Foreign Policy

Statement from Will Ruger on 'Lessons Learned' Interviews

December 9, 2019

ARLINGTON, Va.– Stand Together Trust’s William Ruger, Vice President for Research and Policy, issued the following statement in response to an investigative report from the Washington Post demonstrating “senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign…hiding unmistakable evidence that the war had become unwinnable”:

 “This report is a sobering confirmation that we have been strategically adrift in Afghanistan and have failed to be transparent with the American people and the troops fighting this endless war.  Although the war we launched in 2001 was a necessary and just response after 9/11, our goals in the region – the decimation of Al Qaeda, the punishment of the Taliban, and bringing Bin Laden to justice – were satisfied long ago. Our continued presence has only served to muddle our sense of mission without making us safer or more secure.  It is past time to bring our troops home from this endless war, and to rethink our foreign policy. We hope that this investigation will serve to remind Congress of their responsibility to provide more effective oversight of our foreign policy, and we again remind President Trump that he was right that great nations don’t fight endless wars.”

Ruger recently issued this statement marking the 18th anniversary of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, which called for the withdrawal of American troops from the country.

Stand Together Trust is working to expand public debate about what foreign policy will make us more safe and secure. Find out more below:

Public Realism on Afghanistan

War Is the Least Conservative Undertaking – An Interview with Dr. William Ruger

For media requests, please contact:
Rachel Tripp
rtripp@standtogether.org
(571) 481-0783