The U.S. has been in deep denial. The war is over, it has been for a long time, and the U.S. lost, for all intents and purposes, writes Danny Sjursen.

Cadets assemble for President Barack Obamas Afghanistan policy speech at West Point, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2009. (White House, Lawrence Jackson)

ByDanny SjursenAntiwar.com

Happy Afghan War surrender day, fellas! So began my flippant group text (which was actually about a whole other topic) with the nine lieutenants who worked for me when I commanded a cavalry troop in Southern Afghanistan.

Now these guys, some still in the army, most long out, run the political gamut from centrist conservative to libertarian (verycommon among military officers) to mainstream liberal. None are as radical, or full-throated antiwar, as I am. Nonetheless, instructively, most responded with some albeit often sarcastic level of tacit support for any and all plans to (eventually, and hopefully) get the troops out of Afghanistan.

Furthermore, the fact that nearly all of them lost soldiers directly under their command in one of the wars most dangerous years, within one of the most dangerous provincesof the country, hasnt diminished this pro-withdrawal sentiment.

My artillery officer who Iprofileda couple years back in theAmerican Conservative responded first, with: Victory or loss, thank Allah were out of that quagmire. Then my first executive officer (XO), my second in command, made a joke about the artillerymans use of the word quagmire, asking, What would Rumsfeld say? (Bushs former secretary of defense famously eschewedthis descriptor for the Iraq War)

XOs thoughtful successor then wrote: Im really glad we are getting out. I hate that it will take 14 months, but Im thrilled. That former lieutenant of mine raised an important point. Much of the critical (and fair) response to my cautious social media support for Trumps peace deal centers around either the rather protracted withdraw timeline or, more generally, skepticism about the sincerity of the U.S. position.

To the first point, Adam Wunische at the Quincy Institute accurately noted:

President Trump will likely sell the U.S.-Taliban deal as a peace agreement and a U.S. military withdrawal. It is neither. The deal only reduces troop strength to 8,600 from 13,000 [for now], and Trump has said even minor complications will serve as justification to halt or reverse this reduction.

As to the second matter, the probity of the American commitment to meaningfully leave Afghanistan, there are other valid concerns. Not least of which are the secret annexes that appear to imply the U.S. will keep special forces soldiers, and, one assumes, CIA-backed militias, on the ground long after the combat troops are all out.

Added to the questionable mix is the minor fact that thepresidentof the ostensibly sovereign, Kabul-based state of Afghanistan wasnt evenpresentat the deals signing, and has alreadyreneged (an early, if predictable, first snag) on releasing some 5,000 Taliban prisoners as the U.S.-negotiated agreement called for.

Whats more, given the linguistic gymnastics that former President Barack Obama seemingly perfected about what, precisely, constitutes combat troops or, even what counts as a boot, or as the ground, it is increasingly difficult these days to believe much of what Trump or the national security state is pronouncing.

Finally, given the reportedlyvast, and coveted, mineral resources under Afghanistans undeveloped soil, its importance as a thoroughfare for keynatural gas pipelines, and its historic position of geopolitical import, many (rightfully) doubt whether Washington is really prepared to walk away from the region. All of that is fair, and crucial to parse out.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses Taliban peace deal gathering, in Doha, Qatar, Feb. 29, 2020. (State Department/ Ron Przysucha)

A Referendum on Trump

Also worrying is the likelihood that in this age of Trump-worship, Trump-hatred, and/or Trump-derangement syndrome, the situation in Afghanistan where American men and women are stillbeing killed, mind you will revert to just another public referendum on the competence and character of the president himself.

That would be a huge mistake. To wit, let me plea: please, MSNBC-Obama-squad liberals, dont make this critical moment all about bashing The Donald and thereby reflexively defaulting to a stay-forever, status quo position. Odds are they will, of course.

The really salient questions are twofold: could/would a different president (say Hillary the hawk, or Iraq War-cheerleader Joe B.) do any better with such a decidedlyweak military hand? And, what other option, besides eventual withdrawal, does Trump have with respect to this inherited war? Id submit the discomfiting answers are no and none, respectively.

Truth be told, I, like the crew over atQuincy, think the U.S. ought to have ditched the Afghan debacle long ago, and that a more rapid immediate, even comprehensive withdrawal is in order. Never trust the hyper-interventionist establishment when it whines about the inefficacy and supposed danger of a sudden troop exodus from a failed war. Thats never anything more than a sleight-of-hand canard for indefinite occupation.

Count me sympathetic to the plain, earthy logic of Ron Paul, when heasked, Why the dilemma? [regarding Iraq] and when he asserted, We just marched in, and we can just march out.

That was back in 2007! As in Iraq, so in Afghanistan, and as always: thats unlikely. Uncle Sam rarely, if ever, leaves a purportedly conquered country of his own volition. That just aint Sammys style. More often than not, the U.S. military requires an insurgent bouncer to toss it to the proverbial curbyou know, like the Vietcong, for instance.

Like it or not, this is where matters stand: Look, one way or the other, folks, the Afghan War is over, and has been for a long time. We lost, for all intents and purposes, by not achieving the governments (always fantastically) stated goals.

As a nation, but especially so for the bipartisan foreign policy establishment, weve just been in deep denial about that inconvenient truth. Bottom line: theres little left that the U.S. canaccomplish in Afghanistan, and thats been the case for at least a decade.

So, sure, theres lots to criticize about the worlds greatest dealmakers deal. Some will say it doesnt go far enough (it doesnt). The interventionist hawks on the other side will counter that it amounts to surrender (it kind of does). Still, theres scant alternative available other than for Uncle Sam to tuck his tail between the ole legs and beat feet out of the Afghan graveyard of empires.

To channel Ron Paul: why all the dramatic hoopla about this? After all, rumor has it, that in war, thelosersdont get to dictate the peace terms. Its time todealwith it

Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army officer and contributing editor atantiwar.com. His work has appeared in theLA Times, The Nation, Huff Post, The Hill, Salon, Truthdig, Tom Dispatch,among other publications. He served combat tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at his alma mater, West Point. He is the author of a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War,Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge. His forthcoming book,Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless Waris now available forpre-order. Follow him on Twitter at@SkepticalVet. Check out his professionalwebsitefor contact info, scheduling speeches, and/or access to the full corpus of his writing and media appearances.

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Afghanistan: 'Thank Allah We're Out of That Quagmire' - Consortium News