Afghanistan has collapsed into a chaotic disaster.
One political leader predicted this outcome long ago.
But America refused to listen, and now the Middle East is on fire once more.
On February 12, 2009, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas stood up in front of the House of Representatives and delivered one of his most famous speeches.
He said to them, “what if President Obama is completely wrong about Afghanistan, and it turns out worse than Iraq and Vietnam put together?”
That statement has been proving true beyond a shadow of a doubt by the events of the past month. The war in Afghanistan was a disaster that has finally come apart at the seams.
“What if our foreign policy of the past century is deeply flawed and has not served our national security interests?”
America’s foreign policy in recent years has made Americans less safe, not more safe. It has created chaos in places like Iraq and Libya.
“What if all the wartime spending is paid for through the deceitful and evil process of inflating and borrowing?”
The current U.S. national debt is almost $29 trillion. The wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and other places have been incredibly costly and have bankrupted the future of the country.
“What if conservatives who preach small government wake up and realize that our interventionist foreign policy provides the greatest incentive to expand the government?”
The U.S. government has never been bigger. Since 9/11, America has become a surveillance state, has locked its citizens down and put masks on their faces out of fear, and has taxed them into oblivion to pay for foreign adventures overseas.
“What if occupying countries like Iraq and Afghanistan and bombing Pakistan is directly related to the hatred directed towards us?”
A whole generation of terrorists has been created by U.S. involvement in those countries. Young men who have seen their countries torn to shreds by war become terrorists and threaten the safety of American troops and civilians.
“What if propping up repressive regimes in the Middle East endangers both the United States and Israel?”
The U.S. government sends billions of dollars to the oppressive Saudi regime, a regime that had a role in 9/11 and continues to fund terrorism around the world.
“What if conservatives understood once again that their only logical position is to reject military intervention and managing an empire throughout the world?”
The catastrophic results of trying to manage an empire have revealed themselves in the ugliest and most chaotic way possible. Afghanistan has collapsed thanks to our actions.
Ron Paul tried to warn about these outcomes, but the media tried to silence him, and corrupt Republicans like the Cheney family attacked him. And America did not listen.
Now that the neocon project in Afghanistan has dramatically failed, perhaps Americans will wake up and see the truth in those words that he spoke.
Because if they do not, there will be even worse situations ahead. Americans will soon have to decide if they’re willing to send their children to die overseas for the sake of Taiwan, a foreign country.
And they would be wise to heed the lessons of Afghanistan. America must be focused on its own security, not military adventures around the world. Ron Paul was right.