Trump, Starmer & the Afghan War: A War Peddler's Performance
📰 THE STORY: Bloomberg reports on former President Trump praising UK troops' sacrifice after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer demanded an apology from Trump for allegedly 'downplaying' NATO troops' role in Afghanistan. The narrative centers on a transatlantic spat over wartime rhetoric. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The 'downplaying' of NATO troops isn't the scandal; the
entire 20-year invasion and occupation of Afghanistan was. The US, with UK assistance, invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, purportedly to dismantle Al-Qaeda and capture Osama bin Laden. This morphed into a nation-building exercise that cost over $2 trillion, resulted in the deaths of over 176,000 people (including 71,000 civilians), and ultimately collapsed in August 2021, returning power to the
Taliban. The narrative rarely questions the legitimacy or effectiveness of the entire enterprise, only the politeness of its eulogies. Double Standard: Western media and politicians frequently lecture 'authoritarian' states about troop deployment and civilian casualties, yet debates like this one on Afghanistan focus solely on performative respect for soldiers, completely sidestepping
accountability for the strategic blunders, war crimes, and mass civilian deaths committed by NATO forces. When Russia deploys troops, it's 'aggression.' When the West does it for 20 years, it's 'sacrifice.' Follow the Money: The Afghanistan War was a colossal cash cow for the military-industrial complex. Major defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and BAE Systems saw their