Stoic philosophy and Afghanistan

 

I have no significant knowledge when it comes to foreign policy or military strategy. I am an aging white man in the midwestern section of the United States who avoided military service and is repulsed by the idea of a political career. But I have Opinions, of course. And I do believe my Opinions are wise and glorious, even though I have no experience or expertise to support them. So I am probably somewhat delusional.

In view of this disclaimer, here are my thoughts about Afghanistan.

Epictetus, the great Stoic philosopher, lived in Greece between 50 and 135A.D.  One of his core contributions is presented above - we are powerless over most things in this world. We only have power over our own actions, reactions and thoughts. When it comes to other individuals, or groups of people, or actions taken by other humans and non-human creatures, or viruses, or nations, or Nature - we have no real power. We cannot force change and impose our will over these things over the long haul. We can only control ourselves (if we have the self-discipline to do so).

The war that the United States has waged in Afghanistan ignored this core truth. 

The goals of the initial action in Afghanistan were clear - destroy Al Qaeda, catch and/or kill Osama bin Laden, the man that masterminded the 9/11 attacks.  These actions were mostly within the control of the U.S. But then, our government decided that Afghanistan's people and government could be changed to fit the U.S. vision of what an acceptable society should be - the assumption being that this would eliminate future threats from terrorists. In order to do that, we poured money, resources and lives into a 20-year conflict. So our government was trying to force, through military violence and a gusher of money, a massive change on an entire nation. This was a severe case of "mission creep."

This effort was doomed to failure from the beginning. I can't force someone to make a change that I think is "in their own interest." A nation can't force another nation to behave differently. Yes, it is possible to conquer and dominate territory if you are willing to oppress people that disagree with your authority. But even those efforts usually fail unless the conquerors resort to genocide.

The greatest tragedies in the world occur when people, or governments, struggle to control things that are beyond their control. The only outcomes are failure or extermination of the people that won't or can't comply. The U.S. war in Afghanistan is a classic case of ignorance and folly on the part of the leaders of a very powerful nation.  We have nothing to show for the 20 year struggle except for pain, financial losses and embarrassment.

Let's hope that the United States doesn't do this again, but I'm not optimistic.