What was America's longest war?
Not the Civil War — that was the bloodiest, 620,000 dead, with Americans falling on both sides. That ended three days shy of exactly four years.
Not World War II — four months shorter. Not the Vietnam War. Good guess, but no. Nearly 20 years, from the first military advisers in November, 1955 to the fall of Saigon in April, 1975.
A long time. But topped, by a couple months, by the Afghanistan War — how quickly we forget. Also nearly 20 years, from 2001 to 2021, 2,400 American military died, not to forget maybe 150,000 Afghan civilians and fighters.
And for what? The country is under the thumb of the Taliban. Just like when we started.
We should think hard about these past conflicts as we go sailing off into a new one. Well, we should have thought about them before we went sailing off into a new one. But thinking hard wasn't on the table, apparently. No consultation with Congress before going to war, as required by law. No communication with the American people — the opposite, we were told the job was done last year. No huddling with our allies — our former allies, fallen away after a year of Donald Trumps global charm offensive.
Trump says the war will be Iran will be over "very soon. But Trump says a lot of things — the war is won, no, it continues. Five thousand Marines are on their way. The Strait of Hormuz will be easy to open — no, we must have the help of NATO to do it.
The only thing happening very soon is the war's one month anniversary — on Saturday, the 28th. A good time to consider where we're heading.
Wars take on a momentum, a weight of their own. After the first six Americans died, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dragooned their grieving families into an imaginary chorus, urging our country deeper down the hole. Using initial to justify feeding an unknown number of soldiers into a grinder for an undetermined span of time.
“What I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve was the same from family after family," Hegseth said. "They said, ‘Finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done.’”
Finish what? What is this exactly? We seem to be making the goal up as we go.
Not to be outdone, Trump conjured former presidents expressing envy at his triumph. All four living ex-presidents deny saying that.
If the war lasts a year, or 10, we'll want to look back and see what we were thinking when it started. The Republicans were thinking, "Whatever Donny wants, Donny gets." While Democrats gnashed their teeth and wailed, quietly.
Afghanistan could go on for 20 years because the war was so removed from our everyday existence. Pain was felt, but not by us.
And for what? The country is under the thumb of the Taliban. Just like when we started.
We should think hard about these past conflicts as we go sailing off into a new one. Well, we should have thought about them before we went sailing off into a new one. But thinking hard wasn't on the table, apparently. No consultation with Congress before going to war, as required by law. No communication with the American people — the opposite, we were told the job was done last year. No huddling with our allies — our former allies, fallen away after a year of Donald Trumps global charm offensive.
Trump says the war will be Iran will be over "very soon. But Trump says a lot of things — the war is won, no, it continues. Five thousand Marines are on their way. The Strait of Hormuz will be easy to open — no, we must have the help of NATO to do it.
The only thing happening very soon is the war's one month anniversary — on Saturday, the 28th. A good time to consider where we're heading.
Wars take on a momentum, a weight of their own. After the first six Americans died, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dragooned their grieving families into an imaginary chorus, urging our country deeper down the hole. Using initial to justify feeding an unknown number of soldiers into a grinder for an undetermined span of time.
“What I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve was the same from family after family," Hegseth said. "They said, ‘Finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done.’”
Finish what? What is this exactly? We seem to be making the goal up as we go.
Not to be outdone, Trump conjured former presidents expressing envy at his triumph. All four living ex-presidents deny saying that.
If the war lasts a year, or 10, we'll want to look back and see what we were thinking when it started. The Republicans were thinking, "Whatever Donny wants, Donny gets." While Democrats gnashed their teeth and wailed, quietly.
Afghanistan could go on for 20 years because the war was so removed from our everyday existence. Pain was felt, but not by us.
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I want the Iranian regime replaced but am deeply disturbed by how Trump is proceeding as you document. But with this recent post by Trump (fide Heather Cox Richardson), I am now absolutely terrified: “Now with the death of Iran, the greatest enemy America has is the Radical Left, Highly Incompetent, Democrat Party! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.”
ReplyDeleteOf course, Metamucilini also had to say something obnoxious about Robert Meuller, via his dopey Twit-alternative. But when you’re a celebrity mob boss, they let you do it. Even if you’re referring to a Marine Corps officer who received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and became a U. S. Attorney and Director of the FBI.
DeleteOne doesn’t need to wonder why a long-time criminal and convicted felon would disdain law enforcement personnel, but it’s certainly disgusting to have a president who cares as little about justice, and is as brazen about it, as this schmuck. I’m sure Susan Collins and all the Republican toadies in Congress and on the Supreme Court are concerned.
Evidently these folks consider the standards of decorum to be much lower for decorated veterans and dedicated public servants than for MAGA influencers whose main occupation was "owning the libs."
You "want the Iranian regime replaced." There are a lot of regimes I'd like to see replaced, starting with the one currently running the United States. But, ever since 1979, multiple administrations led by presidents of both parties knew that attacking Iran was not as simple a solution as these incompetent fools evidently thought it would be, and was not a good idea.
The Number One mistake in Afghanistan was creating the rotten to the core Afghan Army. It turned out, the men in that army just surrendered to the Taliban after we left, because they preferred the way the Taliban treats women, like slaves, to the way they were treated when we were there.
ReplyDeleteWe should've created the Afghan Army as all women, they would've fought the lunatic Taliban & wiped them out to keep their freedom!
In 1970, in the midst of our war against the Viet Cong, with National Guard killing protesters, a nation horribly divided, the Moody Blues sang “ The Question “. 56 years later, we are again horribly divided, our country and the world are still burning in their greed.
ReplyDelete“Why do we never get an answer when we're knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions about hate and death and war?
'Cause when we stop and look around us, there is nothing that we need
In a world of persecution that is burning in its greed
Why do we never get an answer when we're knocking at the door?”
Flip the house, then the senate, then the White House.
There are going to be a lot more-serious negatives to this feckless war, but I sometimes have the nagging feeling that, at present, if gas prices hadn’t spiked, nobody would be paying much attention.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hope a good copy editor will fix all the typos in this otherwise fine piece before it gets to the paper.
Yeah, they were certainly bunched today. I think we got them all — thanks to readers as well as editors — either before publication or after. Sometimes you get the bear ...
Deletefuck Iran . They currently posses a significant quantity of highly enriched uranium. if your cool with the destruction of Israel and millions of jews then you agree with the ayatollahs . this is their end game.
ReplyDeletewe may be unable to seize or destroy this material but we are trying. we have and should destroy their ability to produce more or use what they have. dont forget the facilities and production of this material began under several previous administration including during the agreement reached under the Obama administration .
there are many reasons to avoid war. sometimes there are good reasons to fight one. I dont believe we started this one and probably won't end it with this massive attack. though maybe we can prevent the destruction of Israel
NEVER AGAIN cannot be achieved with words.
fuck Iran
I hold no brief for Iran. Never have.
DeleteThat said, what's your endgame?
As in...
"we may be unable to seize or destroy this material but we are trying. we have and should destroy their ability to produce more or use what they have."
And precisely how is this to be achieved?
Declarative sentences absent modifiers are appreciated, yet unanticipated.
Allen I think it's pretty clear from context how we are attempting to do this it's on the front page of the newspaper everyday.
DeleteWe know where it's being stored this is documented during the agreement phase by independent inspectors.
If we can end the hostilities and negotiate its transfer that would be a big plus.
Going in with ground forces would be a very high cost to pay and I'm not suggesting it but I'm not in charge of the country and the people who are will decide this.
I prefer no war as I hope we all would . hope is not a strategy..
Negotiating with liars is also not a strategy after the breakup of the Soviet Union we were able to go in and remove nuclear weapons and nuclear materials from more than a dozen countries we know how to do it we've done it I would prefer success in doing it again what is it you want?
Paul
The deranged president thinks he's controlling a war. I see a seven year old sitting on the floor with a bowl of soggy Fruit Loops, maniacally thumbing the controller of his newest Xbox game, "Obliteration!"
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Tony. The president plays with the levers of power as if they were joysticks. And today, stocks rallied on 'news' that negotiations with Iran were going so well, Trump called off the obliteration of Iran's oil processing plants. At least for 5 days. "we'll see". Then multiple sources clarified there have been NO talks, and stocks tanked. This sort of market manipulation (not to mention the mysterious stock trades right before Trump's announcement this AM) feed his ego. (So much power!, so much winning!.)
DeleteI woke up this morning fearful of what the news would bring. But I quickly learned Trump postponed his promised bombing campaign until after the markets close at the end of this week. As federal judges have warned, the government has begun to lose the presumption of regularity in their court cases, meaning they can no longer be trusted to present cases in good faith. This morning, I actually believed Iran was being more truthful than the US president, while at the same time, cant believe we've sunk so low.
On the one hand we've got the dangerous regime of Iran, with leaders who are willing to destruct themselves and the Middle East rather than surrender, and on the other hand a delusional US president who has never 'lost' an election, war, or anything else, isn't about to start now, and doesn't have a single advisor willing to give counsel he doesn't want to hear. The situation screams for diplomacy and neither side understands the concept.
There are whole bunch of people who should be marched off to prison over those stock trades and manipulation. Outrageous criminal behavior. The administration is an embarrassment.
Deleteand he has bone spurs, so God only knows
ReplyDeleteNothing that we need?
ReplyDeleteThen you need to stop and look around at some other neighborhoods. There's millions of people in this country in grievous need of the basics. Marketing, owned and controlled by the wealthy, just sell the illusion there is not. I am surrounded by and live with people in need. No practical, sustainable relief for the peasants while the royals revel in their medieval power.
I don't believe the words of the song anonymous 8:00 a.m. provided today indicate that there is nothing anybody needs.
DeleteSo many people have so much more than they need . The song over all is anti-war not pro. It does not disregard the poor and I don't think anonymous was nor am I.
America's poor are not in danger of their complete destruction.
With a nuclear armed Iran Israel would be.
The destruction of Iran's capacity to annihilate Israel and eventually other Western countries as well as Arab countries that have a fear of Iranian power could possibly make the world a safer place in the long run.
I'm not a fan of the orange one nor would I ever vote for him and never have. The Iranians have had every chance to not move forward with the manufacturer of nuclear weapons.
They lie and hide and use proxies to attack countries whose politics and policies they do not agree with.
They have stated clearly that they want to destroy Israel and also the United States.
Maybe they'll negotiate in good faith once their capacity to wage war has been neutered.
History shows that they will turn inward against their own people.
If there is a world leader worse than Trump it's the f****** ayatollahs
Paul
America's poor are not in danger of their complete destruction.
DeleteAs a group? Because thousands of individuals certainly are.
I'll shut up now. Enjoy your comforts before they fade.
i realize that we are a nation with the attention span of the average toddler, but i think it would important for the press at least, to remember this salient fact. Obama's deal with iran to stop the efforts of getting The Bomb was actually working. what trump is doing now is attempting to solve a problem that he created in his 1st term-ripping up the treaty that was successful because of his deranged hatred of obama. and btw paul, you might want to consider this as well, and stop feeding at bibi's trough.
ReplyDeleteJakash
DeleteNetanyahu began saying Iran was "three to five years" away from having nuclear weapons in 1992. In 2012, he claimed that they were "a few months" away from nuclear capability.
DeleteWhen a MAGA stalwart like the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, who just resigned, says "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation" that seems rather significant.
But Paul and I have "discussed" this on a previous EGD comment thread, so I'm not gonna repeat myself beyond what I've said already.
https://www.everygoddamnday.com/2026/03/war-is-much-easier-to-enter-than-to-exit.html
Kent is well known as an outright anti-Semite, something that even many MAGA Republicans have since said he quit!
DeleteSo he would love to Israel destroyed!
So, does that mean Kent's assessment was wrong, Clark St.? Even a majority of Republican voters and 75% of Democrats agree with the analysis, regardless.
Delete"Broken down by political party affiliation, three-quarters (75%) of Democratic voters agreed with Kent, compared to less than a third (23%) who did not agree. More than half (53%) of Republican voters agreed with Kent, compared to 41 percent who did not agree.
The poll also found that most U.S. voters, regardless of party affiliation, concur with Trump's critics who label the Iran war as 'a costly mistake.'"
After all the times you've railed against the orange felon, are you supporting him for starting this war with no Congressional authorization and no exit strategy other than ending it when he "feels it in his bones"? As Neil concludes today: "Is that reassuring? His bone-deep feelings are what got us here."
https://www.aol.com/articles/more-half-trump-voters-iran-135703583.html
I am constantly reminded how stupid people are.
ReplyDelete"The only thing happening very soon is the war's one-month anniversary — on Saturday, the 28th."
ReplyDeleteThe unexplainable irony of this is that date, the 28th, is the next nationwide "NO KINGS" protest.
Fine column.
ReplyDelete