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Originally Posted by Great68
Was outright regime change ever really the USA's goal for Afghanistan?
Like they went in because the Taliban was harbouring Al Queda and wouldn't give up Bin Laden. Booting the Taliban at that time was just a consequence to their goal of destroying Al Queda.
If the Taliban gave up Bin Laden and the other Al Queda people, would the US still have invaded and taken over like they did?
The did at least accomplish heavy destruction of Al Queda. The question is, will something more radical now take its place?
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I don't think we'll ever truly know what the goal was for Afghanistan, and Iraq for that matter.
I highly doubt the higher ups ever truly felt that going there would ever fix the problem of "Islamic Terrorism", or win any hearts and minds.
From the myriad of reports and first hand information from officials during the Bush era, this was simply an orchestrated money making project for the defense industry, monied investors/speculators, and the like. Also a means of setting up a larger footprint in the Middle East, notably in Iraq.
This was a major windfall for some industries, which completely destabilized two countries, both of which will never be the same. History will write those decades as a complete waste, and if anything made the Middle East far worse off.
In reality the whole thing is quite sad in many ways.