The Wrong Way

I have written many times before in this space about my feelings with regards to American involvement in far flung military posts all around the world. In short, I’m against it. Perhaps no such far flung post has been more infuriating than Afghanistan. I understood the original reasoning for our adventure there 20 years ago, but ever since the original mission was completed it has been an epic misadventure. We followed Great Britain and the Soviet Union down the rat hole in the vain conceit that we could bring “democracy” to the ungovernable tribes who have violently resisted such notions for the past 4000 years.

So, when Donald Trump negotiated a total troop withdrawal, it was one of the few things he did as President that I agreed with. Neither of his two predecessors had the guts to do it. For that I give the man credit, like the broken clock that is right twice a day. 

But, there is a right way and a wrong way to do anything. What we have witnessed this past week is the wrong way. President Biden spent much of his last news conference assuring the American press corps that the upcoming withdrawal from Afghanistan would not be another Saigon, it would be orderly and that the Afghan army was more than capable of defending their country. His assurances turned out to be spectacularly wrong.

Now we learn that the President ignored the nearly unanimous advice of his intelligence services that the Afghan army was a disaster and that the Taliban would overrun Kabul. The heartbreaking scenes of people clinging to airplanes at the Kabul airport were actually worse than 1975 Saigon. This wasn’t grainy footage from half a mile away. These scenes of humiliation and defeat were in crystal clear HD. Up close and personal.

Victory has many fathers, but defeat is an orphan. Biden is getting hammered for his blame-shifting and stubborn refusal to admit that the debacle we have witnessed is partially his own fault. Why weren’t Americans and allied personnel withdrawn earlier? Why was so much valuable military equipment left to be gobbled up by insurgents? Whatever the reasons, its too late to do anything about it now. The disaster in money and human treasure that was Afghanistan for the last 20 years is over and our humiliation and defeat is absolute.

But there is a ton of blame to go around. Each of the last three Presidents deserves their fair share. This was a bipartisan debacle. Although it saddens me to see the scenes of chaos and the desperation of the many “helpers” who have been shamefully left to their fate, it doesn’t change the fact that we had no business sending men and women to die in Afghanistan for 20 years. Full stop. Could this withdrawal have been done with more intelligence, planning and care? Absolutely, and Joe Biden will pay the price for his bumbling and feckless stubbornness. But we shouldn’t forget that withdrawal IS the right decision. The United States of America cannot be the policeman of the world. It is not our job to bring democracy anywhere. We’ve got our own democracy that could use some work. If the Afghan army, after billions and billions worth of military equipment and training, isn’t willing to fight for their own country, why in hell should we?

What do you say to the mothers and fathers of the men and women who have given their lives in this effort? No words will suffice. So, forgive me if I don’t grieve for the Afghan people. The only people I’m grieving for are the brave soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for such a fool hearty and tragic mission. The politicians who beat the drums for this war and continued to support it for twenty long years by their apathy and silence have an awful lot of blood on their hands. They include multiple presidents and politicians from both parties. It is a national disgrace.

If, as a result of this nightmare, the American people no longer will allow this type of nation-building misadventure, perhaps this will serve as a turning point. From now on the American military should only be used as a defensive force, and when it is deployed, it should be unleashed in all of its fury, not hamstrung by ignorant people who never served a day in the military. What our armed forces have been demonstrably proficient at over the 245 years of our history is killing our enemies and destroying their cities. Asking them to win the hearts and minds of hostile barbarian tribes of people who hate all westerners by building schools and libraries is NOT the job of fighting men and women. Our politicians need to stop asking them to do social work. Oh…and next time an American politician asks for a commitment of American soldiers and sailors in a foreign conflict, how about a declaration of war first?

 

The Inexorable March of Civilization

What a Picture!

The new Taliban government struggling with their first Zoom call…

Which one of these guys will write the next great Afghan novel?

I wonder what their position is on Transgender bathrooms?

So many questions….

Thanks, Dodie

A very sweet review of the book I wrote about the deaths of my parents. Thank you, Dodie Whitt!!

About Yesterday’s cartoon…

Like most Americans I find myself being whipsawed between two completely opposite views about COVID-19 and all of its variants. Both were on full display yesterday in the comment feed of a cartoon I posted on Facebook. Any summary of these opposing belief systems that I might attempt will not satisfy anyone, but I will give it a try anyway.

One group is convinced that COVID-19 is nothing more than the flu, and all of the public health recommendations from the vaccine to social distancing to masking are at best nonsense and at worst a naked power grab by government to rob us of our liberty and eventually usher in Communism. It is believed that the vaccine is dangerous, kills people and might even contain deliberately toxic elements intended to facilitate future government control over us (microchips). The wearing of masks is useless, possible harmful, and only serves to divide us. In addition, the public health workers in this country are only making their recommendations based upon their pursuit of money and power, and are intentionally and knowingly working at cross-purposes to what is best for the American people. 

The second group believes that the vaccine is safe and effective. Although the CDC has been all over the place on many of their recommendations, this group generally complies with whatever the latest guidance is, figuring that as more and more is learned about the virus, changes in protocols are inevitable. Some in this group are strict about the social distancing, others not so much. Some are ruthless when it comes to mask wearing, others are hit and miss. But generally, this group tends to accept the consensus of opinion of the world’s epidemiologists and scientists who have devoted their lives to the study of viruses and pandemics. These folks tend to think that government actions during this pandemic, while often maddeningly confusing and ham fisted, have been taken out of the desire to save lives.

There is a third group, although smaller in number than the other two. This is the group of poor souls who have been sequestered in their homes for 18 months paralyzed by fear, convinced that they are one unguarded deep breath away from death.

The one thing that everyone has in common is that we all hate wearing masks. All of us hate social distancing. Nobody likes to get shots. Everyone hates the disruption of business, the loss of income and jobs that shutdowns bring. Nobody likes to be quarantined.

My own views on COVID have gone through many phases over the past year and a half. In the beginning I was a bit suspicious, to be honest. I personally knew exactly no one who had it. Being a natural skeptic made me question the original shutdown. I thought it a terrible overreach, not to mention an unprecedented attempt to bring the world’s largest economy to a grinding halt. I was fearful more of the impact on my business than I was on my health. But then my young, healthy neighbor got it. She became deathly ill and was down for over a month. Another neighbor who works as a nurse in a COVID unit at one of the local hospitals told me about what her days were like, of the marathon running guy in his early 50’s who died after being on a ventilator for two weeks. It was a sobering story of death. Then I learned of people I knew who had lost their lives, some older but many middle aged with no serious health problems. then I began to watch the numbers explode. Then, just yesterday while my Facebook feed was alive with this debate, a friend tells me of his 40 year old neighbor who died last week of COVID, his wife deathly ill in ICU, and their two children having been sent to Ohio to live with relatives. If this whole COVID thing was a hoax, it sure seemed to have a ton of co-conspirators. So, I began reluctantly to take the thing seriously. Pam and I both got the vaccine as soon as it was available. We wore our masks when that was the prevailing advice. We attempted the social distancing thing with less success…it is so hard to stay six feet away from other human beings!! But, when the numbers began to drop and the guidance changed, we happily went back to our normal lives, grateful for the miracle that was the vaccine. So, put us in the second group.

But now comes this Delta thing. Now comes the possibility of more mask wearing, perhaps a booster shot, more social distancing…and I hate the very thought of all of it. But I have a decision to make. Do I allow myself to believe that all of the official protocols by Federal, State and local public health officials are a plot to bring Communism to America, and that every single doctor and scientist making these recommendations is on the take and drunk with power? Or do I trust that they are doing the best they can to fight a complex virus on the fly and do what they say? For me the decision is an easy one. In life, it is vitally important that human beings stay in their lane. I know a little bit about a lot of things. I know an awful lot about a few things. But I know virtually nothing about epidemiology, biology, pandemics or medicine. I think it best to defer to people with specialized knowledge. If this makes me a sheeple, thats a chance I will have to take.

We live in an age of greatly diminished trust. Nobody trusts anything or anyone anymore, and for good reason. But thats a horribly unsatisfying way to live. Believing that everything that you disagree with is a plot against you being waged by faceless, nameless villains is exhausting. If I might mix metaphors..when you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail…But sometimes a duck is just a duck.

Again, I always prefer humor and sarcasm to make my points for me rather than cold, dull logic. So, I will end this blog with two great memes I ran across yesterday…

God bless you all and have a great weekend.

An Ongoing Process

How do plants comfort each other when they're sad?

….they…

….photosympathize

I hope all those firefighters from around the world that are rushing to help with Greek wildfires brought chemicals extinguishers and not just hoses…

Everyone knows You never use water on a Greece fire.

I got hit by a frozen raindrop this afternoon…

It hurt like hail.

That’s all I’ve got folks. Haven’t written anything since I’ve been back home, not because I’ve had nothing to say, its just that being back in the real world — 

when that world is 95 degrees — saps the initiative. By next week I’ll be totally back and clicking on all cylinders. For now, its an ongoing process.

But, I still have my pictures…

Maine by the Numbers

Got back today around 1:45 after 40 days in Maine. The drive home took longer than the drive up by about an hour, roughly 14 and a half hours vs. 15 and a half hours. Both trips took their toll on my back and hamstrings, but we made it without incident. Tomorrow will be all about work. I will get into the office around 7:30 or so to face the music. But this evening I wish to recap Maine 2021 by the numbers…

3275 miles driven

52 miles paddled in the kayak 

Over 50 fish caught

Two rounds of very bad golf played

Three puzzles completed. This one by just Pam and me…

Half a dozen hook accidents while fishing, one which required me yanking the embedded hook out of my finger with a pair of pliers while in my kayak.

Dove into cold lake approximately 40 times, give or take

One broken toe

Five lures lost in an assortment of trees due to casting errors

$1925 spent in Mid-Coast Maine grocery stores

$1275 spent in a plethora of dining establishments 

Seven books read

Over 40 naps taken

Read over 500 email alerts from Zillow and Redfin informing me of houses for sale in Maine that I might be interested in.

Number of houses that I was interested in? Zero.

Number of times either Pam or I complained about how much our hips hurt. 176

Percentage of meals eaten on the screened in porch at the house. 100%

Highest temperature endured over entire 40 days in Maine? 82. Actually, we counted only two days in the 80’s. The rest of the time it was in the 70’s and even several days in the low to mid 60’s

Lowest morning temperature at Quantabacook? 48.

Number of days before we return? 54…and counting.