It’s a reminder, to me, of the limits of American power, and a cautious lesson against strategic overreach and mission creep. There’s a saying that has stuck with me that in the military—as well as at the highest levels of foreign policy and national politics—we unlearn the lessons that we should never forget just in time to make the same mistakes again.
I remember being on patrol, doing what we call in the infantry a “movement to contact.” We knew when we crossed a line on the map we were going to get into a firefight with the Taliban, and we were walking through villages with no electricity, no plumbing, very little to give away that this was a place in the 21st century. And my takeaway from that was really a visceral feeling of, “What are we doing here? How are these people a threat to the United States?”
I think there was just a huge strategic miscalculation in causation that happened after 9/11, and nation-building in Afghanistan is not, and was never going to be, a solution to stop a terrorist attack. I think we destabilized the region—I think the world is less safe because of our military involvement there.
There’s no graceful way to lose a war. I think we knew that we weren’t going to be able to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves at least 10 years ago. And so I’m grateful that American involvement has ended.
When we first went there in late 2001, there was a civil war going on then with the Northern Alliance and the Taliban, and I think it’s going to return to internal political divisions like that. But I also hope that there’s going to be a lot less violence and a lot less human suffering now that we’re not engaged in that war. It’s an incredibly violent part of the world, and our engagement and involvement there created a level of human suffering that I don’t think people pause to think about enough. And I’m glad we are not going to be there anymore.
Images from top: Getty Images, Gabby Crowley
After nearly 20 years, America’s war in Afghanistan finally came to a chaotic close in August, with the evacuation of 120,000 U.S. soldiers in two weeks, the swift collapse of the Afghan government, the return of Taliban rule, and the tragic death of 13 soldiers after a terrorist attack at Kabul Airport. What are some of the critical lessons learned from the war in Afghanistan?
AFGHANISTAN
Massachusetts State Sen. John Cronin, Class of 2022, served two tours in Afghanistan as an infantry platoon leader and executive officer between 2014 and 2017. He was elected to the state Senate in 2020, representing Fitchburg, Leominster, and other Central Massachusetts communities, and currently serves as chair of the Joint Committee of Municipalities and Regional Government and as vice chair of the Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development Joint Committee.
Interview by Jon Gorey
It’s a reminder, to me, of the limits of American power, and a cautious lesson against strategic overreach and mission creep. There’s a saying that has stuck with me that in the military—as well as at the highest levels of foreign policy and national politics—we unlearn the lessons that we should never forget just in time to make the same mistakes again.
I remember being on patrol, doing what we call in the infantry a “movement to contact.” We knew when we crossed a line on the map we were going to get into a firefight with the Taliban, and we were walking through villages with no electricity, no plumbing, very little to give away that this was a place in the 21st century. And my takeaway from that was really a visceral feeling of, “What are we doing here? How are these people a threat to the United States?”
I think there was just a huge strategic miscalculation in causation that happened after 9/11, and nation-building in Afghanistan is not, and was never going to be, a solution to stop a terrorist attack. I think we destabilized the region—I think the world is less safe because of our military involvement there.
There’s no graceful way to lose a war. I think we knew that we weren’t going to be able to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves at least 10 years ago. And so I’m grateful that American involvement has ended.
When we first went there in late 2001, there was a civil war going on then with the Northern Alliance and the Taliban, and I think it’s going to return to internal political divisions like that. But I also hope that there’s going to be a lot less violence and a lot less human suffering now that we’re not engaged in that war. It’s an incredibly violent part of the world, and our engagement and involvement there created a level of human suffering that I don’t think people pause to think about enough. And I’m glad we are not going to be there anymore.
Images from top: Getty Images, Gabby Crowley
After nearly 20 years, America’s war in Afghanistan finally came to a chaotic close in August, with the evacuation of 120,000 U.S. soldiers in two weeks, the swift collapse of the Afghan government, the return of Taliban rule, and the tragic death of 13 soldiers after a terrorist attack at Kabul Airport. What are some of the critical lessons learned from the war in Afghanistan, which cost the United States trillions of dollars and thousands of lives?
AFGHANISTAN
Massachusetts State Sen. John Cronin, Class of 2022, served two tours in Afghanistan as an infantry platoon leader and executive officer between 2014 and 2017. He was elected to the state Senate in 2020, representing Fitchburg, Leominster, and other Central Massachusetts communities, and currently serves as chair of the Joint Committee of Municipalities and Regional Government and as vice chair of the Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development Joint Committee.
Interview by Jon Gorey
Sen. John Cronin JD'22
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Sen. John Cronin JD'22