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Executive Director, Quanta Analytics
Contributor's Links: Globanomics
Author of Globanomics. Jim has nearly fifty years of professional experience in the development of management information and analytical business decision support systems. Broadly disciplined with exceptional experience. Education includes an MBA from the Wharton School-University of Pennsylvania, ...more

My Saddest Post

Date: Sunday, August 22, 2021 8:33 AM EDT

This is the saddest post that i have ever written to date. 

It was less than a year ago (around September last year) that i told Linda that i was going to start pushing real hard for globanomics.  The election was coming up and i foresaw a Biden Presidency opening a new opportunity for the United States to lead the world towards freedom, love, individual rights, etc.--something that the charlatan President before Biden was incapable of doing.  Since that time, although at a snail's pace, I thought Biden was actually moving in that direction.  And now we have this Afghanistan fiasco.  And yes, it is a fiasco.

What was the alternative?  To stay, fight (probably adding troops)?  Maybe.  But that only would have made sense within globanomics if (1) the people of Afghanistan wanted to fight for their freedom and (2) we had the full support of the "free world" and all the countries that signed up to follow the principles of globanomics supporting the effort with part of their own treasure.  The American people would not have been happy, but they could understand the value to assist the fight for freedom.  After all, we had foreign assistance in our fight for freedom back in our own Revolutionary time period.

But, Joe, you chose to cut and run instead.  The fight to you seemed not worth it.  George Bush left Afghanistan for Iraq.  Obama wanted out of Afghanistan.  Trump wanted out of Afghanistan.  And you were hell bent on getting us out of Afghanistan.

So why blame you for Afghanistan?

There are two reasons: (1) you failed to implement globanomics in a timely fashion; and (2) you failed to stand up, as the leader of the free world, to exhibit the true meaning and value of globanomics.  War, is antithetical in globanomics, but support for freedom, individual liberty, and the right to pursue happiness is not.  

As the leader of the free world, the United States should not look for trouble.  We should not be overbearing.  But we should lead.  And after twenty-years in Afghanistan, we had firmly implanted a footprint of freedom on the soil there.  The difference between Afghanistan and countries like Yemen, Somalia, and where ever else you want to make a comparison is this: we were there and we seemingly had made an investment towards freedom--a commitment so to speak.

But what about the comparison to Vietnam?  

Let's start with the big one.  Globanomics was not even conceivable back in the time of Vietnam.  Secondly, we had no cause to go to Vietnam (unless of course you believed in the discredited domino theory and that we were going to have to fight communism on the beaches of Los Angeles and San Francisco).  We had a very good reason to go to Afghanistan (i.e. 9/11).  Thirdly, the so-called enemy was different in Vietnam compared to the so-called enemy in Afghanistan.  We defeated (or at least severely disrupted) the enemy (al qaeda) in Afghanistan.  After dispersing al qaeda, our presence in Afghanistan was an investment in the women of Afghanistan.

Our mistake in Afghanistan, if there was one, was to get in and get out and not to stay as long as we did.  That is your argument, Joe.  Why continue throwing "good money" on top of "bad money"?  

There are two reasons to that: (1) it was not bad money; and (2) freedom.

Linda just read me an article title that said "Biden has permanently lost his credibility".  I am afraid that may be true.  In terms of globanomics, leaving Afghanistan was a mistake made by a "weak leader" for the principles of freedom.  

Can you overcome the loss to your credibility, Joe?  I am not sure.  You sure as to hell won't without fessing up to your mistake.  Sending your vice-president to Asia now won't do a thing.  Harris is as weak as Pence was in Trump's administration.  And she looks weak standing next to you and all of your men (e.g., Blinken and Austin).

There is only one thing left for you to do, Joe, and that is this.  Fess up.  Take the full blame.  Say you made a mistake.  Don't waffle to any degree.  Tell the world that if you could take back your decision that you would.  You can say your judgement was clouded by decisions made by earlier Administrations, but you must say that you should have been stronger.

The people of America (as well as I) can accept mistakes if they are acknowledged.  What we cannot stand is someone not confessing to mistakes they make.  Can you remember George W. Bush saying that he could not think of anything that he would have done differently when asked?

The world and America cannot afford to have another round of Trumpism.  Your Afghanistan decision, Joe, has opened up that door again.  After Trump, i thought you were going to make "America great again", like it always was before Trump.  Instead you have added shame to America (on top of the shame Trump brought to America).  

You had the world in your fingertips and you dropped the ball.  Can you get the world back?  God only knows.  Opportunities like you had do not come around every day.

You failed globanomics, you failed me, and you failed the American people.  So get back to work, you have a lot to overcome if you truly want to make the world a better place for everyone.

Globanomics is still the way.

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Comments

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Jason Green 2 years ago Member's comment

Yes, this is very sad.  But Trump was planning to pull the troops out anyway. So would it really have been any different?

Jim Boswell 2 years ago Author's comment

Trump left Biden with bad options.  If we stayed, i do believe we would have had to send more troops back in and Biden would be blamed for that.  I also believe things would have been worse (god forbid) if Trump was still acting as our President.  But from my perspective (i.e., hindsight opinion), we should have stayed.  Biden's actions sadden me because i believe it puts a damper on globanomics.