> Don't compare your experiences with Ukraine.

Why would you tell someone not to compare two things just because those things are different? What would be the point of making comparisons at all if everything was the same? You would already know the result.

Good point. I meant "those are different, so your (their) experiences don't apply there".

The circumstances are not that different. The people of Afghanistan (by the time I arrived) were trying to defend their homes and communities from Taliban incursion that the US had partially reinvigorated by overthrowing their government (in that it made them worse, not that we created them which is common misinterpretation). The history of Afghanistan puts this kind of stuff pretty plain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Enduring_Freedom#The...

I do understand there is a wide knowledge gap that HN visitors have about Afghanistan, but please try to understand better.

> They literally defending their families, no less.

So the Taliban were not defending their families?

No, he's saying Americans should not be committed to fight for Ukraine.

But there's one quirk to the story: US has signed up for it on December 5, 1994: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Securit...

Too bad that document was very high-level, without specific procedures, timelines and liabilities listed in case of a breach. But nevertheless, it's a very real and legal grounding for fighting for Ukraine.