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America’s Longest War Unites Father, Son Fighting The Taliban In Afghanistan

A war which has stretched for about two decades being the longest drawn war in American History, Afghanistan has put a toll on the United States economically, politically, and even emotionally.

Recently, President Trump said that all U.S. troops on Afghan ground would be pulled back by Christmas, raising hopes of a concrete Intra-Afgah dialogue with the withdrawal of US troops.

However, the U.S. withdrawal from the country raises serious concerns. Now being the major deterrence and “policing” factor for the Afghans, Washington has successfully done what it does the best- toppling the previous government and putting more favourable people in the offices.

The election of President Trump in 2016 saw major developments towards ending the war, with the historic peace agreement with the Taliban signed back in February this year and paving way for the ongoing peace negotiations in Doha.

Trump’s announcements and the image of becoming a “peace-maker” via landmark peace pacts could prove to be vital for the Presidential Elections. The world is eyeing the selection of the most powerful man in the world and hoping to get their part of it.  For the troops on the field, its a rather emotional decision.

In a joint telephonic interview with Stars and Stripes, U.S. service members recollect their experiences talking about their own children now serving at the same posts they served about a decade ago.

“When we started this, people asked why I was going, and my response was, ‘So my sons don’t have to fight this war,’” said Master Sgt. Trevor deBoer, who has deployed to Afghanistan three times with the 20th Special Forces Group since 2002.




Sgt. Bajun Mavalwalla, left, and his father Capt. Bajun Mavalwalla, met in Afghanistan in 2012, when both were deployed to the country. TWITTER/BAJUN MAVALWALLA

Nearly two decades later, deBoer’s son, Spc. Payton Sluss, also served in Afghanistan — including at Forward Operating Base Fenty, north of the city of Jalalabad, where deBoer had served, the interview report mentions.

According to them, a lot has changed among the on-ground interaction with the Afghan population, and especially their troops for whom Americans are deployed.

“While deBoer watched films with Afghan troops, Sluss watched their body language, their weapon to ensure that they did not turn on the Americans who were training them,” JP Lawrence and Philip Wellman write for Stars and Stripes.

Indeed, no population would like the presence of a foreign power in their own country, ruled by puppet governments. Even during the February peace agreement with the Taliban, the Afghan government wasn’t even a party to it.

In his book “My Share of the Task,” Gen. Stanley McChrystal recalls an incident in Iraq:

“We left the building and emerged into the courtyard, hot under the sun and filled with the loud, low gurgling of Stryker engines. After the last of the forty or so Rangers loaded their vehicles, we departed.

We received a few shots – on the war to the target, but nothing dramatic, before stopping outside a rural Iraqi version of a strip mall- three or four low, one-story buildings, with a patch of concrete in front where vehicles parked.

As the rangers bounded out of the Strykers, I took my usual position towards the back, watching them set a perimeter and begin a search of the buildings. As always, I didn’t insert myself into tactical decisions on the ground. It was their responsibility and, I felt, their right.

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