CALLING THE VICTORY

A few more thoughts on Trump's announcement Monday:

Donald Trump could withdraw American troops from Afghanistan tomorrow, thus ending this country's longest running war. But would that be enough to insure a second term as President? Probably not.

So he's staying in.

If he can see his way to declaring victory in about three years, he'll have a much easier path to a second term: The man who WON America's longest war.

There's a ring to that, undeniably.

And here's all he has to do: Pick the right moment to declare victory and withdraw the troops.

What does victory look like? Whatever he wants it to look like. It's his choice.

What will it look like? Probably this: The Taliban reaches a deal to share power with the current government. Together they thank us for our help and respectfully request that we leave. Trump declares victory and off we go.

Two years later the Taliban consolidates power and the country goes back to what it was before 9/11. Almost certainly.

Or we could leave now; same deal in two years.

The difference: Lingering in country, we'll add a few hundred pounds of American blood to the soil of Afghanistan. Maybe the next crop of opium poppies will be that much more potent.

For the locals it'll mean a nicely mounting body count of dead "terrorists," along with the innocents killed as collateral damage.

(America defines "terrorist" as anyone who actively opposes us anywhere in the world, including inside their own country.)

By killing the guy in Afghanistan, will that prevent him from coming to American to kill us here? Absolutely!

But by killing the man at home, defending his own country from invaders, might we inspire others to come to America to kill us? Not at all unlikely.

That's the downside (along with increased traffic at Dover Air Force base, where American casualties are carried off cargo planes in flag-draped aluminum coffins).

The upside? We get another four years of Donald Trump's Presidency.

For some, that's a pretty good deal. (Donald Trump, for instance.)

Question: Is the man who wrote The Art of the Deal really that cynical?

But wait, you might be saying, he's giving us a victory in Afghanistan! A victory that both vindicates and validates all American deaths so far!

Nonsense. There can be no actual victory for America in that country. Remember, we're fighting against God in Afghanistan. You can't beat God. By definition.

Whatever we do in that region—short of expunging the very concept of Islam forever—the dent in the ocean that we make will fill back in. And fast.

The best we can hope for is death, destruction, and four more years of Donald Trump. That's what this deal is all about. Some would say it's a bargain.

Are you one of them?