Probably because it wouldn't have helped.
Of course it would have helped. The Taliban has a fighting force of maybe 70k. A lot of them could have been killed/incapacitated with air strikes, not to mention destroying their equipment and weaponry.
We bombed the crap out of our enemies in Viet Nam and it did not change the end result one iota.
We also bombed the crap out of Germany and Japan. Worked better.
And some people might argue that killing hundreds or thousands of people in an effort to "weaken them", without any concrete military objective in mind that serves the interests of the people of Afghanistan or the US, would constitute a war crime.
I am not saying to indiscriminately bomb civilians, but Taliban specifically. That's a legitimate military target.
As heartbreaking as it is to watch all our work over the last two decades come to nothing, it is still preferable to a drawn out civil war that kills many thousands more and uproots the lives of millions and has no net effect on the situation in Afghanistan.
The lives of millions are getting uprooted now because of Taliban.
The Afghans should be free to utilize their resources as they see fit, and we have the option to compete with other countries on the free market for these resources. To suggest that we continue to occupy another country so can exploit their resources is absurd, and flies in the face of our nation's policies over the past hundred years or more.
First of all, Afghanistan was not under military occupation. It had, until very recently, an elected civilian government. A government US military was protecting. And I do not think it is wrong to expect favorable mining deals in exchange for that protection.
I am ok with women choosing to wear whatever attire they find suitable, and men choosing to wear long beards and dress in their traditional clothing. I am ok with the US providing special visas to Afghani people who have worked with us and supported our efforts in their country for two decades, often putting their own lives in danger to do so.
I do not think we should give visas to Islamists, period. Even if they worked for US. That is not to say that we should not let any Afghans in, but they need to be carefully vetted for Islamism. And that does not mean we should abandon people who worked for us - but that doesn't mean they should necessarily get to move here - many could also be resettled to other Muslim countries.
I am completely ok with people choosing to worship whatever god(s) they want to worship, and will fight for their right to do so.
If their culture is incompatible with ours, they should not move here. Period. Otherwise you risk this country permanently changing in a more Islamic direction, as is already happening in Europe. Remember, Afghans tend to have five children or more. We let one million in now, and in a generation that's 2.5M. In another generation, 6.25M, in three, 14, then 32, 71 and 160. Exponential growth!
We already made a mistake of not vetting Islamic migrants before. For example with Somalis, who got to come here by the millions pretty indiscriminately, and are now joining Islamic terrorist groups.
Second Lansing man convicted on terrorism charges
This was just a week ago!
And we made this mistake with Afghans who have come here before. Remember the Pulse Night Club?
Biden signed a law memorializing the massacre, but he downplayed the fact that it was an Islamic terrorist attack perpetrated by Omar Mateen, an Afghan. Another Afghan terrorist,
Ahmad Khan Rahami, bombed targets in NY and NJ.
I would prefer that the US not allow racists to immigrate to the US, along with people who habitually break the laws of our land and flout their illegal activities on the internet, but they manage to sneak in once in a while. Such is life.
I do not know who the racist is that you are referring to, but I assume the second part is the tired old obsession of some far left posters on here to obsess over my sex life.
And it is quite telling that you far leftists have no problem with letting in Islamists but have a problem with people occasionally hiring sex workers.
It is not surprising though. Islamists and leftists have long been allies against their common enemy, the Western culture. For example German leftists and Palestinian terrorists hijacking that El Al plane to Entebbe. Or Marxist groups joining the Islamists in overthrowing the Shah of Iran before Khomeini double-crossed them. That should be a warning to you. Don't think you won't be double-crossed by the Islamists too!
