Exactly my point. And I’m sorry for you and your buddy.
I was in Afghanistan in ‘02. Winter time and the bad guys had just endured months of laser guided bombs being dropped on their buddies, so they learned to lay low.
Ended up in Baghdad years later as a contractor working at the embassy.
The embassy folks, the media, USAID, etc live in liberal fantasy land. They hate the military, hated the contractors, hated the guns but sure as hell loved that security blanket.
For them it’s rainbows and lollipops. Pool parties. Happy Hour. Gay Pride. All their fun stuff.
They completely ignore and then forget about what’s on the other side of those walls.
It may sound corny as hell to some, but the part in A Few Good Men, where Nicholson says his thing, is so effin’ true it’s scary.
What you say is spot-on. I was in Kabul for 6 years as a civilian. For the overpaid UN personnel and other international contractors it’s party time and get lots of money. Things settled down for a few days after a guy from Australia was killed in his car. I had met him several times. Then it was revealed he was sleeping with an Afghan commander’s wife, and was told to leave the country and never come back. He came back. Since there was a clear cause, party time resumed.