24 years ago this week, the U.S. began a war with Afghanistan with the Orwellian name of “Operation Enduring Freedom.”  It wasn’t even a full month after the attacks on September 11th that killed almost 3,000 people and took down New York’s iconic Twin Towers. A traumatized public was quick to accept whatever scapegoats the Bush administration threw their way, and while the War On Terror was just getting started, its first target was Afghanistan.

The quagmire in Afghanistan lasted almost 20 years. During that time, the White House was occupied by both Republicans and Democrats. The lie that the U.S. was “winning” started with George W. Bush and would be repeated by Barack Obama and Donald Trump in the years that followed.

The Afghanistan Papers, a set of internal interviews kept secret until published by the Washington Post, told a different story. Behind the scenes, military officials knew the war was unwinnable. That didn’t stop the U.S. from spending over a trillion dollars on this defeat. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, including over 2,300 U.S. military personnel.

Despite the clear failure of waging forever wars, Democrats and Republicans continue warmongering.

Since taking office in January, Donald Trump has been busy making sure that the newly christened “Department of War” lives up to its name by:

• Continuing to fund the genocide in Gaza
• Conducting an unprovoked bombing of Iran
• Breaking his promise to end the Ukrainian proxy war with Russia
• Ordering three strikes over the past month on Venezuelan fishing boats under the dubious claim that they were involved in drug trafficking

The Democrats claim to be the "opposition party” but as usual, they refuse to oppose war and destruction. That’s because they’re funded by the same warmongering billionaire class that knows these wars aren’t meant to be won, they’re meant to be continuous.

The Green Party of the United States is the only viable alternative that stands strongly for peace. Peace is one of our Four Pillars, stating “Our country's long wars and worldwide military presence are immoral and unsustainable. Our military budget must be cut dramatically.”

As we reflect on this sad Afghanistan war anniversary, we need to build a strong party of the people to create a real opposition to Trump’s warmongering. Please consider donating and even becoming monthly sustainers so that we can keep building towards a lasting peace that’s entirely possible if powered up by people like you.

Thank you for all you do. Together a better world is possible.

In Solidarity,

The Green Party of the United States

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