Afghanistan Peace CampaignThe aim of this review is to extract key lessons from the wars in Afghanistan and Vietnam to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Four years after the controversial withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the Pentagon has launched a new review of the two-decade-long war in the country. The aim of this review is to extract key lessons from the wars in Afghanistan and Vietnam to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Sean Parnell, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, confirmed that a special investigative team will officially begin work in July to examine the consequences of America’s 20-year military presence in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon spokesperson stated: “So, the question that I have here and that the department has, is what happened? Like, how do we as a department make sure that something like in Vietnam, and something there again that happened in Afghanistan, never happens again? Helicopters and embassies in Vietnam, helicopters and embassies and in Afghanistan, it’s just not the desired end state that we were looking for in those conflicts.”
He added that the assessment will be conducted on three levels: tactical, strategic, and even presidential.
Experts believe this process could influence the future direction of U.S. policy regarding military interventions.
Fazl-ur-Rahman Oria, a political analyst, said: “Now that the U.S. is reviewing its two-decade military presence and failure in Afghanistan, this is a positive step. It serves as a valuable lesson for the U.S. to avoid using force and violence against Afghans in the future and instead engage in political and economic interactions with Afghanistan.”
Sadiq Shinwari, a military analyst, commented: “The United States and NATO made mistakes in Afghanistan over the past two decades. To rectify those errors, they can now choose the path of dialogue.”
So far, the interim government in Afghanistan has not issued an official response to the investigation. However, as the review begins, global discussions continue regarding the U.S. role in the 2021 developments from the Doha Agreement with the Islamic Emirate to the swift collapse of the previous Afghan government.