The independent presidential candidate made the remark in a social media post, later saying that he was referring to "possible Saudi involvement" in the 2001 terror attacks.
Iraq was a mistake (well, really more a crime), however Afghanistan was a complicated mess. The Taliban was harboring al-Qaeda. Was it a mistake for us to have spent decades there? Absolutely. However for going after the people who planned 9/11 it was the best area at the time for us to be in.
9/11 wasn’t a government planned operation or done by a group with any one boundary. It was planned by an ideology without borders and with no official uniform or state flag. They simply wanted the US and the west to pay for crimes that went against both their ideology and that were wrongfully committed against their neighbors and friends. It was incredibly complex. We could even go all the way back and blame Bill Clinton for not having arrested Osama when he was given the chance, three times. No one expected them to do what they did to the level it was committed.
The Taliban offered to arrest and hand OBL over to the US after the 98 embassy bombings, and nobody cared or responded, as official US policy was either that the Taliban were lying and/or they were not a real, legitimate government.
While the language of the authorization for use of military force focused on combatting terrorism and spying on US citizens, the language used by Bush and other Admin officials made it plain that we were planning on nation building from day 0.
Both wars were pathetic blunders and the people were misled about reasons why they happened. I guess people got to cope either by larping the koolaid or going full tin foil but never admitting that it was straight mistake. People who made them are still in charge now tho
Iraq was a mistake (well, really more a crime), however Afghanistan was a complicated mess. The Taliban was harboring al-Qaeda. Was it a mistake for us to have spent decades there? Absolutely. However for going after the people who planned 9/11 it was the best area at the time for us to be in.
9/11 wasn’t a government planned operation or done by a group with any one boundary. It was planned by an ideology without borders and with no official uniform or state flag. They simply wanted the US and the west to pay for crimes that went against both their ideology and that were wrongfully committed against their neighbors and friends. It was incredibly complex. We could even go all the way back and blame Bill Clinton for not having arrested Osama when he was given the chance, three times. No one expected them to do what they did to the level it was committed.
The Taliban offered to arrest and hand OBL over to the US after the 98 embassy bombings, and nobody cared or responded, as official US policy was either that the Taliban were lying and/or they were not a real, legitimate government.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/9/11/taliban-offered-bin-laden-trial-before-9
Before we invaded, the Taliban offered to try OBL, then offered to hand him over to a neutral third country to be tried, as we were invading.
The US just demanded he be presented to us, as much of the world warned that a large scale invasion and occupation would be disastrous.
https://www.cnn.com/2001/US/10/07/ret.us.taliban/
https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=80482&page=1
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/14/afghanistan.terrorism5
While the language of the authorization for use of military force focused on combatting terrorism and spying on US citizens, the language used by Bush and other Admin officials made it plain that we were planning on nation building from day 0.
Both wars were pathetic blunders and the people were misled about reasons why they happened. I guess people got to cope either by larping the koolaid or going full tin foil but never admitting that it was straight mistake. People who made them are still in charge now tho