Isn't it striking that as press speculation increases that some form of government shutdown is a real possibility, and "what happens if the government shuts down" articles are starting to appear, there's almost no talk about the war in Afghanistan?
Some will no doubt say, well, the troops in Afghanistan will still get paid, because of the Feed and Forage Act of 1861, which permits the government to buy "clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, transportation, or medical and hospital supplies" for troops.
But the Feed and Forage Act doesn't cover military families. And that's a big problem for the war.
Recall that one of the most vocal constituencies against the recently aborted war in Syria was military families. In addition to the arguments that everyone else gave, military families said: we're already facing budget cuts. If you don't have money for us, you don't have money for a new war.
Suppose that the government shuts down in some form. And suppose that this imposes a new hit on military families.
Imagine that some grunt in Afghanistan calls his wife on Skype. "How's it going, honey," he asks. "Well," she says, "I couldn't get something I needed for our baby today because the government is shut down."
How is that guy going to react to that? Might he say to himself: "Now let me get this straight. I'm going on a mission tomorrow where I could get blown up, and my government can't be bothered to take care of my wife and baby?"
Might he not think to himself: "If my government can't be bothered to take care of my wife and baby, then my government needs to get me the hell out of here so I can do it myself!"
Isn't the fact that no-one is talking about this proof that no-one in America really gives a rat's behind about the war in Afghanistan anymore?
If nobody in America cares about the war in Afghanistan anymore, why are we still letting our soldiers get blown up there?
In light of all this, if the government shuts down, shouldn't the war in Afghanistan shut down too?
If you think the war in Afghanistan should be shut down, there's a petition at CREDO Action you might like.