Former Navy SEAL says US policy in Afghanistan has been 'like a Star Trek cosplay convention' since 2002

Blackwater founder Erik Prince condemned the potential collapse of Afghanistan, following orders by the Biden administration for a troop withdrawal by the end of the month, saying that the Taliban's increasing resurgence is the product of 20 years of failed military policy.

"It's the same collection of national security elites in Washington that has failed for that entire 20 years. They took what was a brilliant victory by special operations and the CIA and the first six months after 9/11 and turned it into a massive failed nation-building exercise," Prince said. Since about 2002, Prince said, U.S. overtures in Afghanistan have been reminiscent of a Star Trek forum: "It's largely been like a 'Star Trek' cosplay convention where they just sit and talk to each other and delude themselves into thinking they are making progress – and it's been the same nonsense, and they've refused to think about any other ways to solve this problem," he said.