The United Sates lost the war in Afghanistan the moment Iraq was invaded and occupied. What we are seeing today in Afghanistan, with the Taliban taking over, was set in motion back on March 19, 2003.

On 9/11, Al Qaeda terrorists, trained in Afghaniastan, attacked America. None of those terrorists were from Iraq. There were no Al Qaeda terrorist training camps in Iraq, at least before March 2003.

So why did America invade Iraq and take it's focus off Afghanistan?

Ask the former "oilman," President George Bush. I'm certain the Republican President won't tell you about the fifth largest oil reserve being located in Iraq. He will stick to the cover story, Iraqi Freedom.

It's important to note that the war in Iraq wasn't named Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL). That would have revealed its real purpose from Day One.

And of course, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) didn't secure the weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that America was lied to about.

It was sad to see Colin Powell fall victim to one of the Republican Party's most dangerous conspiracy theories.

So what we are seeing today in Afghanistan is the result of one of America's worst foreign policy decisions in modern times. It has brought condemnation upon America from people around the world, and economic ramifications continue to the present.

There was an Iraq War component to the Great Recession. I've talked with members of Murfreesboro's 269th Military Police about their deployment to Iraq. And they agreed it was an unnecessary, illegal, and immoral war.

And now Afghanistan is paying the price.