KERRY NATION: The world has changed over last two decades

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/09/2021 (1467 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Our world has changed immeasurably since those days.

Many of us can remember exactly where we were when the planes struck the Twin Towers — I was watching CNBC in my office. The day was just starting. The markets were about to open up and business commentators were talking about how it appeared a small plane had struck one of the towers.

How the world has changed.

This past month, NATO powers, led by the United States, finally called the Afghanistan invasion over and left that war-torn country. With the greatest of respect to the countless people out there who risked life and limb for an ever-evolving mission creep (and political elites who couldn’t admit their mistakes), it is abundantly clear this invasion was an incredible error that far too many remain unable to acknowledge.

Literally within two months of the invasion, al-Qaida forces had fled the country by crossing the mountains into Pakistan. The ruling Taliban who had sheltered the terrorists were defeated. So why again did Western forces stay there?

Western forces should have declared victory in Afghanistan and pursued Osama bin Laden into Pakistan, where, by the way, they captured many members of the terrorist group. Pakistan, it should be noted, has long been an American client state.

It becomes religion to say that we were in Afghanistan to nation-build, or to educate and advance women’s rights. This, of course, is nonsense. Afghanistan was never going to become some version of a Jeffersonian democracy regardless of how many bombs were dropped or how many trillions were spent.

We were not going to be able to change people’s values, no matter how arrogant we are in believing that our values are superior. This is simply unrealistic. End of story.

Consider that bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida, was killed in May 2011. You may recall he was killed during the raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. So why again did Canadians keep serving in Afghanistan until March 2014? Why did the Americans finally leave last month?

In these highly polarized days, I find myself pondering how Republicans thought a Donald Trump-led departure would differ in any way from the Joe Biden departure. The reality is that the decision to leave was made by Trump last year in an agreement with the Taliban. The actual moving pieces of the departure were affected by military and civilian experts. Biden didn’t fly there to help out and Trump wouldn’t have, either.

It is high time to acknowledge these ill-considered foreign forays rarely turn out well. They cost Canadian lives and treasure and, my friends, for what?

In a completely different vein, I want to send along my sincere appreciation to the many friends and readers who expressed their sympathies to my family and I in the last week. My father, Andy Auriat, passed away Sept. 1 after a short battle with cancer.

My dad turned 82 last month and, until his final year, walked miles daily at BU’s Healthy Living Centre. He was a longtime Wheaties fan and, as everyone who knew him was aware, a lifelong Montréal Canadiens fan. To be fair, he loved all kinds of sports. His memory of random sports facts would rival anyone.

Dad taught in the Brandon School Division for more than 30 years, retired at age 55, and then came back to substitute teach for more than a decade. He loved the interactions with students and spoke so proudly of how they had progressed in their lives. In his last few weeks, Dad received a number of messages from former students and co-workers that brought him tremendous happiness. Thank you.

He also greatly enjoyed the interactions with his co-workers and coffee buddies. It was a true pleasure of his to stir the pot, perhaps suggesting that Trump might be the greatest U.S. president ever, and then sitting back and watching the fun unfold. He loved to laugh and enjoyed ironic, uncomfortable humour.

Dad loved my mom Loraine, my sisters Joy and Lisa, and his grandchildren. He loved his extended family of brothers and sisters and his many friends. We, in turn, loved him. He will be missed dearly.