are unable to distinguish between wasteful nation building and a small residual force that conducts occasional counter-terror operations. As a result, when many Americans hear that there is a single soldier on the ground in Afghanistan, they interpret it to mean “nation building” and “world police.” That’s wrong. There are a lot of foreign policy options between nation building and giving up. He notes that the U.S. found a pretty good balance in that regard for much of the last 20 years, and it could continue almost indefinitely at minimal cost. The U.S. presence in Afghanistan was meeting the original strategic goal of denying a safe haven for terrorists and preventing another 9/11. The 18 months before withdrawal saw no U.S. combat deaths. Does that really sound like “endless war” in any traditional sense? More important, does it sound better or worse than the current outcome?… (Excerpts from the Patriot Post)