Over the Horizon, Out of Mind

Jihadis? What jihadis? That seems to be the view of the Department of Defense after totally not losing the war against jihadis in Afghanistan. 

According to the administration, America didn't lose the Afghanistan campaign. Certainly not! America achieved the greatest evacuation in history. USA! USA! USA!

Back then the line being peddled was that despite the Big Skedaddle, America could strike the jihadis from over the horizon. No worries, you knuckle draggers!

Now, the jihadis are barely mentioned. Under the priority mission of defending the nation, the Department of Defense includes:

• Prioritize China as the “Pacing Challenge”
• Tackle the Acute Russian Threat
• Address Advanced and Persistent Threats
• Innovate and Modernize
• Meet the Climate Crisis

Something is missing from the big picture, no? Over the horizon, out of mind!

Let's dive into the Department of Defense explanatory "footnotes" about the mission priorities. Here it is!

We must also defend against and deter threats from Iran, North Korea and global terrorist organizations, even while we grapple with 21st-century transnational challenges such as climate change.

We'll just skip that part about meeting the "climate crisis" to preserve my sanity and forehead at risk from pounding it into my desk in frustration.

No starring role for Sunni Islamist jihadis despite their abiding murderous hatred for us. The jihadis are apparently the uncredited cast of thousands in the background!

The military was told it didn't see nothin' and so it didn't acknowledge jihadis. Not even a token inclusion on their own.

On the one hand, the military obeyed lawful civilian orders. That's good. No matter what, that's good.

On the other hand, nobody high in the military or civilian DOD ranks resigned in protest. That worries me. 

But there's a lot of that going along to get along going on lately, eh?

Still, when you get closer to the problem, reality breaks through:

The Islamic State network in Afghanistan will be able to attack American or Western interests outside the country in less than six months “with little to no warning,” the top commander for U.S. forces in the Middle East said Thursday.

But America itself is judged to be safer for longer than that.

The jihadis will in time remind us that they still want to kill us in large numbers. 

Have a super sparkly day.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 continues here.