--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost everything about Afghanistan was…" description: "\"“Almost everything about Afghanistan was troubling Mullen. As Obama was giving intense focus on the war, Mullen was feeling more personal responsibilit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/bob-woodward-5424_admiral-mullen_almost-everything-about-afghanistan-was_640230.jpg" --- # Almost everything about Afghanistan was troubling Mullen… ![“Almost everything about Afghanistan was troubling Mullen. As Obama was giving intense focus on the war, Mullen was feeling more personal responsibility. Afghanistan had been marked by 'incredible neglect,' he told some of his officers. 'It's almost like you're on a hunger strike and you're on the…” quote by Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/bob-woodward-5424_admiral-mullen_almost-everything-about-afghanistan-was_640230.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/bob-woodward-5424_admiral-mullen_almost-everything-about-afghanistan-was_640230.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/bob-woodward-5424_admiral-mullen_almost-everything-about-afghanistan-was_640230.jpg) > ““Almost everything about Afghanistan was troubling Mullen. As Obama was giving intense focus on the war, Mullen was feeling more personal responsibility. Afghanistan had been marked by 'incredible neglect,' he told some of his officers. 'It's almost like you're on a hunger strike and you're on the 50th day, and all of a sudden you're going to try to feed this person. Well, they're not going to eat very quickly. I mean, every organ in the body is collapsing. The under-resourcing of Afghanistan was much deeper and wider than even I thought. It wasn't just about troops. It was intellectually, it was strategically, it was physically, culturally.”” [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mullen describes the deep, systemic neglect of Afghanistan, noting that the crisis spanned strategic, intellectual, physical, and cultural dimensions, far beyond simple troop shortages. **In simple terms:** Afghanistan suffered widespread neglect across many areas. Key Takeaway Address systemic issues, not just surface problems. Themes neglect war systemic failure strategy Mood somber analytical Type historical strategic When to use this quote - policy planning - military training - humanitarian aid - government budgeting Key Concepts military logistics political oversight cultural understanding Questions to Reflect On - What underlying factors contributed to the neglect? - How can future interventions avoid similar oversights? A Different Perspective Complex problems require multi‑layered solutions; focusing on one aspect may miss the root causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Hunger strike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger-strike/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Personal responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-responsibility/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“I have written this book with the conviction that the response to injury does not have to be vengeance and that we need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmood-mamdani/i-have-written-this-book-with-the-conviction-that-the-response-to/) Mahmood Mamdani > [It is the responsibility of Afghanistan's new government to gain better control over the country's administration and to resolutely fight the drug trade and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-fogh-rasmussen/it-is-the-responsibility-of-afghanistan-s-new-government-to-gain/) [Anders Fogh Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-fogh-rasmussen/) ## More by Bob Woodward > [Certain political figures think when you call them and ask them for a comment; that you are somehow doing something that you shouldn't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/certain-political-figures-think-when-you-call-them-and-ask-them-for-a/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [“Maybe that would be less crucial under Obama, Podesta thought, because Obama's approach was so intellectual. 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It's not something Carl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/the-biggest-rap-on-me-is-that-i-don-t-find-a-watergate-every-couple/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [There are people who take rumors and embellish them in a way that can be devastating. And this pollution has to be eradicated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/there-are-people-who-take-rumors-and-embellish-them-in-a-way-that-can/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [“I'm done doing this!' Obama said, finally erupting. 'We've all agreed on a plan. And we're all going to stick to that plan. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/i-m-done-doing-this-obama-said-finally-erupting-we-ve-all-agreed-on-a/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [“He never really voice pure, raw outrage to me about Watergate or what it represented. The crimes and abuses were background music. Nixon was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/he-never-really-voice-pure-raw-outrage-to-me-about-watergate-or-what/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [It was accountability that Nixon feared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/it-was-accountability-that-nixon-feared/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [Lawyers didn't seriously get involved in the Watergate stories until quite late, when we realized we were on to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/lawyers-didn-t-seriously-get-involved-in-the-watergate-stories-until/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) [Explore all 100 Bob Woodward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) ## More Afghanistan quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. 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Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I have been to Afghanistan many times, even before the Taliban collapsed. I was fascinated by the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/i-have-been-to-afghanistan-many-times-even-before-the-taliban/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-moral-interventionism-on-the/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The legal system in Afghanistan is very immature and porous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-legal-system-in-afghanistan-is-very-immature-and-porous/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) [Browse all 1,159 Afghanistan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Almost everything about Afghanistan was troubling Mullen. 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