Why are troops STILL in Afghanistan?

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I'll preface this thread by stating that I know very little of Canadian Politics, and U.S Politics....and politics in general. So the thread title might seem like a stupid question to the political experts of SCF. So enlighten me, the caveman of politics....why are troops STILL in Afghanistan?

[Jack-Hammer]

An unofficial answer, something that you'll probably never hear any politician say, is that troops are still stationed in Afghanistan as a show of force. There'll probably always be U.S. troops stationed in countries like Afghanistan because when you get right down to it, there's too much support for radical Islamic terrorists among not only ordinary citizens but also within the government itself.

This is going to sound like a conspiracy theory to some degree, and it probably is, but I also suspect a possibility of U.S. troops being there, unofficially and without the knowledge of the troops but with the knowledge of the highest ranking officers, to help protect the trafficking of heroin from Afghanistan. Since the early 90s, most of the world's heroin has come from Afghanistan and there are wealthy and powerful members of the Afghani government and/or military who control their own large militias occupying land these officials/military leaders have control of. There are poppy fields all over Afghanistan and plants to turn said poppies into heroin and in return for helping these drug lords protect their interests, they keep an eyes open and ears to the ground regarding any rumble of terrorist activity; they provide intel and help to keep terrorist activity at bay while the soldiers basically look the other way or help out in whatever ways they're ordered to by superiors.

I know it sounds kinda goofy but it's really not when you consider the same things are said to have been going on in Vietnam during the war and during the 80s while American troops and CIA agents were down in various South American countries helping to train those soldiers, and/or helping with the fighing themselves, to fight communist forces. Now, of course, the official word is that neither the U.S. government or leaders of anti-communist rebels in South America authorized the smuggling of hundreds of millions of dollars of narcotics, mostly into the United States.

So yeah, I may be wrong and I accept that. I'll never try to swear that I know anything for a fact, because I don't, but do I think it's possible elected officials and military leaders might look the other way if they think it's ultimately for the greater good? Hell yes.

[Miko]

Because your Mother is still out there servicing them, yes, you who are reading this post right now, your Mother

[TheManTheyCalledNorCal]

Because the withdrawal was always going to go the exact way that it did, and no one wanted to admit that, or be the one holding the bag when it did.

[klunderbunker]

Because the withdrawal was always going to go the exact way that it did, and no one wanted to admit that, or be the one holding the bag when it did.

I can't remember who said it (might have been Biden) but if the Afghanistan army is going to give up that fast, it wouldn't matter if we were there for another five days, months, years or decades. We can't do everything for them forever and that is what was seemingly expected of us.

[TheManTheyCalledNorCal]

I can't remember who said it (might have been Biden) but if the Afghanistan army is going to give up that fast, it wouldn't matter if we were there for another five days, months, years or decades. We can't do everything for them forever and that is what was seemingly expected of us.

Ive been saying it since 2014, so you probably have heard it in many places from many people.

"50 weeks or 50 years, it wouldn't make a difference"