Afghanistan Papers: Difference between revisions
The "papers" themselves were records of interview conducted by the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. To call them assessments is misleading; it is a series of interviews with policymakers who provided assessments, but the documents themselves are records of interviews. |
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{{short description|Internal documents about the US war in Afghanistan}} |
{{short description|Internal documents about the US war in Afghanistan}} |
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The '''''Afghanistan Papers''''' are a set of |
The '''''Afghanistan Papers''''' are a set of interviews relating to the [[war in Afghanistan (2001–present)|US war in Afghanistan]] prepared by the [[Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction]] (SIGAR) and published by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in 2019 following a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] request.<ref name=wapo-whitlock>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/|title=Confidential documents reveal U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan|author=Craig Whitlock|website=Washington Post|language=en |date=December 9, 2019|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/12/09/senior-enlisted-leaders-react-to-afghanistan-papers-ive-never-been-lied-to/|title=Senior enlisted leaders react to Afghanistan papers: ‘I’ve never been lied to’|last=Myers|first=Meghann|date=2019-12-09|website=Military Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://politi.co/2qzlgnz|title=POLITICO Playbook: America’s longest war finally has its Pentagon Papers moment|last=Palmer|first=Anna|last2=Sherman|first2=Jake|website=POLITICO|language=en|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref> The documents reveal that high-ranking officials generally held the opinion that the war was unwinnable while keeping this view from the public.<ref name=wapo-whitlock/><ref name=grauniad-20191209>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/afghan-papers-reveal-us-public-were-misled-about-unwinnable-war|title=Afghanistan papers reveal US public were misled about unwinnable war|last=Beaumont|first=Peter|date=2019-12-09|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-12-10|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=US lies and deception spelled out in Afghanistan papers' shocking detail |author=Peter Beaumont |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/afghanistan-papers-military-washington-post-analysis |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=December 9, 2019 |accessdate=December 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Top US officials knew the Afghanistan war was unwinnable and 'lied' — even as costs rose to $1 trillion and 2,351 American troop's lives |author=Ryan Pickrell |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/us-officials-lied-about-afghan-war-failures-documents-reveal-2019-12 |website=[[Business Insider]] |date=December 9, 2019 |accessdate=December 11, 2019}}</ref> Due to the difficulty of creating objective metrics to demonstrate success, information was manipulated for the duration of the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/world/asia/afghanistan-war-documents.html|title=Documents Reveal U.S. Officials Misled Public on War in Afghanistan|last=Gibbons-Neff|first=Thomas|date=2019-12-09|work=The New York Times}}</ref> NPR host [[Lulu Garcia-Navarro]], comparing the documents with the [[Pentagon Papers]], noted the revelation of, "explicit and sustained efforts by the US government to deliberately mislead the public.”<ref name=grauniad-20191209/> |
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== Initial reporting in ''The Washington Post'' == |
== Initial reporting in ''The Washington Post'' == |
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Revision as of 02:50, 22 August 2021
The Afghanistan Papers are a set of interviews relating to the US war in Afghanistan prepared by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) and published by The Washington Post in 2019 following a Freedom of Information Act request.[1][2][3] The documents reveal that high-ranking officials generally held the opinion that the war was unwinnable while keeping this view from the public.[1][4][5][6] Due to the difficulty of creating objective metrics to demonstrate success, information was manipulated for the duration of the conflict.[7] NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro, comparing the documents with the Pentagon Papers, noted the revelation of, "explicit and sustained efforts by the US government to deliberately mislead the public.”[4]
Initial reporting in The Washington Post
The initial article derived from these papers, titled "At War With the Truth," was published by The Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock on December 9, 2019.[8] Shortly thereafter, numerous publications built on Whitlock's writing.
The report, titled “Lessons Learned,” estimates that 40% of U.S. aid to Afghanistan since 2001 ended up in the pockets of corrupt officials, warlords, criminals and insurgents.[9] Ryan Crocker, former ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, told the investigators in a 2016 interview, "You just cannot put those amounts of money into a very fragile state and society, and not have it fuel corruption."[10]
Reactions of public officials
Due to the nature of the content within the Afghanistan Papers, numerous public officials commented on their content in the days following Whitlock's initial article. The following is a sampling of select politicians:
Senator Rand Paul: "I think our young men and women that we send to war, our best and our brightest, they deserve better. They deserve an open airing of what is the mission. I've been saying for several years now that I can't meet a general anywhere who can tell me really what is the mission we're trying to accomplish in Afghanistan."[11]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: "We all read today, the striking reporting by The Washington Post, suggesting that administration officials, potentially including military officials, have misled the American public about the war in Afghanistan. I am writing to request hearings to address these deeply concerning revelations about the Afghan war.”[12]
Representative Tulsi Gabbard said she introduces legislation for a Congressional inquiry into "the lying and wasting of taxpayer dollars" and lives of US service members. She accused the military-industrial complex, contractors and consultancy companies of profiting from "a scam that ripped the US taxpayers off over a trillion dollars since 9/11 in Afghanistan alone." Gabbard reiterated her request to bring US troops home from Afghanistan.[13][14]
Former Vice President Joe Biden distanced himself from Barack Obama's Afghan war policy, saying: "I’m the guy from the beginning who argued that it was a big, big mistake to surge forces to Afghanistan."[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b Craig Whitlock (December 9, 2019). "Confidential documents reveal U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ Myers, Meghann (2019-12-09). "Senior enlisted leaders react to Afghanistan papers: 'I've never been lied to'". Military Times. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ Palmer, Anna; Sherman, Jake. "POLITICO Playbook: America's longest war finally has its Pentagon Papers moment". POLITICO. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ a b Beaumont, Peter (2019-12-09). "Afghanistan papers reveal US public were misled about unwinnable war". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ Peter Beaumont (December 9, 2019). "US lies and deception spelled out in Afghanistan papers' shocking detail". The Guardian. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ Ryan Pickrell (December 9, 2019). "Top US officials knew the Afghanistan war was unwinnable and 'lied' — even as costs rose to $1 trillion and 2,351 American troop's lives". Business Insider. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (2019-12-09). "Documents Reveal U.S. Officials Misled Public on War in Afghanistan". The New York Times.
- ^ Craig Whitlock (December 9, 2019). "At War With the Truth". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ "US spending in Afghanistan fueled rampant corruption, reports say". The World. December 11, 2019.
- ^ "The War in Afghanistan Was Doomed From the Start". Slate. December 9, 2019.
- ^ Victor Garcia (December 9, 2019). "Sen. Rand Paul reacts to bombshell Afghanistan report, says service members 'deserve better'". Fox News. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ Ellen Mitchell (December 9, 2019). "Gillibrand demands hearing following release of 'Afghanistan Papers'". The Hill. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ Enjeti, Saagar; Ball, Krystal (December 10, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard reacts to Afghanistan report, calls out Pete's McKinsey work". The Hill – via YouTube.
- ^ Bonn, Tess (December 10, 2019). "Gabbard calls for congressional inquiry over Afghanistan war report". The Hill.
- ^ "Transcript: The December Democratic debate". The Washington Post. December 20, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
External links
