What Afghanistan Teaches Us About Our Ruling Class

Members of the U.S. Navy prepare to carry the remains of U.S. Navy Corpsman Max Soviak at the Morman Hinman Tanner Funeral Home in his hometown of Berlin Heights, Ohio, on Sept. 8, 2021. Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images

Commentary

With our political and military establishment spending 20 years waging war in the mountains of central Asia, Americans now know that the old saying about Afghanistan and imperial ambition is a lie. A great nation with a keen pride in its own identity and the destiny defined by it doesn’t risk blood and treasure to convince primitive tribes to adopt its style of governance.