A Whole Lot of "Forever Wars"
Our US Military is Deployed to 177 Nations. And Joe Biden May Want to Deploy More, Not Less - Especially in Africa
One of both President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s mantras over the past few years is their desire to end America’s engagement in “forever wars.”
The Trump administration negotiated a three-way deal between the now-former Afghan government and the Taliban to extricate the United States from a 20-year engagement in Afghanistan with a “conditions-based” Doha (Qatar) agreement with still-classified “annexes” that called for US withdrawal by May 11 of this year.
But something happened - a controversial election and a new 78-year-old President with a history of foreign policy blunders and incompetence. According to former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo via the Hugh Hewitt radio program, the Taliban violated the agreement 11 times. And 11 Times, the US hit the Taliban hard with painful military strikes, at least while Trump was president.
Then something else happened. The Taliban attacked Forward Operating Base Chapman in March this year. And unlike the Trump administration, the Biden Administration didn’t respond. You may remember what the founder of the former Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, is attributed to having said, “Probe with bayonets. If you encounter mush, proceed; if you encounter steel, withdraw.” Biden committed, for apparently purely (stupid) political reasons, to have all US troops out by the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and nothing, not even a Taliban violation of an agreement with the United States, was going to stop him.
How did that work out?
The Taliban discovered that Biden was mush. The rest remains unfolding history and at this writing, it now appears to be the worst American hostage crisis in history.
I think we’re finding out what the Communist Chinese and the Iranians think of Biden’s mush. The bayonets proceed, it appears.
The Biden Administration is doubling down on their decision despite plummeting poll numbers and erosion of trust in US leadership across the world, especially among NATO nations. After all, Afghanistan had become a NATO mission, and 75% of the troops stationed there were not Americans. Biden totally f***ed our allies, and there’s no nicer way to say that. Sorry to offend, but feel free to ask how they feel.
But here’s the truth. America remains involved in several “forever wars,” from the Korean Peninsula to our fights against Al Qaeda affiliates (al-Shabaab) in Africa. Fact is, we have troops, bases, and more in 177 nations.
Feel free to inventory America’s involvement in a few “forever wars,” including the “Cold War” which supposedly ended in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Not to mention a few other countries where we help keep the peace and protect American interests (the movement of goods and services that appear vital to America’s national defense and economy, especially critical “rare earth” minerals).
Take a look at South Korea. We’ve had some 25,000 troops stationed there since the armistice of 1952. We’ve also had nearly 40,000 troops stationed in Japan and another 35,000 stationed in Germany since World War II. They help keep China and Russia at bay. Respectively, of course.
Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield first occurred some 30 years ago. We still have some 17,000 troops in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq.
Our presence there has helped preserve “forever peace,” not “forever war.” So did our 2,500 American troops that Trump left for Biden on January 20th this year.
But pay attention to Africa. Now that Biden’s shameful and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan has clearly emboldened terrorist movements, don’t be surprised if $85 billion worth of fancy equipment we left behind in Afghanistan finds its way to places like Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, and other African nations, especially night goggles. You have no idea how valuable those are since the US military has long “owned the night” in these areas. Al Qaeda, which is closely affiliated with the Taliban, also sponsors Africa’s Al-Shabaab.
Trump, in a cost-saving move, closed our bases or operations in Somalia. Biden is looking to reopen them. The bombing has already begun.
Don’t buy Joe Biden’s rhetoric on “forever wars,” or anything else, for that matter. Biden shows no signs of ending any US engagement anywhere else in the world, and may, in fact, be increasing it.
And America isn't the only nation with foreign deployments. Just ask the CIA. America’s largest base in the horn of Africa is in Djibouti, with nearly 2,000 troops. Guess who also has 2,000 troops in Djibouti? China, their largest international deployment.
And the weakness he displayed by his disgraceful Afghanistan surrender and withdrawal may require increased US deployments, not less. So much for ending “forever wars.”
Hug your military spouses, sons, and daughters. They’re going to be very busy under the Biden-Harris Administration.