Chinese workers building a high-speed railroad

All the recrimination-filled reporting and commentary about how fast Afghanistan fell to the Taliban after President Joe Biden made the courageous decision to finish withdrawing our troops misses a much more important story.

This story concerns why Americans can’t have nice things anymore while our main economic competitor China does and is investing in a lucrative and influential future.

It’s the story of jettisoning the sensible Powell Doctrine of asking if war is quickly winnable before rushing into military action in favor of chronic combat. Endless war creates enormous fortunes for investors in the military-industrial complex, enabled by jingoistic political cowardice in Washington.

For two decades our elected leaders foolishly spent our money trying to impose democracy at the point of a rifle in a country with no democratic culture or tradition…

To date, U.S. taxpayers have spent about $2.3 trillion on an undeclared war that cost 2,448 American troops their lives avenging about the same number of lives lost on 9/11/2001. More than 100,000 Afghans died in the 20-year war…

The total ultimate Afghan war bill? More than $6.4 trillion, according to the Cost of War Project at Brown University. That’s more than $100,000 for the iconic family of four.

Please read Johnston’s rant in its entirety. Someone has to explain this arrogance, ignorance and futility to American taxpayers and, believe me, that someone won’t be speaking on behalf of the Democrats or Republicans treasured 2-party system.