Max Fisher

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Throughout 2012, Obama and Romney never agreed more than when they were conspiring to jointly dodge an Afghanistan question. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Recall the 2012 pres debates. On any Astan question, Obama and Romney would glance at each other, mumble about staying the course & move on. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Presidents, just like anyone else, behave according to their incentives. And those incentives all point sharply toward forever war in Astan. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

And it’s not like those options are obvious home runs. They are high-risk, low-reward and the only alternative to permanent quasi-occupation — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

If Obama had withdrawn or struck a peace deal, GOP would’ve killed him for it, and it would’ve worked. Dems would do the same for Trump. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Any policy will produce bad outcomes, b/c Afghanistan. But pres who withdraws or strikes a deal will be blamed for everything that follows. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

America’s other two options *might* be more viable for Afghanistan but are political disasters: withdrawal or a deal with the Taliban. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Voters take their cues on foreign policy from political elites. And there’s a phony bipartisan elite consensus in favor of the Afghan war. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Partisan politics play a role. Dems played up Afghanistan as “the good war” to shield themselves from criticism while opposing Iraq. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

A status quo policy doesn’t offer much, but it does promise Americans that they can continue to ignore Afghanistan. Not victory, no defeat. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Poll after poll bears this out. Voters see Afghanistan as a source of humiliation and failure. They don’t want to think about it. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Americans – other than those who serve in A'stan and foreign policy nerds like me – have a deep desire to ignore Afghanistan. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

To understand why the US keeps recommitting to an obviously failed Afghanistan strategy, you have to see the domestic politics at play. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

RT @JasonUkman: Obama: “The days of providing a blank check are over.” Trump: "Our commitment is not unlimited and our support is not a bl… — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Time will tell whether this is a real policy change or just an applause line https://t.co/D1s2TQC90P — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

well this is new and unwelcome https://t.co/cQuJ2mKY4D — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

“thrones game”, it’s bad now — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

@mattyglesias @dylanmatt @mckinneykelsey Tres ex machina — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

@HillaryKelly While she technically broke no laws, she showed poor judgment and extreme carelessness — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

It's really going to be something if Sansa's once-secure bid for Winterfell leadership is derailed by what is effectively an email scandal — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Needless to say, it's not helpful when your national strategic debates are so warped by domestic culture war issues. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

We haven't recovered from that, and with polarization what it is, any major public debate on strategy would probably be much worse today. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

This really came thru in "American Sniper," which is foremost about culture war issues. The war is just set dressing https://t.co/jEOjNzEKlV — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

But, after the torture debates, there was no going back. Military strategic issues just became another way to argue about the culture war. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Maybe it started with the run-up to the invasion and the anti-war protests. Remember "You're with us or you're with the terrorists"? — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

With the US war Iraq, every major strategic issue became, almost immediately, just a stand-in for fighting one culture war or another. — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Maybe it happened with Vietnam as well, but something about the Iraq war really broke America's ability to publicly… https://t.co/cdV9q7T9Fi — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

She's only on her 2nd installment and I am already totally hooked on this @estellecaswell video series. So so cool https://t.co/IE3HfMYKEw — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

RT @TomPepinsky: There is no good reason, in the Information Age, to bind the production of academic knowledge to a Publisher whose motivat… — PolitiTweet.org

Max Fisher @Max_Fisher

Bannon fired, and DC turns ominously red. Coincidence? @ Logan Circle https://t.co/VcTmFGa8Gk — PolitiTweet.org