I’m an American and I’m sad.

[RestlessSoul]

Fix ourselves first is always a good start. But in Holland we were very happy/grateful that Americans came to our rescue against Hitler

I don't know if the Afghan people wanted help from the US. Culture/Religion is too different I think
Personally I only help if they ask me. If someone does not want to be helped, I don't even try

I think most of Europe is still grateful for America’s participation in WWII. But that was a European war, and an existential crisis for democracy. Roosevelt still had to work hard to shift public opinion in favour of involvement.

 

[Estro Felino]

I think of all the American blood shed in wars that have nothing to do with Americans...or the West.

 

[sun rise]

I'm an Israeli and I would have been more surprised if the Americans had actually managed to make democracy stick there. Or any other eastern country that they tried to impose democracy upon it.

Watch Iraq. They are of course imperfect but they seem to be doing OK.

I believe we were the good guys as girls were beginning to go back to school and a future was being formed.

That's my view as well. But there was too much corruption and I think secret deals between the government there and the Taliban. And from what I've been hearing, the audit reports showed all the mismanagement and corruption but our government (Democratic and Republican) ignored the bad news.

But sadly, if $2 trillion and 20 years was not sufficient, then we have to admit we lost and go from there.

 

[Rival]

I'm not sad. I think it was a waste. Since when has invading these countries ever worked, really? I wish we could just leave the ME alone in 90% of cases. Let them sort their own problems their own way. It has nothing to do with us.

 

[Fool]

We lost the war.
When I became an adult, I held anti war views and was against American troop presence abroad. I didn’t think we were the good guys.
American troops are victims of war, just as much as the Afghanis are.
Seeing all these Afghanis flee, seeing no women on the streets, seeing hundreds of people chasing that military airplane..... Seeing the Taliban in place of US. We lost the war, and it looks like it would’ve been better if we won. Perhaps we were the good guys.
There’s a lot of emotions. I’m sad. I’m ashamed my buddies went over there and I didn’t.
Americans (and allies), we lost the war. Are you saddened by it? I’m curious if there is a collective sadness in our countries, as we witness the trouble in Afghanistan. We all had a stake in the war.
Were we the good guys?

you can't change something from the outside; if there is no change from inside, or the idea of need to change from the inside, from the heart

 

[Rival]

you can't change something from the outside; if there is no change from inside, or the idea of need to change from the inside, from the heart

Why do we want to change them, though? Let countries govern themselves however they like, as long as it's not threatening anyone else. Not every nation needs to be the USA.

 

[Fool]

Why do we want to change them, though? Let countries govern themselves however they like, as long as it's not threatening anyone else. Not every nation needs to be the USA.

i didn't state it did needed us to change it. the US invaded afghanistan because of 9-11. if the people of afghan wanted to change, they would have recognized something needed to change and have done so from inside.

this venture was doomed from the start

 

[Father Heathen]

Why do we want to change them, though?

To prevent oppression and cruelty? Not that military intervention is the answer, of course.

 

[Rival]

To prevent oppression and cruelty? Not that military intervention is.the answer, of course.

Why is that our job? And if we really cared we'd be invading China, North Korea, KSA, Somalia, and a whole host of other countries.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Any attacks on American soil since 9/11?

Er, there's been multiple Islamist attacks on the US since 9/11 and many more that were foiled.

 

[Father Heathen]

Why is that our job? And if we really cared we'd be invading China, North Korea, KSA, Somalia, and a whole host of other countries.

Like I said, military intervention isn't an answer. Besides, wars have never really been about that. The powers that be only engage in war if they perceive a potential gain that warrants the investment. Most seem to care little about their own people, much less others abroad.

 

[sun rise]

Er, there's been multiple Islamist attacks on the US since 9/11 and many more that were foiled.

They attacked us. Our response was to me justified. We messed up after that.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

They attacked us. Our response was to me justified. We messed up after that.

No, it wasn't the Taliban or the state of Afghanistan that attacked us. Allegedly, it was Al Qaeda, and they said Bin Laden was hiding there and the Taliban wouldn't give him up. Kind of a flimsy reason for starting a war that claimed a quarter of a million lives.

 

[SigurdReginson]

Why do we want to change them, though? Let countries govern themselves however they like, as long as it's not threatening anyone else. Not every nation needs to be the USA.

Because it's our responsibility to save the savages from themselves. It's our burden to be the torch bearers of freedom, democracy, and civilization, and to shine our light onto the rest of the world whether they want our help or not. We can't rest until we help them out of their pitiful circumstances.

We know what's best for them.

I love how our propaganda appeals to people's sense of self righteousness and unabashed arrogance. It's embarrassing...

 

[Twilight Hue]

Er, there's been multiple Islamist attacks on the US since 9/11 and many more that were foiled.

When?

I know there were plots but I'm not aware of any actual attacks.

 

[Twilight Hue]

No, it wasn't the Taliban or the state of Afghanistan that attacked us. Allegedly, it was Al Qaeda, and they said Bin Laden was hiding there and the Taliban wouldn't give him up. Kind of a flimsy reason for starting a war that claimed a quarter of a million lives.

And go figure he was in Pakistan.

 

[SigurdReginson]

When?

I know there were plots but I'm not aware of any actual attacks.

Terrorism in the United States - Wikipedia

Islamist extremism

• September 11 attacks, 2001
  • (New York City): Hijackers steer two planes packed with fuel and passengers into the World Trade Center, killing hundreds on impact and eventually killing 2,606 when the towers collapsed. More than 6,000 people were injured.
  • (Washington, DC): Nearly 200 people are killed when hijackers steer a plane full of people into the Pentagon.
  • (Shanksville, PA): Forty passengers are killed after hijackers attempt to steer a plane into the U.S. Capitol building.
• June 1, 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting, (Little Rock, AR): A Man shoots a local soldier to death inside a recruiting center explicitly in the name of Allah.
• November 5, 2009 Fort Hood shooting, Ft. Hood, Texas: A Muslim psychiatrist guns down thirteen unarmed soldiers while yelling praises to Allah.
• April 15, 2013 – Boston Marathon bombing (Boston, MA): Foreign-born Muslims detonate two bombs packed with ball bearings at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and causing several more to lose limbs.
• September 25, 2014 – Vaughan Foods beheading incident, (Moore, OK): A Sharia advocate beheads a woman after calling for Islamic terror and posting an Islamist beheading photo.
• July 16, 2015 Chattanooga shootings, Chattanooga, Tennessee: A Muslim commits a shooting spree at a recruiting center at a strip mall and a naval center, leaving five soldiers dead at the latter location.
• November 4, 2015 – University of California, Merced stabbing attack by Islamist extremist
• December 2, 2015 San Bernardino attack, San Bernardino, California: A couple opens fire at a Christmas party, leaving fourteen dead.
• January 7, 2016 - Shooting of Jesse Hartnett, Philadelphia police officer Jesse Hartnett is ambushed by a gunman who later pledged allegiance to ISIS.
• February 11, 2016 – Ohio restaurant machete attack by Islamist extremist
• June 12, 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, Orlando, Florida: Omar Mateen shoots and kills 49 people and injures 58 more at a gay bar, the largest mass shooting in U.S. history at the time.
• November 28, 2016 – Ohio State University attack, Columbus, Ohio: A Somalian student, Abdul Artan, who came to the U.S. as a refugee, intentionally rammed a car into pedestrians on a busy campus sidewalk on Monday morning and then began slashing passers-by with a butcher knife, the authorities said, injuring 11 students and faculty and staff members.
• October 31, 2017 – 2017 New York City truck attack, New York City: 29-year-old Sayfullo Habibullaevich Saipov rented a Home Depot pickup truck and intentionally drove it through a bicycle path. He crashed into a school bus and then exited the vehicle wielding look-a-like weapons. He was shot by NYPD. 8 people were killed and 12 were injured.
• December 6, 2019 - Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting, Pensacola, Florida: A second lieutenant of the Saudi Royal Air Force training at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola opened fire in one of the classroom buildings killing 3 and wounding 8 others before being shot dead by responding police officers.
• May 21, 2020 - Corpus Christi, Texas: At the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Adam Alsahi crashed through a northern perimeter gate at NAS Corpus Christi, activating vehicle barriers. The driver then got out and opened fire before being shot and killed. A Navy police officer was shot but was protected by a ballistic vest. Alsahi had expressed support for terrorist networks including ISIS. The FBI announced the incident as terrorism-related.[211]

This one was especially bad...

June 12, 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, Orlando, Florida: Omar Mateen shoots and kills 49 people and injures 58 more at a gay bar, the largest mass shooting in U.S. history at the time.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

When?

I know there were plots but I'm not aware of any actual attacks.

Terrorist attacks by violent jihadis in the US since 9/11

 

[Twilight Hue]

Terrorist attacks by violent jihadis in the US since 9/11

Your right about domestic terrorism. I'm thinking about things on the grand scale of 9/11.

 

[SigurdReginson]

Your right about domestic terrorism. I'm thinking about things on the grand scale of 9/11.

How many other terrorist attacks can you think of on that scale at all in our country?