I don’t think anyone can accuse me of being a simp for Joe Biden. However, there are times when the right things can be done. We should give Joe Biden credit. One of those things is following through on President Trump’s decision to leave Afghanistan.
Even though Biden’s execution of our withdrawal from Afghanistan was an utter dog’s breakfast of failure on every level and demonstrated that the Biden White House, his woke Defense Department, and the “white rage” cult commanding our military forces were not up to any task of any significance (Deputy Secretary of State Claims That the ‘Process Worked’ for the Afghanistan Mission and Everything You Know Is Wrong), the decision was 20 years overdue.
When we left Afghanistan we were there for more time than the soldiers who had been fighting that war. Then why did we go there? The plot to attack America was hatched by al Qaeda fighters in camps that were protected by the government. In October 2001, President Bush outlined the mission to destroy those camps and remove government protections.
This problem was solved in the spring 2002. Then, in April 2002, George Bush gave a speech that laid out an expansive plan for fixing Afghanistan and making it a place where “…peace will be achieved through an education system for boys and girls which works,” and “develop[ing] an economy that can feed its people without feeding the world’s demand for drugs.” That section begins at 23:42 of the video.
One question has been bothering me since the end of the Taliban overthrow and al-Qaeda’s capture of the Taliban camps. What now? How does one define a win when the goal is transformation of Afghanistan’s society, culture and economy? How do we know when we’ve done enough? Is it possible to alter a society which treats women as chattel, without resorting at all to the repopulation of Afghanistan with non-Afghans? Were we aware that us interfering in Afghan society and culture, especially at the level of the family units, could lead to the recruitment of Taliban troops? Were we aware that sending DEA agents out to eliminate opium poppy, which is the sole cash crop in many parts of the country could encourage farmers to grow kale and quinoa rather than opium.
In my long-held view, our best play was to leave in 2002 and make it clear that if things started regressing, we’d be back to kill people and break things. I believe the CIA’s long-in-the-tooth, in-the-loop killing of Al-Qaeda chieftain Zayman al-Zawahiri was a validation of withdrawal. (Al-Qaeda Chieftain Ayman al-Zawahiri Died as a Result to CIA Drone Strike). Yes, the Taliban gave their word they wouldn’t shelter terrorists during the negotiations process, but did anyone really believe it? Al-Zawahiri was found, but rumors say he was killed by one Taliban faction.
What concerns me now is that I’m reading people who call themselves conservatives who are criticizing Biden because al-Zawahiri showed up in Afghanistan. Let me take a breath. There will always be terrorists. How do we stop them? Is it the Bill Clinton strategy to tie ourselves up in a legal knot and stop us acting? Al-Qaeda flourished in Afghanistan due to Bill Clinton’s administration making proactive actions illegal. Don’t take my word for it; read Ghost WarsSteve Coll. It is highly recommended.
Tonight on Trey Gowdy’s show, he interviewed Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher. Gallager is on the House Armed Services Committee and expressed the opinion that al-Zawahiri’s appearance in Kabul showed the failure of withdrawing from Afghanistan in favor of an “over the horizon” presence. Unstated, the implication was that an on-the ground presence was necessary.
We shouldn’t be more concerned about individual terrorists taking up residence in Afghanistan than Antifa gathering in Portland. We have sufficient intelligence assets to ensure camps don’t form and that the Taliban doesn’t take on a partnership with a terrorist group. We have the capability to strike if these things happen.
I’m not saying we need to give Biden a pass on the screwed-up stuff he does. Biden must be accountable for his tragicomic withdrawal of Afghanistan. That said, as we face China in the Pacific, the last thing we need is a needless war that doesn’t have victory conditions. This was what we did 20 years ago. We should’ve learned our lesson.
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