[Facebook post] Today I read the Democratic National Committee statement about the end of the Afghanistan War. In it, they praised President Biden for his bravery and described the end of the war in celebratory terms. So I wanted to tell you about something I experienced in Afghanistan, and how it relates.In August of 2009 I was part of an operation to fight our way into a remote Taliban-held valley. Coalition troops had never been in that valley, according to local legend the Russians and even Brits never made it there either. The Taliban had vowed we would never set foot in their valley.
The plan was for French Marines to set positions in the mountains, then a couple hundred Afghan police plus another couple hundred Afghan Army troops, along with American embedded trainers, would force their way into the valley. The goal wasn’t to take control; if we made it in easily we were going to hold the area just long enough to make a point. If the Taliban fought hard enough to stop us we’d take some compounds and hold our ground overnight, just to show the Talibs that we could stay if we wanted to.