link to original reddit post by /u/R_O

I'm going to start this post by saying that I have no opinion on the cause or beginning of the War in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom or the War On Terror. September 11th, Osama, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, terrorism, WMDs...whatever. Honestly, I don't care.

What I do care about is the evolution of the war, the coverage and promotion behind it and the things that remained unsaid.

A lot of Americans are scratching their head at the seemingly poorly managed, foolish and hasty "withdrawal" from Afghanistan that marked the "official" end of the war. Well, I can safely say that it's a PR stunt. A sham. A charade. In truth, the withdrawal from Afghanistan has been happening for the last half-decade. When Biden's withdrawal order came down there was less than 10% of maximum troop levels in the country. The only cities with any real U.S. presence in force was Herat and Kandahar.

So how then did multi-millions worth of MRAPs, NODs, Stingers, AT launchers, ammo, fuel ect. just foolishly get "left behind", remaining un-secured by the ANA (Afghan National Army) that the U.S. tax payer has literally invested billions into? How does the U.S. military, Washington and the media play it off like it's seemingly no big deal (at first)? Then turn around and make it seem like the Taliban are sweeping through the country and that the withdrawal was actually more like a panicked route?

Because the truth may be just too much. The truth that the "real" (economic) objective of the war was a complete and total success. Now that the deals are cut and the big players have been paid, real operations are getting under way.

What I am about to explain is not a conspiracy theory by any means. These are all very real plans, programs, deals, investments and programs that can be openly researched, investigated and proven. I will provide some basic introductory links and then invite you to go down the rabbit hole, if you so wish.

In Afghanistan a common term was "hearts and minds", meaning winning the support of the average Afghani citizen so they did not run off and join the Taliban. The way to do that (at first) was protect their opium. That's what the Afghani people do...they farm, smoke and sell opium. It is very important to them. If you protect their opium from the Taliban burning and(or) stealing it, they like that. They like it even better if you buy some of their opium for lots of USD (really fast way to win a heart and mind). The only reason I mention this is because the average conspiracy theorist will say "the war was all about opium maaaan, the CIA wants that shit maaaan". Nope.

Before the war even began there were plans underway (goes back the British and Soviets) for something that could put Caspian/Central Asian energy reserves to good use. Eventually, a bank (quite misleadingly named honestly) endorsed and funded this project. All they needed was a security force to pave the way and defend the project...rumor had it that a violent, independent "terrorist" force (aka standing sovereign government) did not like this idea very much. Enter the United States Military, the most powerful military force this planet has likely ever seen. With a larger budget than half of the nations on this Earth combined. Their target; drugged out goat herders and farmers armed with weaponry from the 80s. Let's get some!

Fast forward a little bit and you get the Kandahar-Herat highway (took a while to figure out how to to re-pave it fast enough), the ANA and a 'seemingly' largely un-related project, this right here. We would also get to witness the other 'seemingly' un-related Syrian Civil war kick off right around the same time the project was heating up and the very 'convenient' rise of America's favorite villains.

Anyways, I'll finish my rambling here. A 2021 Afghanistan looks very simple. You see a completed a nearly completed project with plenty of energy, courtesy of the American tax payer. You will see a highly cooperative colonial government run and operated by the Taliban, American established government and CCP. All parties involved will be getting paid, I do suspect. Including American corporations operating and looking to expand in India, China and SEA.

('-'*ゞ