OPINION
The End of an Era: The U.S., Afghanistan, and the Death of the American Academy “The virtues [empires] claim to uphold and defend, usually in the name of their superior civilization, are a mask for pillage, the exploitation of cheap labor, indiscriminate violence and state terror.” — Chris Hedges (https:// scheerpost.com/2021/08/30/hedges-the-empire-does-not-forgive) BY LUKE PETERSON
A
ugust 2021 has become a noteworthy month in the annals of U.S. foreign policy — a macabre and shameful episode marking the unceremonious end of its longest war. After two decades of violence, bloodshed and unfulfilled promises, the last American soldiers departed Afghanistan, finally terminating a military occupation so lengthy
and nebulous as to be appropriately dubbed the “forever war.” An entire generation of Americans and Afghans grew up with this de facto reality, which was just as reliable as death and taxes. As of August of 2021, however, all of that changed. The Biden administration’s decision to complete what had been attempted in fits and starts by the Obama and Trump
administrations shocked, maddened and dismayed a great many. Some railed against Biden for turning his back on the military (a Republican initiative to impeach him over this decision arrived in Congress stillborn). Another group approved but criticized the withdrawal’s chaotic nature and the unspeakable number of casualties among allies and activists who have been or will be lost in its
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