Americans are tired of war. We've been in a continuous state of war for decades to maintain the peace in many areas throughout the world. Successful campaigns such as in Korea has allowed the south to prosper. The same can be said of Japan and Europe. The war in Afghanistan, well, that is another story. The original reason for having gone into Afghanistan was to root out 'evil' and to bring to justice those who committed acts terrorism against us on 9/11. That was successfully done years ago.
President Obama understood this and declared he would be bringing the troops home. On May 1, 2012, he told troops at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, we would be leaving Afghanistan by end of 2014. Simple, right? Not so fast.
The top military brass have a different take on things. Yes, the same folks who want active duty personnel and veterans to sacrifice their pay and benefits in order to pay for wasteful defense spending want to keep troops on the ground in Afghanistan indefinitely.
A man who represents those goals is none other than General Dunford. Gen Dunford is the marine four-star, big shot running the show in Afghanistan. On Mar 12, Gen Dunford gave testimony to the Senate Armed Service Committee on the situation in Afghanistan. The questioning from Senator Manchin was most telling. Under oath, Gen Dunford confirmed to the Senator there were more contractors on the ground than troops. He also tried mightily to explain why we needed to maintain a force in Afghanistan with no end date. This video should anger you.
It is clear to most of us who follow military affairs recognize the military officer corp, especially the top brass, is about self preservation. With their gold plated retirement plans they keep wasteful programs going to position themselves for well paid jobs in the defense contract business after they retire to persuade the government to spend even more money on folly.
(h/t Jim White)