Trump and Pulling Out of Afghanistan

• 1:04:28Trump ran on leaving Afghanistan and didn't rationalize or hedge his position like other presidents do.
• 1:04:43Presidents are basically figureheads who give press conferences and pardon turkeys while the military-industrial complex makes major decisions.
• 1:04:59When shown the consequences of pulling out, Trump apparently couldn't say no to military pressure about ISIS and Taliban filling the vacuum.
• 1:05:18Trump is a liar, but claiming this pullout wasn't a complete cynical money grab is insane.
• 1:05:32Every Middle Eastern conflict uses the same argument: if we leave, it'll collapse—but it's going to collapse anyway whether we stay three years or twenty.
• 1:05:50Afghanistan has no foundation for democracy because it's been a war-torn feudal state forever, and the terrain prevents it from becoming a viable capitalist nation.
• 1:06:18The pullout isn't really a win, but it's still crazy that we stayed this long.

military-industrial complexDonald TrumpAfghanistanTalibanISISNorth Korea