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US policies in Afghanistan unchanged for 40 years: Analyst

Wednesday, 23 December 2015 12:55 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 23 December 2015 9:48 AM ]

Members of the Utah National Guard wave to their families upon returning from Afghanistan as they walk past security at the Salt Lake City International Airport on December 14, 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (AFP)

The United States war on Afghanistan has remained unchanged since it unofficially began nearly 40 years ago, says an anti-war activist and radio host in New York.

“It’s been 14 years since the US began its overt war in Afghanistan; it’s been 36 years since it began its war in Afghanistan,” Don DeBar told Press TV on Tuesday while commenting on the death of six US soldiers killed in the war-ravaged country.

DeBar suggested that US policies are still the same as the country is “extremely significant in geopolitical terms”, noting, “That nation state has not moved one inch from its previous location.”

The activist referred to former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, who aimed in 1979 to “give Russia its own Vietnam,” by which he meant “a long term involvement that slowly eroded… resources” of the Soviet Union.

He further touched upon a difference between the dynamics of economy in the United States and the Soviet Union, noting that “this economy actually has people who thrive on a… long term conflict because they keep selling weapons and making profits.”

“That war… is only going to increase,” he predicted.

In a Twitter message, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack that was carried out by the bomber, who was on a motorcycle. The attacker detonated an explosive while a convoy of Afghan and international forces were patrolling in Bagram, which is home to the largest US military base in the country.

On December 28, 2014, President Barack Obama announced the end of US combat operations in Afghanistan. However, Washington has kept around 9,800 US troops in Bagram, located around 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Kabul.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but after more than 14 years, militants are continuing their deadly attacks across the country.

Since then, 2,378 American soldiers have been killed in the country along with 1,134 soldiers from other countries, including 455 from the United Kingdom.

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