The correct lesson from Afghanistan instantly beginning to revert back to Taliban control the moment the western occupation ends is not that the occupation needs to continue, it's that it should never have happened in the first place.

"Oh no, bad things are happening because we're leaving!" No, bad things are happening because you went in. You spent two decades hammering that poor nation with bombs and war crimes, and now they're just going right back to where they were before you inflicted that upon them. Everything that's happening in Afghanistan today is the fault of the invaders.

The argument that the occupation has been a boon for human rights is just plain false, and is premised on the idea that the western empire should invade every nation with illiberal cultural values and force it to change at gunpoint. Even if that ridiculous premise were accepted, it has been clearly established that such a thing is impossible.

How fucking obnoxious is it that westerners are now wringing their hands over the fact that when they stop forcing Afghanistan to be a certain way at gunpoint, the fate of Afghanistan starts being determined by Afghans? Enough with this white man's burden bullshit, freaks.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Article with links and sources: https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/the-right-and-wrong-lessons-from