Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

I haven't written about Afghanistan in a long time, but despite the fact that Trump signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February, the deadliest week in the 20 year war just occurred. 

In one week, 291 Afghan soldiers were killed, and 550 more were wounded. 148 civilians were killed. No Americans were among the casualties.  

Peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government have not happened yet, and no date has been set for them. But, there is a trend occurring, and I am referring to the attrition of Afghan government forces. You might say that a slow, protracted surrender is taking place in which Afghan soldiers are switching sides and joining the Taliban at a staggering rate. 

"The Islamic Emirate, which has already announced general amnesty to those who end their opposition, warmly welcomed a large number of troops, militia men, and other military workers from the puppet regime and treated them as brothers, showered them with flowers, overlooked all former enmity, provided everything at disposal for their honorable and secure return to normal lives in their homes, villages and regions."

That's from the Taliban website, and they give figures for each month. It may be that they will be able to absorb most of the Afghan government personnel. I don't think they are going to find a place for Ghani in the new government, but they'll let him live, which is more than they did for the Soviet puppet.  

I hope that the Taliban makes concessions about some things, such as allowing girls to go to school. But, the point is that when it's all said and done, the Taliban will be back in power, and the Afghanistan War will have been fought for nothing; absolutely nothing. Every death, on both sides, including every American death, will have been in vain. I am sorry if that is painful for some people to hear. But, the Afghanistan War was a futile war; as much so as the Vietnam War.  And the most maddening thing about it, to me, is that we are unlikely to bring the perpetrators of it, especially George W. Bush, to justice.