Exactly. This war we are in has lasted how long? It’s because we play “nice”. Our enemies snicker and sneer at our generosity. At this rate, our patient enemy will destroy us.
In one hour, the great Satan was destroyed”....
There's a little more to this than Americans playing "nice"; it has as much to do with Americans lacking any idea of what our purpose in Afghanistan is.
You may or may not be familiar with the release this past December of "Lessons Learned", which was a report commissioned by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) and declassified in response to a lawsuit.
The results of the report would make any American simply hurl it against a wall; by the admission of those in charge of the efforts in Afghanistan since 2001, we have absolutely no idea of what we are doing over there.
(John Sopko, the Inspector General himself, admitted to the Washington Post that the document reveals that "The American people have constantly been lied to.")
It would be easy to put the responsibility for our 19-year long debacle in Afghanistan on politicians who want to play "nice", but this country has spent all of this time and effort (to say nothing of the blood and money) with no clear idea of who the enemy even is. (Even if we WANTED to superheat another population center, which one would it be?)