Statement: Latest Scandal Is Just More Evidence — It’s Time to End the War in Afghanistan

Afghanistan (2)

Last Updated on July 20, 2020.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday June 30, 2020
Contact: Michael Galant  michael@winwithoutwar.org  203-260-4654

WASHINGTON Win Without War Policy Director Kate Kizer released the following statement regarding alleged bounties paid by the government of Russia for the killing of U.S. troops in Afghanistan:

“Donald Trump’s decision to take no action despite intelligence warning of Russian bounties for the killing of U.S. troops is egregious — yet more proof of the recklessness, utter incompetence, and flagrant disregard for life that defines his foreign policy. But this scandal should not be used as justification for further confrontation and military competition with Russia. It should be a wake-up call for the long-overdue need to end the U.S. war in Afghanistan — and the deadly costs of decades of disastrous, failed U.S. foreign policy.

“Maintaining a vast global military apparatus and waging multiple endless wars puts U.S. troops in danger. While we unequivocally condemn the Russian government’s reported actions, we cannot ignore the broader context that U.S. troops should not be in Afghanistan. Placing military personnel into a war with no clear purpose — that even our own commanders admit behind closed doors was lost long ago —  inherently endangers their lives.

“The paying of bounties for the lives of U.S. troops is outrageous. So is the fact that, more than 18 years after the U.S. invasion and occupation, civilian casualties are at an all-time high in Afghanistan. As we reckon with the fallout from this latest scandal, we must never lose sight of the death and destruction happening every day from this war, which seldom finds its way into U.S. headlines. 

“This scandal is just one more piece of evidence for what has already long been clear: it is time to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan.”

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Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and national organizations working for progressive foreign policy in the United States.

June 30, 2020