I have spent much of my life around war.
asserted
I → spend → war
My first combat tour was in Vietnam in 1969-70, where I served as an infantry platoon commander and later a reconnaissance platoon commander.
asserted
I → serve → commander
I returned during the 1972 Easter Offensive as an aerial observer and Vietnamese linguist.
asserted
I → return → observer
Later came the evacuation of Americans from Beirut in 1976, service during the 1990-91 First Gulf War, and, after retiring from the Marine Corps, 11 years training and mentoring security forces in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
asserted
evacuation → come → Arabia
Those experiences taught me a lesson America repeatedly seems determined to relearn the hard way: Winning battles is not the same as winning wars.
asserted
Winning → teach → wars
Vietnam and Afghanistan were separated by decades, geography, culture, and technology.
asserted
Vietnam → separate → decades
Yet I watched America repeat many of the same mistakes.
asserted
America → watch → mistakes
We entered conflicts without adequately defining the political end state.
asserted
We → enter → state
We supported governments riddled with corruption.
asserted
We → support → corruption
Our enemies operated from sanctuaries across international borders.
asserted
enemies → operate → borders
We poured enormous resources into building indigenous security forces without ensuring those institutions could survive without us.
uncertain
institutions → pour → us
And eventually, after Americans grew tired of seemingly endless commitments, we left.
asserted
we → grow → commitments
I saw the consequences firsthand.
asserted
I → see → consequences
As a young Marine in Vietnam, I witnessed corruption at the village level.
asserted
I → witness → level
Policemen demanded protection money and percentages of crops and merchandise.
asserted
Policemen → demand → crops
Yet as a second lieutenant, I had neither the authority nor influence to change a political system far beyond my pay grade.
asserted
I → have → grade
Decades later in Afghanistan, I experienced an unsettling sense of deja vu.
asserted
I → experience → vu
As a contractor training the Afghan National Army, I reported in 2006 that the 207th Corps suffered systemic problems that threatened our entire modernization effort.
asserted
that → train → effort
Units sometimes had to cobble together composite forces merely to conduct routine combat operations.
asserted
Units → have → operations
I warned that unless these problems were corrected, we would fail to create an Afghan force capable of defending its own country.
asserted
we → warn → country
The problems went deeper than readiness.
asserted
problems → go → readiness
Corruption, nepotism, phantom soldiers, theft, poor accountability, and a lack of consequences undermined our efforts.
asserted
Corruption → undermine → efforts
We were spending American treasure trying to construct institutions whose foundations were rotten.
asserted
foundations → spend → institutions
I raised the alarm again years later in an assessment I called “Enemy on the Inside.”
asserted
I → raise → Inside
But corruption inside the system we were trying to build was destroying our mission from within.
asserted
we → try → within
We could train soldiers, provide equipment, and spend billions of dollars, but none of it could compensate for institutions unwilling or unable to police themselves.
uncertain
none → train → themselves
Then came August 2021.
asserted
August → come → ?
Watching Afghanistan collapse brought back memories of Saigon in 1975.
asserted
Afghanistan → watch → 1975
When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, the objective was understandable: to liberate Kuwait.
asserted
objective → invade → Kuwait
A broad international coalition supported that objective.
asserted
coalition → support → objective
Forces were assembled in sufficient strength.
asserted
Forces → assemble → strength
The battlefield was systematically prepared.
asserted
battlefield → prepare → ?
Political leaders gave military commanders latitude to develop and execute an effective campaign.
asserted
leaders → give → campaign
After an extensive air campaign, the ground war lasted roughly 100 hours.
asserted
war → last → campaign
The military objective was achieved.
asserted
objective → achieve → ?
That experience demonstrated what can happen when political objectives and military strategy are aligned.
asserted
objectives → demonstrate → ?
The lesson is not that America should never use military force.
asserted
America → use → force
There are circumstances when force is necessary to defend our nation and our interests.
asserted
force → be → nation
Nor should every setback be blamed upon civilian leaders.
asserted
setback → blame → leaders
But before politicians send young Americans into harm’s way, they owe those Americans clear answers.
asserted
they → send → answers
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
