America’s Longest War: What Went Wrong in Afghanistan (2021)

After nearly 20 years in Afghanistan, the US military, at President Biden's direction, withdrew troops from the country, bringing an end to America's longest war. In this CNN documentary, top US commanders from the war wrestle with mistakes and regrets to discover what went wrong. #CNN #News

[@briant5685]

Took 20 years to replace a weaker taliban with a stronger taliban

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

That's what America stands for.

[@markmierzejewski9534]

Thank Trump. Another reason why this joke doesn't belong in office.

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

BushStarted it. BidenFinished it. Thank those two

[@brucecampbell4528]

​@@markmierzejewski9534Biden was responsible for the botching of the pull out.

[@peterlongprong7521]

and one with a now-seething hatred for Americans

[@mattgraver3604]

Thousands of American and Afghan lives wasted for absolutely nothing. This is despicable

[@JoshuaMademan]

Osama hiding in Pakistan the whole time while the Pakistanis mislead them

[@LIVdaBrand]

They don’t care

[@mattgraver3604]

​@@LIVdaBrandThat's pretty disgusting considering the sacrifice and loss people suffered

[@abdulrahimnorzai9305]

Especially, athe afghan people, they killed us in different name

[@user-wh1dm6bc9k]

Yes you are right this whole scam was a complete vile disgusting waste of human life. And the US Government CIA got rid of thousands of US lives it wanted to avoid having to pay for and take care of (disgusting and filthy) and who cares if we waste a few million "sand monkeys" as quoted from countless talks and briefings while I was I the sand box. That attitude tells you the tale of the tape all on it's own never mind the colossal waste of resources

[@lionbangash1730]

How can you defeat an enemy that looks into the barrel of your gun and sees paradise."Russian General in 1979"

[@ExplosiveLandmine]

After all, afganistan is the graveyard for empires

[@rockabye_baby187]

Philosopher you are not.

[@bicklesby1]

Understanding you don't ​@@rockabye_baby187

[@FatherSolanus]

Now all the Black people are going to approach the loaded 🔫 gun.

[@khabibnurmagomedov4877]

@@rockabye_baby187hes quoting someone else lol

[@bradj6985]

The loss of even one American life is too high a price to pay in a country that refuses time after time to stand up and defend itself.

[@rman229]

Ignorant

[@Pathan109ShortVideos]

If you ever feel useless... remember... it took the United States 20 years, trillions of dollars and 4 U.S President to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.

[@franklin9400]

You killed it with this comment right here. 🤯

[@ernestov1777]

For 20 years of Freedom for many women and children it was worth it, and this should never have happened, Trump's awful preparation of the Afghan military led to this.

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

Brilliant comment

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

They didn'tWant ourDemocracy.

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

TheirResistance is noteworthy.

[@judah400yrs2]

A wise man once told me, “ The generals get the glory, the mother and fathers get the flag and the soldiers get the GRAVE “. That wise man was my father a Korean War Veteran, he begged me not to join the military. I join the U.S. Navy, within two weeks “ Boots on ground “ in Iraq, we had our first unit “KIA” after the memorial service, l laid on my bunk and thought of my Father Worlds: “ The generals get the glory, the mother and fathers get the flag and the soldiers get the GRAVE”………..

[@binaariani3744]

Well you should listen to him you didn’t go to protect usa you whent for money and better life

[@judah400yrs2]

@@binaariani3744 Didn’t either one in the U.S. , got PTSD, Called the N-word by an old man I held the door open for as he walk through another entrance. I thought to myself “ Well there goes Thank you for your service 😂 “….. I did find that better life though, I left the U.S. for another country.

[@MSDGroup-ez6zk]

see how Rotschild family got a fortune when the Europeans were at war. How did this loan affect Europeans' expenses after wars?

[@tommygun5038]

Ok I get it. It's called sacrifice. If yourself, others and me didn't pick up the flag and sacrifice we wouldn't have a country. The biggest problem we have is politicians putting limits on us for these wars.

[@apacademy]

@@tommygun5038 - OOOOOOHHHHHH that explains it. The vets are killing themselves because they were not allowed to kill more Afghanis. Got it.

[@keithlembke77]

I recall a lesson from Vietnam….what did the Vietnamese want? My 14 years in Afghanistan left me with one question….why did we force our values on the Afghans?

[@gonetiroyamodimo9486]

First cnn documentary i have watched till the end in a while. Not biased not partial

[@midlifebrologic]

they still tried to blame trump for everything

[@NicholasOrlick]

You can’t use an Army to rebuild an entire country at gun point. Because that’s not what an army is designed to do. It seems like a lot of generals don’t understand that.

[@MrGhosthacked]

What are you talking about? That's exactly how countries were built for the vast majority of human history.

[@barryromano0451]

Somebody hasn’t been to colonizer school

[@NicholasOrlick]

@@MrGhosthacked if the US nuked Afghanistan and repopulated it with Americans, then sure they could have. But other than that colonization will always fail. And what Europeans failed to realize is this L is on them too because they were involved in Afghanistan with the rebuilding process, so what the hell were they doing?

[@MSDGroup-ez6zk]

see how did Rotschild family get a fortune when the Europeans were at war. How did this loan affect Europeans' expenses after wars?

[@manbeh4u]

How are countries like Pakistan surviving then .. :)

[@AwokenEntertainment]

sad to hear al the realities of this war in detail..

[@rapidvideo5034]

my heart goes to all the innocent lives lost on either side,

[@vikramgupta2326]

The repeated flaw in American foreign policy after WW 2 is not realizing it is virtually impossible to avoid being seen as a foreign occupying power no matter how well intentioned your mission.

[@teresacastillo1783]

Not repeated since 2001 change everything atta stop something 😇🙏🇧🇷

[@iemranjuffri4827]

The US went into WW2 as a landgrabber or to maintain control of the West. Look at the dates of end of Operation Barbarossa, Pearl Harbor Attack and American military deployment. Britain was in warwith Germany from 1939. Where were mighty US?

[@frostedbuds]

Bush literally admitted that he should’ve never started that war on live television

[@MSDGroup-ez6zk]

see how Rotschild family got a fortune when the Europeans were at war. How did this loan affect Europeans' expenses after wars?

[@yojimbo3681]

There is no flaw in US Foreign Policy. By design, it's a shadow empire building policy. We're just really good at gaslighting our own people by naming it something else :)

[@johnmustol8828]

As Craig Whitlock says, "The United States never really understood Afghanistan and what made it tick." We didn't know its people, history, culture, religion, day-to-day life, politics, sociology, languages, ecology and never bothered to learn. As General Lute admitted, "We didn't have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking." In the heat of fear, anger, and vengeance, we rushed in and then fumbled around for 20 years. It was a massive failure of leadership - like Vietnam. Will we ever learn from these experiences?

[@apacademy]

We may learn. Right now, how many US parents are willing to send their sons and daughters to go die in Burkina Faso ??

[@Goldo97]

Ofcourse we do😂 Ignorant comment. Go read the CIA declassified documents. We knew them before they were our enemy. Everything about them down to their school curriculum

[@jonovision1759]

It's horrible for the ones fighting but some people make a lot of money

[@idiotsonyt]

You guys pumped the the oil out of Afghanistan but there was so much more then you guys expected so it took 20 years

[@nieuwegeljo5645]

From the Netherlands: The same was valid with Vietnam, but I guess the military-industrial complex needs wars in order to exist.

[@greysonkochevar4877]

As an American we are a disgrace too the people who lost their lives… this was Vietnam all over again…. A war we should have never been in….

[@greysonkochevar4877]

And Biden is an idiot too add on too that statement

[@DonyoSanghelei30]

U.S. to Israel: “Don’t make the same mistakes we did.” * Israel: “Hold my Dreidel.”

[@seanberthiaume8240]

And Russia.And the US.Another Vietnam.Never fckn' learned! Not sure about Iraq? Was there 2003-2004 & 2007-2008...USARMY...

[@druidia9]

The parallels with Vietnam are stunning. Did the US learn anything from that war?

[@davidb2206]

No. Same mistakes again. Same arrogance. The U.S. failed to learn how the Brits won in Malaya against the communist insurgents, too. It was another guerilla war.

[@Landers2024]

They will never because of their arrogance. Ask a republican who hates Muslims and people of colour from the global south. They are still seeking more wars.

[@peterbaker8443]

Sadly no just another war due to the military industrial complex

[@fatalmokrane]

@@davidb2206 Remember when USA armed the talibans against the socialist govt of Afghanistan and against the Soviet Union troops ? Remember also USA/Western propaganda portrayed talibans as "freedom fighters", sounds familiar ?? "We don't replicate the same mistakes we made in this war, for the next one ?" So when are you going to learn to stop interfering in other countries ? That's none of your business. That's none of your business that a country is communist or not. JUST F*** OFF.

[@reynaldogonzalez6071]

NO!!!

[@SteveHutcheson]

I worked in Afghanistan for almost 3 years. This was always inevitable. The US did not want to deal with the Taliban and they were never going away.

[@phaedrussmith1949]

"Charlie had only two ways home: death or victory." -Capt. Benjamin Willard, United States Army

[@BeachBoi1000]

But Donald Trump struck a deal with them. And US supplied Taliban to fight the Russia … in the past.

[@traumvonhaiti]

What are you surprised about? The Afghans won spriritually. The ideas of democracy, free speech, women's rights etc. make no sense in such a poor society. The US should've invested 100x more in Afghtanistan if they wanted to win the hearts of the Afghan people.

[@henlohenlo689]

entire war was a proxy war, not a real war. afghanistan is a dust bowl not a real company it's a piece of desert land that is meant to be left alone and not developed. and the usa lost to this useless piece of land. the real reason was the whole war was a scheme. all of the arab nations and usa was colluding with one another to conduct the genocide. very similar to the current ukraine thing, usa is still doing their misconduct but they shifted the genocide into ukraine and knows it's happening and still funds it.

[@SteveHutcheson]

@@traumvonhaiti I'm not surprised at all. There was a saying back then, the Americans have the watches, the Taliban have the time.

[@TimmyNigfartish]

US military: We didn't see this coming. You didn't see it coming when Taliban that had around 5,000 fighting men in 2001 go up to 75,000 ? Maybe those drones that killed 10,000s of innocent civilians helped people turn towards the Taliban ?

[@yayaabdulahihasan7749]

That's right, the drone attacks was adding numbers to the taliban and make true what the telling to the people.

[@marsherjamiu447]

Exactly

[@kiggunduandrew144]

Military superiority has its limitations. Winning on the battlefield is far different from winning the war. Unfortunately winning the war involves winning hearts and minds which can involve a whole lot of cultural complications. Military superiority can only guarantee short term success on the battlefield, winning the long term war has nothing to do with military superiority. Military and financial superiority can only be leverage but not the main driving force to win the war. Unfortunately no lessons were learned by the American government. They're exactly doing the same in Gaza as we speak by supporting constant bombardments of innocent civilian. Without question the Israel- American coalition Will guarantee short term success on the battlefield but will not win the war of creating a long term peaceful solution. No lessons learned folks.

[@onethree6002]

There is no lesson, they do what they want and lord knows what they are covering up. Then they feed you some cookie cutter bullshit answer to cover there ass. Its basic politicking. They are corrupt individuals with no souls from head to toe they don't care about the death of humans or how it spreads further war.. They only see there bullshit objectives and goals within their own monkey circle@@kiggunduandrew144

[@princeafghan7346]

exactly

[@Siethon1]

We needed this video sooner

[@lionbangash1730]

"If some foreign power invaded my country like the german Nazis, id be the afghan equivalent off the taliban" George Gallaway.

[@stevemill8959]

What if your country was infested with a cartel of madman terrorists who blow shit up taking out innocent children in the name of god. They also took over the emerald minds which didn’t belong to them

[@SteveHutcheson]

My job in Afghanistan was with the UN as a development engineer and adviser to Ministers. The army getting involved in this type of activity was wrong. It placed all development agencies into the same box alongside the army and as such, became a threat to us all. I lost 6 colleagues to it. Also, they had no idea what was needed. What was needed was economy development, not just roads that suited the US purpose or projects to win hearts and minds. Even now, the major industries that were left when they left were mainly built around serving the needs of the US military and the international agencies rather than a self sufficient economy.

[@Jordonwilliamoakley]

False

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

True.

[@ZoomZoomMX3]

Seems to me that this was a place that didn't want to change or have what was offered. Exactly the opposite of Ukraine 🇺🇦 Ukraine wants it's country to survive and be a democratic government that is NOT corrupt. This they have proven time and time again. The support for Ukraine should be multiplied many times and sped up. Slava Ukraine 🇺🇦 from Canada 🇨🇦

[@HumanBeingsRThinkingBeings]

Mind Begs the Question: - CIA caught sleeping by Al Qaida - Mossad caught sleeping by Hamas - Coincidental?

[@coreyham3753]

The issues in Afghanistan were much greater than just economic development Afghanistan was a backward country beset with illiteracy, tribal warlords, women suppression, religious fundamentalism, poverty, and many more. Not a situation that can quickly or easily overcome.

[@peterjordan2267]

A war without a purpose and cause...

[@JS-bo7qk]

HEROIN

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

MineraI resources.

[@oxygen69able]

H E R O I N

[@oxygen69able]

95% of the world's HEROIN PRODUCTION

[@henlohenlo689]

entire war was a proxy war, not a real war. afghanistan is a dust bowl not a real country it's a piece of desert land that is meant to be left alone and not developed. and the usa lost to this useless piece of land. the real reason was the whole war was a scheme. all of the arab nations and usa was colluding with one another to conduct the genocide. very similar to the current ukraine thing, usa is still doing their misconduct but they shifted the genocide into ukraine and knows it's happening and still funds it.

[@stefanfrischauf4881]

Served in 2009 / 10 in a British NGO as "rebuilding aide". Thus: calling myself a (civilian) Afghanistan veteran. Also in solidarity and friendship mainly with US-soldiers, who were often there, when things became tense. And with whom I also had the most intense chats. It's good to hear here in that CNN documentary, that US-veterans also claim, that as required by the US Army’ s 2006 Field Manual, being “ a social worker, a civil engineer, a school-teacher, a nurse, a boy scout” and that they should all act as “nation builders as well as warriors” is just overloading those comrades and bothers in arms with the failures of politicians not having the least idea and interest in places like Afghanistan and their people. Founded in 2006 the NGO I worked for back then started working at a community dwelling on around 4 ha / 9.5 acres in Kabul’s Old Town. When I arrived there February 2009 the general condition of the site was characterized by war and perpetuate conflict in a way, I have never witnessed before. Particularly water and sanitation were a big issue, impacting every aspect of everyday life. When I left Afghanistan in July 2010 my overall role in the regeneration program had included developing a decentralized, gravity-based piped sewage system for sustainable urban water management with engineering consultants and managing land property rights in what many partners also in the government, World Bank and IMF believed to be a model project for urban and rural spaces and their neighborhoods. As the only German in that NGO I was kind of an exotic person for most others. Expats as much as Afghans. White haired senior engineer ("Sarr e sefid" for Afghan brothers and colleagues), trained architect, urban planner and urban historian. Never forget a long chat with another American Army officer working at the ANA / ISAF helicopter base at Kabul in September 2009, where they actually were training Afghan pilots on old, but highly robust Soviet helicopters or other mainly transport carriers. After I had told him about my grandpa, who in 1936 said, that this bloke in Berlin was a lunatic and that things might end up in a catastrophe and who then together with my granny manouvered their seven kids, amongst them my Dad through these times and waved US troops into his small town in 1945 and soon afterwards started working with them on a base close by as a technician the ice broke and that officer, who was as fond of "his" scholars as I was of "my" architects and engineers I trained frankly asked me: "Why do things here not work out the way they worked out with you guys?" We were discussing that matter for another I suppose 2 to 3 hours. The armed social worker with the pride and dignity of an honorable soldier and the German engineer and architect working with the Brits there keeping up that kind of grandpa's friendship with US-soldiers and colleagues. He as much as many other friends of mine might agree with my quote, after having written my first kind of analysis of our failure there in Afghanistan: "When you're coming back from Afghanistan to the West, nothing can ever be the way, it used to be." There's still such a lot to research concerning these 20 years of Western presence at the Hindu Kush and I'm afraid, political investigation here in Germany as much as at your country there in the US won't do a lot for getting the dust, greed and other trash from underneath the carpet revealed. Great documentary. Just found it on new years eve. Thank you. Have a great and better 2024, folks!

[@miraclesarenow]

Excellent coverage. Very informative. Great work. Thank you.

[@ougabouga4115]

eat the propaganda

[@someone8335]

As an Afghan who was born during the first occupation of the Taliban and remembers the B52 bombing of the capital Kabul, the situation in Afghanistan was and is much more complicated. The collapse of a country does not depend on 3500 foreign troops while having more than two hundred thousand national military forces. Just in summary no one knows the big game between superpowers and imagine this, only one year after the collapse of Afghanistan, Russia started the war in Ukraine and Afghanistan is a country that borders central Asia and post-Soviet countries which most still share the same benefits with Russia. Also, another big problem was corruption when you pour billions of dollars without a plan to spend it. Internal disagreements because of ethnical diversity in Afghanistan and the hegemonic ambitions of one of those ethnicities even to purge others from power.

[@antonioarroyas7662]

The language the Americans were using to describe their objectives gave away how tone deaf they were. The history of Afghanistan was no secret to anyone who was willing to learn.

[@Mu5tyLaghmani]

Pakistan helped US to invade while also helping to defeat US by sheltering Talibans, due to Durrand line Pakistan would never allow a stable Afghanistan regardless of what regime is in Afghanistan, apart from all this, in modern times US only fights failed wars, meaning US was not there to win the war but to leave the country in a failed state

[@someone8335]

@@antonioarroyas7662 there is no pride in the history of half a century war, more than two million deaths, no education, collapse of economy, and no one willing to stay.

[@mrcschecht]

Great show

[@faqirmohammadabdullah2906]

Great documentary CNN!

[@zulqarnainuae]

Didn't expect such an honest documentary from CNN.

[@YayaTourney]

Liberals always allow themselves to lament the past injustice, never the current injustice

[@GCS88]

With all the lies surfacing these days? You gotta somehow make it look like You're honest!

[@hermanbrachey7653]

​@@GCS88what are you even going on about? I dont remember CNN getting sued over misinformation 😂😅

[@CGFIELDS]

2 deployments to Afghanistan 🇦🇫 & I will always be proud of the service of my friends & I gave to the Nation. 🇺🇸

[@MohamedBadat-yp7xj]

What did your nation give you in return? You think that whatever you did invading that land will go unnoticed? You will be held accountable before God and we would all see what your fate would be

[@mikejohn3630]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@MohamedBadat-yp7xj”A King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be Kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus." Or that, "Virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice. Remember that.” It doesn’t matter what we think his country gave back. He made the decision to serve for what he believed was right. That’s why he is proud to have give service. Who are we to question his servitude? And for who? You’re right only God will have the right to judge if what he did was right or wrong. What if God deemed his actions to be right and just ? Will you question God’s Judgement ?

[@MohamedBadat-yp7xj]

@@mikejohn3630 God will judge that is true but he doesnt like oppressors It matters not what this soilder thought,every single life he took will stand before God and say "God,this man here took my life whilst I was but a child" A woman will come and say "God,this man Murdered my parents and brothers" An old man will come and say "God,this man slaughtered my grandsons" And God will ask this soilder "On what right,did you do these atrocities,why did you do all of that" The us soilder will reply "God,I was commanded to do so by my army supervisor whos name is so and so" God will say "Didn't I not give you Intellect to discern what is right and what is wrong,didn't I not grant you a consciousness that guided you and you silenced it" God will then say "Every man,woman is accountable for their own sins,no burden of a person shall be carried by another person" And while all of his victims are watching He is thrown into the f(I re) God will then say "Am I not then just? His victims will celebrate because now true justice has been served

[@AsvphwQswxMrxiviwxmrkQer-he9eq]

You wasted trillions of our tax dollars and somehow still lost

[@fatalmokrane]

Proud ? you should be ashamed and disgusted. Remember when USA armed the talibans against the socialist govt of Afghanistan and against the Soviet Union troops ? Remember also USA/Western propaganda portrayed talibans as "freedom fighters", sounds familiar ?? "We don't replicate the same mistakes we made in this war, for the next one ?" So when are you going to learn to stop interfering in other countries ? That's none of your business.

[@rhyzhenthioz]

Remember, Rambo taught them how to fight, never to give-up and never to surrender.

[@xaviertudu1005]

best comment in ages

[@BetSeeBoo]

It's interesting that Jake said the words "blood lust" bc those were the words I going to use to describe what it was I think it was I, along with millions of other Americans were feeling back in September 2001. I remember that sense of wanting revenge even though I'd never been that kind of person. Of course, had I known then that this would mean sacrificing my oldest son, who was 10 at the time, I surely would've thought differently. Don't misunderstand, my son still lives and breathes, but the young man that marched off to train to become a Recon Marine and then fight in one of the most kinetic combat regions in Afghanistan is not the young man I handed off. He suffers horribly from PTSD. He suffers from nightmares every single night, he cannot stand the sound of a woman or a baby crying- whether it be in person or even just on tv/ movie, so he'll never be able to have a child of his own. The fact that he hasn't become one of the 13 veterans/day who commits suicide is nothing short of a miracle because he constantly tells us he doesn't want to be here. Despite all this, I mean he is a Recon Marine after all... the best of the best. He went to college when he got out, even got his Masters and works every day. Only we in his family know how much he suffers, but I know there are untold thousands, who knows, hundreds of thousands like him out there and for what?? What did we gain? He and I have spent many hours over the past 12 years talking about his time in the military and some about his time in Afghanistan. Recently, though, he said something that really shocked me. He told me that most of the Afghan people had no idea why we had even come there. It had to be pretty terrifying. Guess that's why his MOS was to win the hearts of the Afghan people and seek out and eliminate the Taliban. I'm making an edit to add, before anyone may suggest the obvious, we've been BEGGING my son to seek help from the VA for all of his issues, but try telling someone who's been trained SF that they should seek help....ummm it's not in their vocabulary, they're 'invincible'... until they're not. It took me 11 years, but I finally got him to agree to disarm himself last year. Things were getting way too scary so he finally agreed. He wasn't a danger to anyone but himself. It gave me hope that he could do that😌 Next step will be VA...baby steps.

[@AbdullahUsmani-is9nn]

I suggest you guys look into Islam. May God grant you all peace and guidance

[@BetSeeBoo]

@@AbdullahUsmani-is9nn Thank you🙏

[@lawsonj39]

So sorry to hear about your son's struggles. I hope he finds peace, and I hope you do. Best thoughts to you both.

[@BetSeeBoo]

@@lawsonj39 Thank you, I appreciate your kind words.

[@sadiqkhawaja7019]

I don't know what to say, good luck in the future. You should know at the very least, the US army did hand out aid in those 20 years, medicine, clothes, that did save lives.

[@NickInsaf-eq9oi]

One of the biggest mistakes was that Americans were taking advice and trusting Pakistani government, while they were arming and supporting the taliban, and wanted this mission to fail,Americans were looking at Afghanistan thru the lenses of Pakistani Generals and believed it

[@potatojoe3246]

The Biggest Mistake was electing a broken toaster to be the US President

[@MuhammedUmair-ec9ue]

Do you really think the superpower needed Pakistan advice to defeat a militant? yes Pakistan did supported some factions of Taliban but saying that it was the only reason for USA failure is immature and just a propaganda told by Afghan nationalists

[@MuhammedUmair-ec9ue]

Do you really think the superpower needed Pakistan advice to defeat a militant? yes Pakistan did supported some factions of Taliban but saying that it was the only reason for USA failure is immature and just a propaganda told by Afghan nationalists

[@NickInsaf-eq9oi]

That was the main reason for the failure of this mission, because Pakistan not just trained and supported the taliban in its soil ,but used its leverage with Americans to promote the taliban as the only other alternative for Afghanistan..

[@MuhammedUmair-ec9ue]

@@NickInsaf-eq9oi i don't think so you are amerciam what is your nationality AFGHAN?

[@idfkidc]

The fact that they took back the country so fast on exit shows how we made changes. Whether the exit was botched or not, we didnt change any hearts or minds. We need to start staying out of these issues and let their regions figure it out.

[@JsfosstdjsfJsfos-lf4tg]

We did change hearts... for the worse. The taliban increased tenfold during the our occupation and now have several billion dollars worth of weapons that the army left behind. Our war crimes there (that were pardoned or covered up) turned much of the populace against us...

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

​@@JsfosstdjsfJsfos-lf4tg billions in MRAPs and M113. Lol the kind of stuff we dump out at sea to help build coral reefs.

[@pyatig]

But if you leave those regions on their own you get 9/11

[@JsfosstdjsfJsfos-lf4tg]

@@pyatig 9/11 was caused by Saudi arabian nationals, yet Saudi Arabi is the one country in the middle east not invaded by us.

[@drscopeify]

@@JsfosstdjsfJsfos-lf4tg Yeah but Al Qaeda was training them in Afghanistan and they were defeated and destroyed so yeah it was a success they are gone today

[@Human_019]

Vietnam🇻🇳 and Afghanistan🇦🇫 showed that braveness is what makes men inevitable.

[@slickstrings]

Really? No, it showed that if you agree to stop fighting then wait until the USA leaves then start fighting again you can take over. In neither circumstance did they win militarily.

[@fayazahmed8216]

You can Say the United States lost in Afghanistan lost trillions $ lost more than 6000 Americans lives

[@robwasilewski9273]

I served 2 one year deployments in Afghanistan 04-05 10-11. We knew that the Afghanistan government and military were going to just give up. The lowest of soldiers were not getting paid most of the time and they had terrible equipment. So much corruption in that country we couldn't fix that problem at all.

[@touniMoroc007]

The corruption is in ur country buddy not theirs

[@TheFallonCarrington]

Why does America feel the need to fix other countries is the question. Why is America always sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong ?

[@vpunk2008]

Do you feel comfortable talking about your assignments? If yes: what would you say were the crucial mistakes of the mission? Do you still think it was somehow worth it? Would you do this mission again?

[@chaserobert474]

@@TheFallonCarringtonare you aware of what the tailban does fella?

[@wolfganglockard]

​@@TheFallonCarrington I hope you realize the invasion of Iraq was due to Saddam Hussein illegally invading Kuwait, and his subsequent draining of Kuwait's resources and wealth, which wreaked murderous havoc on the male population. Afghanistan was caused by the perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks hiding out with his militia in the caves and mountains.

[@dr.victorvs]

You can't create a national army. You can create an army. You can arm and train people. But where the "national" comes, it's up to the people. The best you can do is educate them. If you don't do this step, then you just built an army for someone else.

[@lattehour]

you can`t educate anything on low iq population especially with a fundamentally flawed culture it never worked and never will people educate themselves and structure the society rules and organisation in such a way that with each ITERATION the resulted specimens are better , for that one needs the proper genetic material and the proper societal rules cumulatively known as the CULTURE and then and only then after generations correctly named ITERATION the resulted specimens are better, this is practically how we build AI today , the american withdrawl was the absolute perfect decission and soon with the advent of tens of millions of low iq immigrants (politically correct term is low academic potential) YOU TO WILL NEED TO WITHDRAW from your own cities and eventually from the country , functional societies are not given they are built and i clearly expressed the recipe above 12:20 it`s not in their DNA to change (the machine is flawed the production process was flawed ) in this condition we call the specimen a rebut and it goes to be recycled for a new iteration

[@mesafintfanuel3627]

You can not invade a foreign country and expect roses from the people. Even if you promise them democracy and economic development. No one will ever accept an occupier or an outsider as a ruler of their established society.

[@drscopeify]

@@mesafintfanuel3627 The USA went in to stop Al Qaeda after it attack them on 9/11 also they attacked France, Russia and UK so they had to be stopped. Indeed Al Qaeda today is gone so it was successful.

[@CHEIZ_TECH]

Great content yooh

[@mayito9100]

I'm soooo glad I didn't have to fight in this war. Many of my friends are gone and many got affected by this useless war.

[@_Alfa.Bravo_]

... it was not useless. It was for finding Osama ....

[@TheAriebudhiw]

​@@_Alfa.Bravo_they didn't even show us the bodies! The worst part is they dumped him on the ocean without any photo whatsoever.

[@_Alfa.Bravo_]

@TheAriebudhiw ... these pictures would have been used by the enemy for propaganda!

[@MohamedBadat-yp7xj]

​@@_Alfa.Bravo_No evidence no case

[@_Alfa.Bravo_]

@@MohamedBadat-yp7xj ... and no place to lay flowers down

[@Killerbuckets23]

As a 20 year old, this war had been going on for practically my whole life thus far.

[@orhansense7282]

you are born into the wrong country. Flee, and save yourself before its too late.

[@jeffxie5067]

@@orhansense7282 Flee to which country, any advice?

[@orhansense7282]

@@jeffxie5067if you have unlearnt your accent, any country will do. Start your voicerecorder, and say "A", ...like 10K times, as other humans say it. Learn to use your voice apparatus like humans do. A.s.a. you feel confident, that they cannot identify your origins, go wherever you like. Otherwise its almost sure you will be hated or at best: laughed at, wherever you go. if you are respected, its because they are afraid of you. or are interested in your money.-should you have some. / this is safe information, so often shared among humans.

[@drscopeify]

@@orhansense7282 What a clown you are. The USA was attacked on 9/11 by Al Qaeda which by the way also had attacked France, Russia and the UK, remember the UK subway bombing??? The USA and its allies went in to Afghanistan to fight Al Qaeda and indeed Al Qaeda and Osama were destroyed they are all gone today. So it was a success, don't be a clown

[@Hemygong]

thank u for showing the post effects of war.

[@najibullah224]

I am an Afghani And Afghans will never forget the American crime

[@MegaSexyshoes]

It shames me to be British watching my great nation commit war crimes alongside these fools

[@itsblitz4437]

Which one 🤔?

[@bostonbased8324]

The world will never forget the Afghan crimes

[@bartsimpson8616]

and should never forged

[@joseandres2424]

No superpower ever defeated the Afghans.

[@pardispoya]

A devastating defeat of a super power in the world

[@JoshuaMademan]

You can't make people change

[@yayaabdulahihasan7749]

​@@JoshuaMademan You can change the people but you must be the right person.

[@JoshuaMademan]

@@yayaabdulahihasan7749 yea relationship wise but fundamentaly or religiously especially if it's been ingrained for thousands of years change is nearly impossible, your right though maybe the right people can I think the u.s. just went head first into something they don't understand

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

What devastating defeat? The Taliban were pretty much hunted for sport and then the US left.

[@terjeoseberg990]

Around 2,400 American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. That’s about 120 per year. Why wasn’t this mentioned in this video? In less than 2 years 230,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine. This documentary is stew pid.

[@PerceivedREALITY999]

According to Brown University researchers, the US War in Afghanistan (2001-2022) cost the US (tax payers) $2.313 trillion. I can think of better ways to spend this money. Tax payer money should be spent on infrastructure, healthcare and education. Opium production surged from approximately 180 tonnes in 2001 to 9,900 tonnes in 2017.

[@yungrom427]

Biden has passed ALOT over 1 trillion dollars has been put for infrastructure, healthcare is there for anyone who can’t afford and needs it also under the affordable care act. However the way we entered Afganistán and withdrew troops was totally wrong, I personally don’t blame Biden because the deal was made between Trump and the taliban.

[@sandiegotrafficlightstrain354]

Biden is literally using the money for infrastructure, Healthcare, and education.

[@davidrosenau3136]

The extra opium was to pay Joe's kickback.

[@SLAPPEDbyAhat]

@@davidrosenau3136ridiculous. Biden wasn’t even President between that time period and why on earth would he be motivated to end the war if he was receiving the drug money? The fact is that opium production in Afghanistan was controlled largely by the Taliban, not by U.S. forces, and certainly not by the Vice President.

[@PorqueNoLosDos]

​@@davidrosenau3136 such a well thought out and nuanced response. You must be from Indiana.

[@user-up7rk7ex5g]

Thank you

[@PJR-Khanizi]

I would like to present my senior salutation to the brave individuals of the Marine Corps, Army, National Guard, Navy, and Special Forces who lost their beloved lives in Afghanistan. I also extend my condolences to the Afghan National Army, police, and especially my own family, as I lost two brothers in the fight against terrorism and the Taliban. I will never forget their sacrifices, and as an Afghan, I am determined to seek revenge. Despite feeling betrayed by those who abandoned Afghanistan for the Taliban regime, I believe that one day we will reclaim our country.

[@Maroma5361]

Three words that will explain this better: Military Industrial Complex. Failure or success is not relevant here.

[@lawsonj39]

Amen. The moneymakers always win.

[@drscopeify]

No, it was due to 9/11 and Osama which conducted the attacks and his center of operations was in Afghanistan and the poof is that today Al Qaeda is GONE and Osama was captured. This was a resounding success and the US army pretty much alreayd left in 2014 as you can see by the deaths of US solders fell to less than 20 per year after 2015 and most of those were from disease or other reasons no combat

[@scorpion20dz]

@@drscopeify BOT lmao ... '' benladen hijacked planes with box cutters '' who ever believe in this is a certified BOT

[@hermanbrachey7653]

​@@drscopeifywrong ❤

[@dtmaxx6557]

Brilliant documentary, very unsettling to watch.

[@LuisGonzalez-px4sj]

The worst thing about war is the end of the war. The aftermath makes you realize what you have lost the veterans right now are not doing good my prayers go out for them I hope they get help.

[@user-gj5jh2sl7b]

Gen/David is absolutely right ❤

[@samialexander3336]

Imagine the money put into the war in Afghanistan and Iraq was put into infrastructure, research and development at home! We would have been way ahead of every nation in every aspect of life

[@paulheydarian1281]

🤔🙄😁🤩🤗

[@Truthbomb918]

Education, health care, gun control

[@MissMan666]

Quite amazing how few casualties the U.S troops suffered in such a long war.

[@falcon7036]

look for sucide rate among veterans you'll see it differently

[@jackblack7827]

it's due to advanced medical technologies and treatments, large number of amputees and other seriously wounded who would have died in earlier conflicts of this scale. Huge numbers of PTSD, which then results in large numbers of dysfunctional individuals returning and demobilizing, then large numbers of suicides.

[@MissMan666]

@@falcon7036 actually no. Suicide among soldiers who been to war is usually much higher

[@Truthbomb918]

Each one had a family. For each killed there are ten times more injured

[@lawsonj39]

@@MissMan666 That's what he meant.

[@AliMsk-gq1rr]

The biggest mistake USA has made in afghanistan was not understanding the culture of afghans especially the Pashtoon tribes. You can never force them to accept something forcefully nor they are scared of deaths. The US could only own those people by economy development rather than imposing war and bombing them. USA might kill people but they cannot kill an ideology. After US investing trillions of $ and lossing personals, the Afghanistan is much more stronger and united than before.

[@jeffshriber6120]

Well done CNN, thank you, by watching this, it has partly explained a void I've had. A veteran

[@drscopeify]

Well it is full of nonsense, we had to invade after 9/11 as they hosted from their own free will Al Qaeda so we had to go in and keep in mind France, UK and even Russia were all attacked by Al Qaeda over the years so we did everyone a favor. Today Al Qaeda is long gone and so is OSama. We never went in to Afghanistan to turn them in to a western country they are not South Korea, Japan or Germany.

[@BeccaJoy]

The truth will set us all free in the end. Thank you for sharing the actual information with the people!

[@vanfja]

And CNN played a major part in beating the war drums😂😂

[@precious_orim]

Facts 💯

[@PerceivedREALITY999]

“Operation enduring freedom” was the virtuous name given to the unjust invasion of Afghanistan. “Operation Iraqi freedom” was the angelic title for the brutal invasion of Iraq. “Operation unified protector” was the fancy name for the destruction of Libya. All in the name of democracy.

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

We are givingDemocracy BadPubIicity.

[@davidanderson6100]

Read a book that amazing, War is a Racket by Gen Smedley Butler, Marine Corp General, won two medals of honor, sent to central America so US companies could take over the banana plantations, it's always the money.

[@kevinjenner9502]

The”Downing Street Memos” show it had been decided in 2002 to invade Iraq, and subsequent Intel and policy was fixed around that decision.

[@DoubleDownscumunpatrioticmagat]

OIL AND DRUGS!!!

[@terjeoseberg990]

Around 2,400 American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. That’s about 120 per year. Why didn’t they mention this in this video? In less than 2 years 230,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine. This documentary is stew pid.

[@ZAN-THE-GOAT]

RIP- Sergeant Matthew Abbate. Navy Cross! You are missed on Xbox every single day. We lost you 2nd Dec 2010. Australia 🇦🇺 knew of you & you had heaps of mates in Australia. One being me. I pray your Family never want for anything and they are forever looked after. I pray that I meet them.

[@ome4383]

I believe that if the US started to help educate Afghan people in 20 years, instead of giving money, today Afghanistan would be a different country. And US politicians know about that.

[@cryptdk2400]

It's funny that you think they want education. They want religion. And slave-wives.

[@erikpederson15]

What a fantastic program. This was very well done. Informative, neutral and unbiased. 👏.

[@AbdoZaInsert]

CNN and Unbiased doesn't blend good together...

[@WaffleCone927]

My brother served in the middle east, often ran into Army Rangers guys. One encounter, this dude said ‘watch this’ and mowed down some men walking thru a field. No intel on if they were bad guys, innocent or anything. Another time, he asked why he kept seeing an FBI agent wonder out of the base with a bag of pistols. ‘Incase we shoot the wrong people’ Google drop gun. What a mess

[@user-cv8xw8zn5u]

Everyone should know this

[@kevinjenner9502]

The US Army personnel responsible for murdering over 500 unarmed civilian men, women, children, and infants in the village of My Lai were acquitted and pardoned.

[@MyHandelsMessiah]

The Middle East only exists because of oil money. Give it 10 years...

[@WaffleCone927]

@@johningram9081 the US army has no bad apples huh? Damn ignorance is bliss

[@demarcusfaulkner7411]

It happened allot

[@SydneyMoo]

The US thought it could kill an idea with missiles, bombs and bullets😂

[@drscopeify]

Well it was successful Al Qaeda is gone today.

[@hermanbrachey7653]

​@@drscopeifyand its only been replaced by more radical groups.

[@xaviertudu1005]

@@drscopeify nope my friend.

[@VerminFrogg]

The only problem with afghanistan is that we never should have been there

[@theatomsinmearebillionsofyears]

Some of the people who benefitted from this 20-year Afghan war are now working in academic institutions teaching your sons and daughters. Some of them are in arms and tech companies (as board members or advisers). And the others? Well, they could be your neighbors happily enjoying their retirement.

[@teresacastillo1783]

......not working They became afhans hire as CIA espionage

[@teresacastillo1783]

Reality world

[@user-bl5pk1hk6q]

More like 20 yrs of MONEY LAUNDERING at that money and still Afghans have nothing to show for of that $2.3 Trillion dollars... Wake up people Ukraine is no different. Money making scam is what this is.. Greedy career corrupt politicians getting fat on tax payers money.

[@functional18490]

I like the candid dialogue but disagree with his final conclusion. The termination of the war matters. I served 2 tours there during the height of the war (07-08 and 09-10) and I think that if we do not acknowledge that our efforts produced no visible fruit we will have more guys not reaching out for help and eating guns. Freud, I think said it best when he said (I paraphrase): "A man who faces facts, no matter how unpleasant, retains his sanity." We have to face facts on this, and hold those who made the informed decisions accountable for it. Our fallen comrades would ask no less than this....

[@VT-mw2zb]

All wars ended in some kind of negotiated settlements. Sometimes it's very one-sided, but even the most "unconditional surrenders" had a lot of "conditions" in the ending. The Allies promised that, for example, they would not enslave the German and Japanese populations but the war criminals would be trialed. They would be allowed to return to The International economics systems, etc ... The American people bought into the idea of "there is no negotiated end to war. We fight, we defeat, and we win". Well, it's not the Punic Wars anymore where you get to kill all the males, enslave all the women and children and (apocryphally) salt the ground. It's no longer the case. I believe that was how they saw American won the Civil War and WWII. The books written by Dan Reiter demonstrated this quite nicely. In 2002, he wrote "Democracies at War" which said that democracies are more likely to win wars than autocracies. This was his self- reassuring book just as his country started two wars. Sad to say that his democracy added two losses to the record. In 2009, he wrote "How Wars End" and it admits to the fact that wars end by settlements and wars are an educational process to show the participants what they can and can't get.

[@drscopeify]

Well the US army had pretty much left after 2014-2015 when the deaths per year fell to less then 20 after 2015, as after that it was mostly just training mission and the air base and intelligence. And overall Al Qaeda is today gone and Osama is fish food.

[@alistairwalley4299]

3 mins in, what hub is he running on that bike? Sounds good

[@catherinerobson5482]

Agreed the short rotation in and out of the military was a huge weakness...we NGO volutneers were committed for years and left seldom, big difference in relationships and understanding of the work.

[@drscopeify]

Well the goal from the start was to crush Al Qaeda as they hosted them in Afghanistan and that was successful, Al Qaeda is history. They attacked France, Spain train bombing, UK subway attacks, Even Russia was attacked, so we had to go in and end that mess which well. was successful.... The US military lost less than 20 men per year after 2014-2015 when it was contractors that took over but it was stupid, the whole show should have ended in 2015 but for whatever reason Obama and Trump did not end it, not sure why.

[@ollipetterson8322]

A f:n Masterpiece. I truly mean that. Great Work

[@CharlesOsborne-kd9sz]

38:00 had me lmaoing. Worst March ever, like first day bootcamp type stuff. Moving the same arm and leg forward at the same time LOL

[@thedude9741]

Don’t care what anyone says but the invasion of Afghanistan was a crusade

[@scottsmith4178]

The question I didn't hear was: "What if the resources had instead been invested in defensive measures at home (e.g., airline security) rather than offensive measures abroad?"

[@nelsonjanusson7278]

this was an incredible documentary, thanks for making it. the fact that america can examine itself this well gives me hope both about the future of america and about my own country here in europe.

[@ralphvandereb66]

Actually cnn is just white washing its complicity in this whole story. They pumped it to the max and have now abandoned the sinking ship

[@jeffxie5067]

It's not surprising to see CNN blaming George W Bush. If this documentary is on FOX, it would be quite impressive.

[@prestonpollock3924]

@@jeffxie5067who’s to blame then?

[@pyatig]

It’d be impressive if the people in power had this level of self reflection but alas all they care about is money and power

[@YayaTourney]

You seem young. Establishment liberals always lament the past injustice but never the current injustice.

[@loveartandtravel]

War for nothing, it was a showcase of the pride of American leaders and politicians.

[@LitCentralMillennialXLIII]

2010 war a kinetic year out there. RIP to all those lost .

[@raymondmainamugure204]

There is a proverb in my local Kenyan Kikuyu dialect that goes, "Uuugi Ndwanjagia." The translation is that wisdom is usually always as a result of mistakes. Wisdom is usually never at the starting point of any and all human experiences but rather it is the end result of them all, both individually and collectively.

[@siggifreud812]

I guess the US is wisdom-resistant then...? After the "lessons" of vietnam, it should have been so obvious.....

[@DonDezz]

They seem to never learn it seems

[@volition2015]

Back in the 90's I remember talking to a former officer of the Soviet Army who said "The military did what was asked of us, and we did it well. The politicians lost this war." He also complained about the "greens" (ANA) being unmotivated and corrupt. I suspect if we were to ask a Vietnam veteran, they would say the same thing about their effort and about ARVN performance.

[@josephm3615]

Our Army in Vietnam became largely conscript one.

[@alexdale8705]

There were a number of things that led to the end of the Vietnam war, but part of it was indeed the weakness of South Vietnams military.

[@scallen3841]

​@@alexdale8705after all American forces left by 1973 , the north Vietnamese attacked the south and it was the army of south Vietnam that lost in 1975 .

[@terjeoseberg990]

Around 2,400 American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. That’s about 120 per year. Why wasn’t this mentioned in this video? In less than 2 years 230,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine. This documentary is stew pid.

[@volition2015]

@@terjeoseberg990 Ukraine is a high intensity conflict though. Perhaps a better comparison could have been to Soviet losses in Afghanistan: 14,453 KIA.

[@philipschifano5876]

Great ending statement tapper

[@pakistaniatheist2405]

Unfortunately Afghanistan never has and never will be a workable nation or society because of its deep ethnic divisions between Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns. Both consider themselves to be heirs of the state. Afghanistan must be divided along ethnic lines for lasting peace in the region and indeed in the world.

[@user-kp1gp7yz8e]

😂😂😂

[@andrewtang5761]

The war was a wasted effort indeed.

[@ed-od9sd]

I remember watching the movie Three King and Jarhead during these times when I joined the Canadian Navy.

[@williejohnson1718]

As always we never learn from past military experiences, we continue to make the same mistakes costing lives. Afghanistan was my generation Vietnam with incompetent, promotion and assignment driven general officers whose main concern was outdoing the previous person and most importantly not displaying true LEADERSHIP. To listen to these retired generals talk now really upsets me because they had an obligation to their subordinates to not only lead but fight to ensure they had the necessary resources and objectives to be successful. I served in the Army from 1988-2012 and had my fair share of deployments to many countries in support of military operations prior to and after 9/11. I learned that being a leader encompass courage to stand up for what is right regardless of the situation. I understand that there are people that have aspirations of achieving the highest level/rank whether it be as a NCO or officer but some do forget what their primary purpose of being a leader is. Leaders inspire, motivate, train, teach, mentor, take care of their personnel and most importantly are tasked to take their subordinates to combat and bring them back home safely. I’ve said in a previous post the military was given a challenging task with no clear guidance and they did their best to accomplish the mission. The military doesn’t lose wars only politicians lose wars. We put so much trust in our politicians and things just seem to fall apart constantly. We all knew Afghanistan was a corrupt country but yet we expected a different outcome. This goes to show when the government of a country is corrupt the country has no choice but to fail regardless how much effort and support is given throughout the international community. My hopes are that our politicians, military leaders and citizens have learned from the Afghanistan war but my heart says we have not based on current events which means we are doomed to make the same mistakes again. History exists to teach but one must be willing to learn.

[@pilotpirx4252]

My hope is that US will loose a major war and will become one of few major powers restricted to own sphere of influence with no global outreach. It's all pointing to that scenario. Country is surrounded by medieval shitholes with narco crime and lawlessness while hypocritically trying to build nations on the other side of the globe . Probably by design. Why build prosperity in your own sphere of influence when you can have as much cheap destitute labor as needed? Also , you guys who are enlisting in tours because there is nothing else you can do in life are mercs no soldiers since you're mostly used in illegal wars and only the fact of being a military force of a superpower saves your leadership ranks from being court-martialed as war criminals.

[@joedirt0311]

I knew back in 2011 and 2012 when I was in Afghanistan that as soon as we left the taliban would take back over. We had to leave at some point but the way it was done was terrible, seeing these guys try to say they didn't see it coming really hurts amd pisses me off. These "leaders" need to be held accountable! the way the whole war was managed by politicians and genreals was terrible. We all knew exactly how the withdraw would play out

[@user-jf3yh3dy9h]

why there isn't translation

[@Devilishlybenevolent]

Afghanistan was a plot so we give the military industrial complex billions of US tax dollars. That is fundamentally it. Everything else was just a lie/excuse. Just like now "CHINA! RUSSIA! QUICK, WE NEED TO INCREASE MILITARY FUNDING BY ANOTHER 200 BILLION!" meanwhile the American people are stuck in a capitalist hellscape where every turn is met by a greedy corporation using inflation as an excuse to nickel and dime us.

[@RyanBrown-nx8dw]

Well uf u idiots set some objectives and diddnt make it about making money.. it might of been different.......no reverse gear

[@decaf.always]

This was actually a very good watch. Never did I think CNN would be able to step it up again. Hope it's not a one time thing.

[@aqeel-3771]

Cnn is better than fox news.

Henry Kissinger "it may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal"?

[@MrEye4get]

Lt. Col Jason Dempsey said what I know and saw during my three tours (48 months) serving in Afghanistan. I was reprimanded and sent home early for expressing my assessment of failures. No one [it's career suicide] tells the "Old Man" bad news!

[@njonjokibera9587]

Maybe the generals and the presidents during the war should be held responsible because they knew behind the scenes that it was a failed war doomed to failed. OBL dies in May 2011 that should have been the opportunity to withdrawal. Afghanistan is a failed country with different tribes fighting and killing each other

[@user-mk9lt8kz3f]

@@njonjokibera9587 I have thought that very thing. After getting Bin Laden, we should have planned our gradual withdrawal.

[@njonjokibera9587]

@@user-mk9lt8kz3f we should’ve withdraw in 2011 after Bin Ladens death, or in the end of 2011. Nation building should have been done in this country not in Afghanistan. Afghan people are responsible for developing their country

[@apacademy]

That's because bad news and truth are not good for his heart & mind

[@terjeoseberg990]

Around 2,400 American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. That’s about 120 per year. Why wasn’t this mentioned in this video? In less than 2 years 230,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine. This documentary is stew pid.

[@PAVEL--JAKL]

Stop the endless wars keep peace around the world..✌️

[@fupopanda]

Peace didn't exist before the "endless wars" of War on Terror, nor will it exist afterwards. This planet has never known peace in the entire 6000 years of human recorded history.

[@henlohenlo689]

entire war was a proxy war, not a real war. afghanistan is a dust bowl not a real country it's a piece of desert land that is meant to be left alone and not developed. and the usa lost to this useless piece of land. the real reason was the whole war was a scheme. all of the arab nations and usa was colluding with one another to conduct the genocide. very similar to the current ukraine thing, usa is still doing their misconduct but they shifted the genocide into ukraine and knows it's happening and still funds it. they want to keep the population numbers in check. the world is on pace to run out of oil within 30 years from now. but they should not do these stupid wars, they should just tell everyone to stop breeding like what china did. but the woman still find a way to cheat the rules.

[@liberatetutemeexinferis5902]

Peace doesn't sell. War is profitable. Sad, but true.

[@fiaf-m3003]

us never want peace in the world.

[@henlohenlo689]

@@fiaf-m3003 the people of usa do. not a reckleess 80 year olds like biden whom his own time is near an end so he could care less about human life. but he doesn't represent the people at large. these decisions are made by the few with too much power.

[@daddy9925]

In its existence, Afghanistan has never been fully and permanently conquered. Never? Never! You would think that the United States would’ve considered this little detail.

[@AlexHandforth-xr1gp]

7 pillars of wisdom . they follow People . Not ideas or institutions

[@ollipetterson8322]

With all the "noise", I did not see this coming. A beacon of hope that was truly needed in this political climate. Well balanced and I think you have set a new standard for NEWS in America. Someone has to do it. The ending was right on the 'money'. Fantastic. Release this into different platforms.

[@brightthinking8814]

Hello, hope you are doing well, i am a student ftom Afghanistan living in Pakistan and acquiring education, i am in very harsh trouble at the moments, because of unpaid fees of university.will you plz help me with 400 dollar to submit my fee, i will be very thankful to you.

[@mikelittle5250]

wtf?? @@brightthinking8814

[@globaladdict]

Fox news rvtards aren't going to take the time to watch this, let alone make a documentary like this. That is the difference between us and them today. Period.

[@ahmadTareen0]

As a young Afghan, I would like to address the issue of corruption, particularly in reference to the female ambassador from Afghanistan who held a position in the United States. It is disconcerting to witness her speaking about corruption when, as reported by the media, she herself has been implicated and proven to be involved in embezzling millions of American dollars. And it's worth noting the loss of thousands of Afghan lives. Every Afghan knows that the USA was not here to build our country or stabilize the economy-none of them. From the top leader to down, it is evident that their aim was to enrich themselves by filling their pockets. It was America that supported them. In the end, the USA should not have attacked our country; they should have learned from the experiences of the Russians and the British

[@marwan3420]

​@@justmehello5543For good. Now Afghanistan can reach prosperity and peace.

[@midoumazouz2273]

Respect from algeria ❤...

[@ahmadTareen0]

@@justmehello5543 kid your allies didn't washed their hands we cut it for them!

[@amrmohamed1387]

​@ahmadjavediqbal well said Proud of you my brother❤

[@AhmadjawadIqbal]

Bro the outstanding response ❤

[@Sir_Typesalot]

Nineteen Arabs from Saudi Arabia ram two planes in two skyscrapers and a third into the United States Defense Department, and the US attacks Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya in retaliation. That’s transatlantic colonial logic in a nutshell.

[@warrengreen3217]

Why do people never bring up the plane took over by Americans and crashed in Pennsylvania it was headed to the white house they matter just as much as the ones who hit there target

[@tonycavanagh1929]

A war without end.

[@joshuacox1559]

First off, I’m an OEF vet (Kandahar and Helmand provinces) and What always blew my mind and still enrages me to this day is this: The fighting aged males of that country didn’t want to take their own country back. If they didn’t want to be patriots and fight for their own freedom from the Taliban then why were we doing it for them? That’s just my $0.02

[@John-vm2sq]

OEF vet too. My take centers around understanding Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs. We, in the west, and as Americans, are generally on a higher rung of that pyramid. Where basic needs are met, physiologically, socially, economically, to the point where we can undergo self-actualization and get into abstract things like "patriotism" and "self-determination." Afghanistan does not have that bandwidth or "luxury" to explore such things. They are literally only thinking about their next meal. The poverty we saw there is the ultimate disconnect... we didn't understand the amount of poverty and that it is a country of grifters, young and old. They do whatever it takes to survive. That's their mode of thinking. We can't prescribe ideas like "patriotism" or suggest they go down the hard path of "self determination" when they themselves don't have enough money to feed their family, or much less themselves. We essentially were trying to teach an illiterate and grifting population western philosophy, law, and ideals expecting them to pick it up and see it's values. They can only explore those spaces if their physiological, mental, emotional, and economic needs are met first (hence, see Maslows Heirarchy of Needs). They simply don't have the mental or physical bandwidth to explore such things. The consolation is that I believe we truly empathized with them and wanted to give them a better future (especially women in Kabul), but in the end, they were simply too poor, too illiterate, and too hungry (literally) to adopt/adapt.

[@joshuacox1559]

You’re very well spoken and I agree 100%.

[@jacobyong1405]

You still do not understand the Afghan people just like the politicians and the military leadership. Patriotism to Afghan people was fighting the foreign occupations and joining the Taliban. Those who were collaborating with Americans were the ones seen as traitors working to make few cash and bite time until the Americans leave. Fighting foreign occupation by a military super power for 20 years and defeating them would be the strongest show of patriotism on the face of the earth. Your own mind just switched the logic around.

[@SteveHutcheson]

@@John-vm2sq You are like many I worked with, you see things from your perspective and what you as an American want and are not even thinking about what it is they want. From their perspective, the Talibs are also Afghans, they follow the same religion and not always that much differently to what they do. Moreover, the fact that you wanted to introduce western or American culture and ideals puts you at odds with a culture that is a thousand years older than your own. The thing is, Americans were the invaders and the locals simply tolerated you knowing full well that eventually you would leave and think nothing of it...and you did.

[@marwan3420]

They actually took their country back by fighting off the US and their western allies. Those you call the "Taliban" are local ethnic Afghans. Imaging being mad that people fought you because you were an invader.

[@justinwallace390]

I only served 1 tour in Afganistan on active duty. I know I served my country to the best of my abilities at the time, however, I definitely have mixed feelings why we basically tried to occupy a country for so long and impose our views and ideologies among people that do not view the same way. At least once a week or sometimes twice a week we would gather at attention for Fallen Hero ceremonies on the flightline. We used our own C-130 aircraft for coffin displays. That was very difficult to deal with, because they were Americans that didn't even know.

[@giostevens7669]

Come on now you know exactly why they was over there America was over there way before 9/11 every American knows why

[@erzsebetnilsson580]

you never served the US as it is not exist ONLY SOME AMERCAN CITIZENS HEARTH but other wise YOU SERVED KISSINGER WEAPON MAKERS DRUGDEALERS ISRAEL nothing else as your leaders and army is lead by them for to serve them.... minewhile all your tax money goes to Israel too where they use it for free healthcare free education free everything the money they double double and even more and may times double steeled from you from your family and kids .... WORST IT WILL GET FOR THEM IF ISRAEL WOULD NOT BE TOTALLY DESTROYED AND TAKEN THE RIGHT OF RECOGNISION OF THEM AS STATE GIVEN TO THEM BY THE QUEENS MOTHER JEWISH ORIGINE AND ABUSE OF THE UKS ROYAL FAMILY NAME AND TOTALLY IDSTROYED THE UK CITIZENS TOO> FOR THAT THEY USE THEIR OFFSPRINGS IN HOLYWOOD TO GET RICH BY BEING FAMOUS WHILE ALL FILM IS PLANE HOW TO KILL OUT THE US THE UK AND ALL NATIONS

[@TheMusicHeals.kjhjhhg]

you know that is the definition of terrorism right? what we did there.

[@justinwallace390]

@@giostevens7669 No, I don't know. Please share

[@justinwallace390]

@@TheMusicHeals.kjhjhhg I never hurt or terrorized anyone in my 14 years on active duty. Spin it any way you want.

[@bigchunk1]

38:54 is the best summary for why it didn't work I have seen.

[@dcummings7253]

The mistake was. We should have never been there.

[@IslandHawaii]

My dad fought in this war and missed my graduation, glad he survived the war but still missed him for a year in my life just for some boogus war

[@stripclub-di5fr]

omg so sad life is so hard for you

[@tundrawomansays694]

@@stripclub-di5frOMG, what a humane response. /s

[@pandagamerZA]

You're dad's a killer

[@freddygray8058]

I appreciate your dad's service and I understand your loss. Thank you and your family for your sacrifices. The bogus war was Iraq. The Afghanistan war was righteous in my opinion.

[@user-fl5mq9kp7g]

​@@freddygray8058If killing your gangs is a fair thing?!!!

[@emmanuelzozobrado5981]

The thing about this war in afghanistan is that the USA is consistently placing a military presence in afghanistan and of course, it can be expected that there will be clashes between the locals and the americans. The US does not want to leave and will not invade the country either that is why the war has been going on for 20 years. You can call it a war, but the exact definition is occational clashes from time to time.

[@Dsaes]

The generals who spoke on this documentary know more than about this war than they can speak of !

[@cashx370]

The cable from a diplomat talking about troops requiring a level of local knowledge that he wouldn’t even have of his own hometown is absolutely crazy.

[@SibonisoMthuli-bf7qj]

Wars are about sales and profit. It doesn't matter how many lives get lost in the process.

[@_Alfa.Bravo_]

... this one was about REVANGE !!!

[@teresacastillo1783]

The sales and profits were planting poppy drugs to sell it world wide instead of feeding USA citizens Reality

[@aqeel-3771]

War profiteering.

[@808INFantry11X]

Wars are only profitable if victory is achieved. What's the point in making money if the dollar takes a hit like it did because of GWOT. Yeah folks like certain contractors shamelessly make money but they also do want to see the mission succeed as well because otherwise what good is the money if its not worth the paper it's printed on. This war was done for so many reasons good and bad but ultimately we all lost but the biggest losers is the people of Afgahnistan. I hope that one day maybe there can be reconciliation but doubt that will happen in my life time.

[@terjeoseberg990]

Around 2,400 American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. That’s about 120 per year. Why didn’t they mention this in this video? In less than 2 years 230,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine. This documentary is stew pid.

[@joestendel1111]

Thank you for making this available for free, every American should watch this film, those who have not served still have an obligation to remember the sacrifices of our service men

[@F90M5]

It is not a sacrifice when you knowingly choose to serve against humanity.