NATO defense ministers are weighing Thursday what lessons to draw from the almost two-decade-long military mission in Afghanistan, including whether the world s biggest security organization should even undertake major operations outside Europe and North America.
BRUSSELS NATO defense ministers are weighing Thursday what lessons to draw from the almost two-decade-long military mission in Afghanistan, including whether the world’s biggest security organization should even undertake major operations outside Europe and North America.
The terrorist attack that killed nearly 3,000 Americans and set the US on a course for war in Afghanistan also prompted a formal commission to deeply examine how the US government allowed the attack to happen. Twenty years later, retired Brig. Gen. James Scott O’Meara argues in this op-ed that a similar commission is crucial to examine the war itself, and America’s failures in it, so history doesn’t repeat itself. In the wake of the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, many hard questions remain not just about America’s last two weeks in the Southeast Asian nation, but its conduct for 20 years there. For the US to not learn, to not actively seek out valuable lessons that if applied wisely in the future would potentially save lives and avoid tragic outcomes, would be calamitous. For that reason, Congress should establish a commission for Afghanistan, on the model of the 9/11 Commission, to analyze decisions and to form recommended changes that will potentially prevent
Opinion: As a congressmember, I saw women s rights grow in Afghanistan sandiegouniontribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sandiegouniontribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.