Afghanistan

How interesting. A contest about Afghanistan. Afghanistan sits landlocked between Pakistan on the East and Iran on the West with a population of 39 million. It's enemy is an insurgency group known as 'The Taliban', numbering about 75,ooo. Its land area is a bit larger, but its population is close to that of California. I watched a movie about Afghanistan on yesterday. It was intitled, Lone Survivor, starring Mark Wahlberg. It was about 4 Navy SEALs sent out on a covert mission. The mission was a failure, and only one of the four survived. Through their eyes, the mission was about loyalty to the team, commitment to the cause, and devotion to the mission. More or less, in that order. In the movie, the mission was secret; and presently, I deem it best to keep the mission secret in this piece. This poem seeks no political stands nor opinions about military policy. There was one major insight that I took away from the movie that has always been a question mark for me. Do we go into countries to assist and help, or to lead the way? Do we seek to control and determine the outcome we want to see? What should the 'end game' look like? The movie does not provide answers to my questions, nor does it render true or false elements to present day policies. However, it does provide aids and insights about possible realities that speak to my questions. Neither my life nor yours is straight as an arrow; and it has been proven that the earth is not flat but round. Life among men is never an 'exacting science'; and we most often learn to adapt to principles and practicalities. Real or unreal, I want to believe, as the movie portrayed, that there are many Afghans who would bravely risk their lives for the life of one lone Navy SEAL who himself has grave difficulties in believing until such reality was forced upon him. Trying to see Afghanistan through the lens of 'the Taliban' would perhaps be the worst of all 'false positives'. Whether waged by 'The Taliban' or any group or nation, there are "no holy wars'. The reality of war is hell, and there is no way to portray it heavenly. I believe that history repeats itself in Afghanistan and everywhere else when mankind refuses to learn from the past. Since war is hell, there is no heavenly exit strategies regardless of who wins or loses; for in war, even if the victor takes the spoils, the taste is always bitter. We all lose. We can continue to debate, playing political football and ping pong if we desire; but regardless of administrations, we never seem to get it right in The Middle East. Although my country may have purchased a few good years, the cost has been severely painful. And if we deem it an investment, the present losses are clear, but we will have to wait a very long time for profits and gains, if any. Personally, I would not count on positive returns. In my view, the only positive returns coming out of the Middle East are those we receive in the support of the State of Israel, and those from nations willing to co-exist with The State of Israel. 082221PSC, Afghanistan, Kai Michael Neumann https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Afghanistan