Forever, forgotten wars

Jeff Schogol hasn't forgotten that U.S. soldiers are still risking their lives in wars around the world. I'll outsource today's post to the long time military correspondent: 

When high school students learn about American history in the decades to come, I wonder if they will spend even one day discussing the Post 9/11 wars and the exceedingly painful lessons that the United States has learned about the limits of its military power. ...

... I’m no historian, but I suspect that if future American history books touch on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars at all, they will be similarly summed up as a “period of readjustment” that spanned multiple generations.

The historical amnesia is already well underway. Afghanistan has been the newest forgotten war for roughly a decade. Every so often, lawmakers remember that U.S. troops are still in combat there even though Congress never declared war. They make a fuss for roughly two hours and then move on to their next cable news standup because members of Congress have the attention span of gnats.

... the reason why it is important that America break with tradition and actually teach its children about the post-World War II period is simple: We continue to make the same mistakes and use the same bogus justifications.

... These days, I swear to myself as I write about the latest troop drawdowns in Afghanistan and Iraq because I know that almost no one cares. It’s as if the past 19 years never happened.

To paraphrase President Abraham Lincoln: The world will little note nor long remember defense officials’ vapid statements about progress in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, but we should never forget that a generation of service members volunteered to go to war, and they kept fighting long after their government had ceased to care about the outcome.

 Who's this guy, Schogol? Here's what Military.com explains: 

Jeff Schogol is one of the most beloved faces in the Pentagon press corps. Unless, that is, you're an official behind the lectern in the briefing room and he has a question for you. In his 13 years covering the military, he has reported on military operations in Iraq, Haiti and other locations, and has never shied away from asking the tough questions the public really wants to know. Such as, what will the Space Force anthem be? What's really going on with those  Navy UFO videos? And where the heck is the secret fighter pilot bar in the Pentagon?

There are more diligent journalists plugging away than just at the Times and the Post.

And there are the unfortunate Afghans and Iraqis and Syrians and Somalis who find themselves trying to live in the arenas of our forgotten wars.