US officials said the war in Afghanistan was making steady progress
| US officials said the war in Afghanistan was making steady progress | |
|---|---|
| MISLEADING | |
| "Over 18 years, US presidents, generals and diplomats told the public that the war in Afghanistan was making steady progress." | |
| Domain | War, Conflict & Geopolitics |
| Tactic | Propaganda Technique Statistical & Evidentiary Distortion |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 2001 |
| Origin | Public statements under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump |
| Last reviewed | 2026-11-01 |
| Further reading: books on War, Conflict & Geopolitics | |
From 2001, officials in three administrations repeatedly told Americans that the war in Afghanistan was going well: that Afghan forces were improving, corruption was being addressed and the Taliban were weakening.
In December 2019, The Washington Post published the "Afghanistan Papers," interviews conducted by a federal watchdog showing that many of the same officials privately believed the war was failing.
What the evidence shows
- The interviews. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) interviewed more than 400 people for a "Lessons Learned" project. The Post obtained the records through freedom of information litigation.
- Private views. Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, a White House adviser on the war under Bush and Obama, told interviewers: "We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan — we didn't know what we were doing."
- Manipulated statistics. An Army colonel who advised commanders said data were altered to present "the best possible picture."
- Outcome. The Taliban took Kabul in August 2021 as US forces withdrew. More than 2,400 US service members and tens of thousands of Afghans had died.
Why it matters
Like the Pentagon Papers on Vietnam, the Afghanistan Papers documented a long gap between public optimism and private assessment, across administrations of both parties.
Sources
- Craig Whitlock, "The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of the war," The Washington Post, December 9, 2019.
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Lessons Learned reports, 2016–2021.
- Craig Whitlock, The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War, Simon & Schuster, 2021.