'Even more costly are the approximately 515,000 people killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, including more than 260,000 civilians. And for what? .. I recognize that shame is not a very American trait but with it comes humility. Sadly, my generation had to relearn the lessons of Vietnam in Iraq and Afghanistan. But in coming to grips with our defeat, we have a chance to ensure that we do not sacrifice future generations to such folly .. to do everything in our power to avoid more wars..''The cost of these wars has been astronomical: Roughly $6 trillion in government spending, with the Defense Department spending alone costing each American taxpayer an estimated more than $7,000. Additionally, today’s young veterans face a legacy of psychological and physical injury, as well as illness from our war’s Agent Orange: the toxic burn pits whose smoke we inhaled.
Even more costly are the approximately 515,000 people killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, including more than 260,000 civilians. And for what? Iraq remains a tenuous democracy teeming with militias while Afghanistan is locked in a conflict with a resurgent Taliban, and peace talks are in deadlock.
Both countries fail to meet the objectives of freedom and democracy set when President George W. Bush started those wars. They fall short of President Obama’s goals when he sent me and 30,000 other troops to Afghanistan and of the claims he made when declaring an end to combat operation in Iraq only to see the Islamic State undo those gains. President Trump does not seem to even have a purpose for those 5,000 troops who will remain in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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I recognize that shame is not a very American trait but with it comes humility. Sadly, my generation had to relearn the lessons of Vietnam in Iraq and Afghanistan. But in coming to grips with our defeat, we have a chance to ensure that we do not sacrifice future generations to such folly.
And by so doing we may yet salvage some purpose from this tragedy: to do everything in our power to avoid more wars, and to ensure that if and when the next war does come, it is worth it.'
- Timothy Kudo,
The Truth That Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Know, November 24, 2020
Context(Peace) - '..defence forces in nations .. make the .. transformation to non-lethal defence..'(Peace) '..weapons development .. a peaceful or nonweapons application..''..skeptical of waging comprehensive counterinsurgency warfare in distant foreign lands.'(The Afghanistan Papers) - 'U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it.' By Craig Whitlock'TO HELL WITH WAR!' - Major General Smedley Butler[Yemen] '..end this war' - Mattis(Peace) - '..to end fighting in Afghanistan after more than 18 years of conflict.'Nuremberg chief prosecutor .. his motto is “law not war”..''..only a few areas of the globe are of vital importance to U.S. security or prosperity..'(Through justice, peace) - Ex-President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face genocide and war crimes charges.''..Positive Peace as a holistic, systemic framework.'(Bazaarmodel)(Teal - To Heal) - '..to let the individuals and organizations search or really think about the meaning of life.'(2020 - 2050 - Becoming a spacefaring civilization) - 'These are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge .. space is there, and we're going to climb it .. for the progress of all people.''..end the forever wars..' - Biden