We interviewed Gil Barndollar, an expert at “Defense Priorities”, a think-tank on American foreign policy and United States military strategy. He was sent to Afghanistan and Guantanamo as a navy.
euronews: “After the September 11 attacks, the United States entered a war on terror. Was invading Iraq and Afghanistan the best response after these attacks?”
Gil Barndollar: “It is very clear that this was not the best response after these attacks. I don’t think anyone can consider, 20 years after September 11, that these wars were anything but failures. You know, the United States spent about 6500 billion dollars, probably more in all. 7,000 American soldiers have been killed, hundreds of thousands of civilians have died during these wars which have left these countries in ruins. The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan was practically predetermined years ago. The way it happened was of course humiliating for the United States. I don’t think one can see these wars as having been the best response to the – albeit spectacular – attacks on the United States. “
euronews: “What do you think of the last 20 years of war, which ended with the Taliban returning to power just before US troops left the country last month?”
Gil Barndollar: “I think that it shows 20 years of arrogance and blindness on the part of the USA. You know, at the start we went there with a fairly limited number of goals. The aim was to overthrow the Taliban, teach them a good lesson and eliminate Al Qaeda. All of this happened, even though bin Laden was not caught in the first six or eight months. So whatever happened next, again there aren’t many ways to put it: it was a disaster. In Afghanistan, the United States tried to build a stable, centralized, in a way Westernized state, and it was a total failure. These ambitions were in any case unachievable from the start. “
There’s no reason to go abroad looking for monsters to kill
euronews: “Should the US and its allies return to Afghanistan at some point?”
Gil Barndollar: “No, well I wrote about it but… The only reason to return to Afghanistan would be to eliminate transnational terrorists, who have both the intention and the power to strike the United States. Other than that, there is no reason for US troops to return to Afghanistan. You can bite your fingers, and be horrified by a lot of things that have happened there, and which will undoubtedly happen in the future as the Taliban control the country; but no matter how terrible it is: let it be the rights of women, minorities, internal repression, none of this is of vital interest to the United States.”
euronews: “What should the fight against terrorism on American soil focus on from now on?”
Gil Barndollar: “I think we have to protect the United States from within. I am not talking about a new Patriot Act, or other attacks on the freedoms of American citizens. One of the worst responses after 9/11 has been the increased surveillance of Americans, the new prerogatives of law enforcement without realizing it. But we need to focus on protecting Americans in the United States. We have plenty of tools for that. The world is very different from 20 years ago. To paraphrase one of our former presidents, John Quincy Adams, there is no reason to go abroad looking for monsters to wipe out. “
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