In response to Trudy Rubin’s “Get real on Afghanistan exit,” July 10, I would like to offer real facts to support our exit from a 20-year military endeavor.

First point is that anyone who wants to continue fighting the Taliban, can buy an AR-15 at your local gun dealership, mail it and ammo to your chosen destination in Afghanistan and fight the battle you wish to fight.

The U.S. has spent a couple trillion dollars of borrowed money and lost too many lives and suffered too many casualties in an effort to change a nation that many of their people oppose. I frequently hear that we should airlift all the people who “helped Americans” and bring them to the USA post haste, as “we have a moral obligation.” What happened to our moral obligation to the future generations that we choose to bury in debt?

We have to learn something from these invasions and occupations of other nations. We pick a side, and when we can’t win a military surrender of our opponents, we leave our allies within those nations to fend for themselves.

As soon as violent atrocities reach the internet media feed, a squeamish nation will jump back into another endless military boondoggle.

Tom Turner

Waterville