Today in History - Oct 7 - The Invasion of Afghanistan

October 7 is the anniversary of The Invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. This was a long bloody war that would last for a generation. Consent for the war was manufactured the month before, arising out of the worst airplane related terrorist attack since the bombing of Cubana Flight 455.

Today is also the day that Obama apologised for a vicious attack on a hospital in 2015, two days before. It was a hollow gesture. Just two years later, the rules of engagement would be relaxed. The US secretary of defence said this:

You see some of the results of releasing our military from, for example, a proximity requirement — how close was the enemy to the Afghan or the U.S.-advised special forces... no longer the case, for example. So these kind of restrictions that did not allow us to employ the airpower fully have been removed, yes.

We did see the results. As would be expected, it made life even worse for the Afghan people. But it was thankfully just a case of the US getting as much murder in as they could before they would leave the country four years later.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands. 92% of the population are left hungry. Unexploded bombs litter the countryside. Two thirds of the population suffer mental health problems. The US has stolen their central bank reserve. The US failed every stated objective of their war. The list of US war crimes is long. The list of prosecutions is short.