Member-only story
This List Shows Why Afghanistan Is Called “The Graveyard of Empires”
The US is not the first major power to fail in Afghanistan and they probably won’t be the last
Pundits, politicians and strategists around the world are currently trying to digest the stunning withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan after twenty years of warfare and occupation. The retreat felt hasty, the evacuation messy and the optics have been terrible. It seems incomprehensible to some that the nation with the world’s strongest military was bounced out of Afghanistan by groups that have no air forces, no nuclear weapons, no drones, no electronic warfare capability. And yet, that is exactly what happened.
The United States is not the first great power forced to leave Afghanistan in an inglorious way and they might not be the last. Afghanistan is an interesting place that is always at the forefront of history. It is so infamous to govern and conquer that over the centuries it has gained the moniker of the Graveyard of Empires. That nickname was earned for good reason.
