The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in just days is mostly a shock to people (including many in the Biden/Harris Administration) who thought this unwelcome development would have taken at least weeks if not months to complete.
While the quick fall of the United States supported Afghanistan Government and military/police forces in record time justified President Biden’s contention that further American involvement in that country would not be altered the long term outcome on the ground, the sheer speed of the Taliban offensive does beg questions of how the Biden/Harris Administration botched the intelligence estimates of how long the now exiled Afghan government could hold out.
However, the blame game can wait.
A word to Republicans looking to use this as a way to bring blame everything on Biden. In a 20 year war, there is enough blame to assign to Presidents Bush and Trump whose policies helped create the mess over the last week in Afghanistan.
The focus now should be the safe evacuation of all Americans still in Afghanistan and as many Afghan Refugees as possible who supported the now-former Government and N.A.T.O. forces over the last 20 years.
It is what happens over these next few days at the Kabul International Airport and any other safe exit routes American and N.A.T.O. forces can facilitate that will partially determine in the short term if this becomes a foreign policy-military debacle that ranks on par with American Intelligence failures before:
- Pearl Harbor
- Involvement in Vietnam.
- The Bay of Pigs.
- The 1983 attack on Marines in Lebanon.
- 9/11.
- The occupation of Iraq.
Given the rot in the United States supported Afghanistan Government and Military/Police forces, Joe Biden was probably right to pull America out.
Why should Americans continue to sacrifice lives and treasure for most Afghans who will not fight for themselves?
The short-term priority should now be evacuating all Americans and as many Western-friendly Afghans as possible.
The long-term priority should be to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a beacon for festering terrorist forces like Al-Queda like it was before 9/11.
We should all pray for the successful evacuation of all Americans and Afghans from Afghanistan.
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NYPost. LOL.
Next link to The Babylon Bee.
SMH.
Things are not working out that way. What an embarrassment for us and tragedy for the Afgan people who helped and trusted us.
https://nypost.com/2021/08/16/afghans-cling-to-us-air-force-plane-as-it-takes-off-in-kabul/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news_alert&utm_content=20210816&utm_term=NYP%20-%20News%20Alerts
Yeah, John. A lot of Americans felt the same way after Trump made the original peace deal with the Taliban or when Bush II ignored the intelligence and let 9/11 happen or when Reagan did not adequately protect the Marines in Lebanon.
This is probably too simplistic but I think accurate. The current situation in Afghanistan came about because of two domestic political agendas. One in the Biden administration the other in the Taliban hierarchy.
Biden recognized that the American public wanted out of Afghanistan and planned an orderly month (August) long withdrawal. The withdrawal would insure the safety of Americans and their allies.
The Taliban saw this coming and wanted a “victory” and the ability to claim they had driven the infidel, foreign invaders out of the their country and therefore hurried up the takeover.
The Taliban had the controlling position and seems to have achieved their goal. The Biden administration really couldn’t control the situation and for now appears to have come out looking bad.