Thursday 4/21: How do we end a war?

To attend this class on Zoom, please use this link. Passcode is 459144

Zoom recording of this class can be found here.

Thursday 4/21: How do we end a war?

Read or View before class:

● Elan Uzan, “How Do We End the Never-Ending Wars?” Boston Review, October 2019

● “The Afghanistan Papers -- ‘We Were Right’: They Experienced the War in Afghanistan on the Ground. Here is What They Have to Say,” Washington Post, December 2019.

● "For Afghanistan veterans, old feelings of frustration and loss surface, as the US prepares to end its' longest war," The Washington Post, April 14th, 2021 (see PDF below).

● Ross Douthat, "Joe Biden's Critics Lost Afghanistan," New York Times, August 31st, 2021 (see PDF below).

● Rewatch the film "Restrepo" (we'll discuss it).

Prepare or organize before class:

● Questions to consider: What does Uzan mean by an “ethics of war termination”? Do you see any lessons that we Americans should learn not only from Iraq/Afghanistan, but also from Vietnam?

● Craig Whitlock, one of the investigative journalists who put together the Washington Post’s “Afghanistan Papers,” wrote “the specter of Vietnam has hovered over Afghanistan from the start.” What do you think he means? Do you agree?

● Dr. Williams believes our mission in Afghanistan was largely successful, and needed to continue. Many of the veterans in 'The Afghanistan Papers" seem to disagree. What are the arguments on both sides, for staying or leaving? If you served in Afghanistan, how do you see it?