Yesterday, social media was full of beautiful photos of Ground Zero, flashback images of the attacks on our homeland 22 years ago, and hashtags begging us to “Never Forget.” These are all well and good, and Americans should do their best to honor those memories.
I too posted a memory and, like many of my veteran brothers and sisters, spent quite a bit of the day reminiscing about where I was when the planes turned into deadly missiles and crashed into the iconic World Trade Center towers Center and the Pentagon clashed. But I also thought about what that day did to my career and life in general, and how quickly our nation forgets.
I was happy to see a refreshing conversation between Republican Senator Rand Paul and Democratic presidential candidate RFK Jr. about X, which looked back on the day and the subsequent eternal war it caused. Thanks to wise words from a fellow veteran, the two wayward superpowers came together to spotlight the disastrous and destructive love affair between the political swamp and the military complex.
September 11, 2001, a day indelibly etched into the fabric of America. The truth is, I don’t just think about 9/11 on its anniversary; I think about 9/11 every day. That attack, and the years that followed, have made me the leader, the tactician, the husband, the father,… pic.twitter.com/VsLBzxsCZo
— Jack Carr (@JackCarrUSA) September 11, 2023
The moral stain
Bestselling author and fellow veteran Jack Carr wrote reflections last month on the eternal war he and I fought and the glaring lack of accountability for those who perpetuated its ultimate and manifest failure. He got to the heart of what men and women like my husband and I felt every day and continue to feel every day since the disastrous withdrawal:
“As we watch the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and see images of the Taliban taking control of the country, for those of us who fought there, this is more than a strategic failure: it is personal.”
It’s been almost two years.
•
For those interested, my thoughts on not only the withdrawal from Afghanistan, but also the almost twenty years leading up to it and what amounts to almost zero accountability for senior military officers, elected representatives and appointees… pic.twitter.com/WlnEf4zR2m— Jack Carr (@JackCarrUSA) August 11, 2023
I think that when citizens hear veterans like Mr. Carr and myself speak about the very intimate nature of how we feel about the failure of Afghanistan, they remember our patriotism and our physical and emotional wounds – which is partly right. But it goes much deeper than that.
While I am not a special operator like Mr. Carr, I have spent nearly half of my twenty-year career in Afghanistan or surrounding countries in support of the war in Afghanistan. I grew up fighting the war, my formative years were shaped by the war and what I was forced to believe about the war, and I gave up experiences that my non-military peers had to have in order to fight a war that would never be won.
Mr Carr points out the real problem:
“Strategically, our leaders were not held accountable for their blunders – in too many cases, blunders of epic proportions. Instead, they were promoted and eventually retired, with full pensions, to sit on the boards of companies that are making a killing in the world of government contracting…’
Support conservative voices!
Sign up to receive the latest news political news, insights and commentary straight to your inbox.
So while those who swore to protect and defend, promised to lead and have troops like me at the forefront of their decisions, failed repeatedly, their reward was ribbons and more money. What reward did I and all the other veterans who were lucky enough to come home receive?
RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard Hammers Biden on Ground Zero Snub: He Wants You to Forget 9/11, Focus on New Wars
Something we can agree on
Presidential candidate and bane of the Democratic Party RFK Jr. echoed Mr Carr’s words and added:
“We have learned nothing from Vietnam. The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake over and over again and expecting different results. By this definition, the entire outcome of American leadership is insane.”
Every American should read this postmortem on Afghanistan. And every American politician – Republican and Democrat – and every Pentagon panjandrum who supported this catastrophe should be ashamed. We learned nothing from Vietnam. The definition of insanity is… https://t.co/IJiJwk0aFZ
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 11, 2023
Regarding our involvement in the war in Ukraine, Mr. Kennedy rightly compares our blind hubris in Afghanistan to what we hear from our political and military leaders about our need to enter Ukraine.
Simply put, Mr. Kennedy once said:
“We have turned that country into a proxy war between – a pawn in a proxy war between Russia and the United States.”
It begs the question… given how our Afghan allies we abandoned undoubtedly view us now, how will the Ukrainian people view us when we inevitably leave them high and dry with nothing but incomplete infrastructure and empty promises to show for ourselves?
Republican Senator Rand Paul joined Mr. Kennedy in attacking the Uniparty, writing:
“Both sides are responsible for the ongoing war. Not a cent of difference between Republican and Democratic leadership.”
So what should we do about this unfortunate foreign policy merry-go-round we seem to be stuck on? Is there hope that we won’t continue to make the same mistakes, condemning our children and children’s children to wage ill-conceived wars on behalf of DC’s over-educated press suits and the Five-Sided Building?
Both sides are responsible for the ongoing war. Not a cent of difference between Republican and Democratic leadership. https://t.co/8qh2Np2PZl
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 11, 2023
RELATED: Communists Burn American Flags Outside Jason Aldean Concert While Mocking ‘Try That In A Small Town’
Don’t talk to me about memories
I suppose I should be more hopeful about the future, but hope is not a strategy and doesn’t get very far when change is needed. I was 18 years old and already in the military on September 11, 2001.
I remember watching the attacks on television and feeling the overwhelming confusion and worry about what would happen to all of us fresh out of basic military training. I remember listening to the President and watching the President on television in the mess hall on base, feeling proud that I had raised my right hand before the attacks, and believing that I was about to to be part of something bigger than myself – a part of history. .
I would fight that doomed war for twenty years, sacrificing my youth and my time, precious time that so many of my friends who didn’t come home alive now no longer have – fighting a war dictated by military, star-struck politicians and also generals concerned about the next job after retirement and worrying about the reality on the ground in that war. I started my military career young, proud and full of hope.
RELATED: 9/11 Anthem ‘Have You Forgotten’ Rereleased as Singer Calls for Unity in Divided America
I was due to retire shortly after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. I ended my military career scarred, ashamed of my leaders, and full of anger.
I have not forgotten 9/11, and I never will, but I can tell you that those in DC and the Pentagon have long forgotten it and are counting on the rest of you to forget it too. Senator Paul and Mr. Kennedy are not wrong, and they are the real patriots in the system for daring to question the military elite and warmongering politicians who like to take pictures with military personnel.
Blind loyalty to those who claim to bleed red, white and blue, but have no idea of actual sacrifice, is not patriotic; it is ignorant and cowardly. Keep speaking the truth, Mr. Carr, Mr. Paul and Mr. Kennedy – your fellow patriots appreciate it.
Now is the time to support and share the resources you trust.
The Political Insider is ranked number 3 on Feedspot’s list of ‘100 Best Political Blogs and Websites’.