One of the lessons we should take away from our involvement in Afghanistan is that Americans don't react well to unexpected events. Looking back on 9/11 I think it was, as I remember thinking at the time, a lucky shot. But we reacted hysterically, especially after the anthrax attacks. That's not something I said on this blog then, because I wasn't blogging then. Might I have said something like that had I been blogging--perhaps, but unlikely. Too much of an outlying opinion. At some time I would have been comfortable saying that 9/11 was a lucky punch, a combination of circumstances and strategy which worked, but which wasn't likely to be repeatable.
But we overreacted after 9/11. I think we're overreacting now to the August exit from Afghanistan. It's not the end of the world, it's not major damage to the reputation or influence of the US.
