In the wake of the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, security for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden increased dramatically. Over 20,000 National Guardsmen are expected for the event. That’s more than twice as many troops as are deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. So, it takes this many troops to protect Washington, D.C., which measures about 61 square miles with a population of over 700,000. Afghanistan covers some 250,000 square miles, with a population of more than 36 million. Why then do so many policymakers and pundits continue to insist that a small contingent of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will make a difference in quelling the violence in that country? It is obvious that that it won’t, and keeping troops in Afghanistan is unnecessary for U.S. national security.
