Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires.
What a fitting name!
Countries that try to conquer it
End up leaving in shame.

THREE TIMES the British tried
To tame the unruly land,
And THREE TIMES they left it because
Things didn't go as planned.

In fact, 1919 is considered
Independence Day.
That was the THIRD time that the British
Invaders walked away.

In 1979 the Russians
Tried to make it their own,
Which eventually became
Another cause to bemoan.

The U.S. helped insurgent fighters
Called the mujahideen
Fight the Russians. Maybe it wasn't
Wise to intervene.

The Russians left in '89.
Their goals had dissolved.
After the 9-11 attack,
The U.S. got involved.

In just a few months, the Taliban
Were brought to their knees,
But U.S. foreign relations are often
Lacking in expertise.

The U.S. devoted ninety percent
Of its efforts to Iraq.
Soon in Afghanistan, voilà!:
The Taliban were back.

We heard about Russian bounties
On U.S. soldiers, no?
Payback for what the U.S. had done
Forty years ago.

And so the story goes on and on:
For 20 years we fought
An ongoing war in Afghanistan,
Which finally came to naught.

Four presidents can share
The blame for what occurred.
To put all the blame on one of them
Would be completely absurd.

And so, regarding the Graveyard of Empires,
The world remains perplexed.
Will other countries make the same
Mistake? Who'll be next?

-by Bob B (9-24-21)