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"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
The 1905 quote by Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana has been on our mind as major news unfolds near and far. History is doing an encore in Afghanistan with yet another messy retreat. And just as there were "mask wars" during the 1918 flu pandemic, we have protests against their mandate in Hawaii and around the world.
The British Army's 1842 retreat from Kabul was a disaster. An article in Historic UK magazine offers a brief list of what doomed the occupation and led to the eventual annihilation of some 16,000 British troops: "the inhospitable terrain, the unforgiving and unpredictable weather, fractured tribal politics, turbulent relations with the local population and armed civilians."
Sound at all familiar?
After enduring nine years of bloody rebellion and guerrilla warfare, the mighty Soviet army ended its botched occupation of Afghanistan in 1989.
Thirty-two years later, it is America's turn to cut and run. If the U.S. leaders who got us into this mess didn't want to read dry history books about Afghanistan, they should have sampled page turners like, "Caravans" by James A. Michener, and, "The Far Pavilions" by M.M. Kaye. The novels convey the same warning for invaders: No matter how big and tough you think you are, Afghanistan will wear you down and spit you out.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if elected officials had to take SAT-style tests to run for office? Exams for bigger races could be televised. Instead of listening to candidates shout at each other in so-called debates, we could watch them sweat over multiple-choice questions on civics, geography and history. Whose essay would put forth the most coherent argument for or against trickle-down economics? Who can find Nahiku on a map?
The tests would not decide races, just provide voters with a clearer grasp of candidate aptitudes and attitudes. They could also motivate elected officials to study to get the job. "Sorry I cannot go to the campaign rally tonight, I need to brush up on global economic policy."
Though President George W. Bush whiffed when he ordered the U.S. into Afghanistan in 2001, he did his homework on pandemics. After reading about the 1918 scourge, he called for a national strategy.
"A pandemic is a lot like a forest fire," Bush said in a 2005 speech at the National Institutes of Health. "If caught early it might be extinguished with limited damage. If allowed to smolder, undetected, it can grow to an inferno that can spread quickly beyond our ability to control it."
Bush left office and pandemic worries faded from public consciousness. Then came COVID-19. Once again, history was repeating itself and the world was somehow caught by surprise.