Afghanistan

 (Note:  I'm angry.  I understand that I am not alone in feeling angry.  And there is so much that has been written, and can be written, that this post may seem a bit disjointed.  My apologies if that is the case.  And, while the post may seem somewhat lengthy, there is so much more that  I wanted to say about this topic.)

President Biden wanted us out of Afghanistan.  Many Americans agreed.  I did not.  We had about 2500 non-combat troops left.  They advised the Afghan army, and I imagine that they gathered intelligence.  Not a single member of our military was killed in the last 18 months.  I do not believe that the service men and women who risked their lives (2,448 made the ultimate sacrifice, with over 66,000 Afghani military/police killed, and many wounded) did so in vain.  Our brave men and women kept this country safe for the last 20 years, with no major terrorist attack since 9/11/2001.

We could have stayed with that minimal force and kept stability in that country.  But Biden said that Trump made a deal with the Taliban and he was stuck with that.  One of many lies.  On Biden's first day in office he signed numerous executive orders overturning every Trump policy his people could not wait to reverse.  But not Afghanistan.  Right.  Biden originally set 9/11/2021 as the date for all US troops to be out of Afghanistan.  But his advisers reminded him that was the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, and the optics would not be good.  They attacked us and killed 3000 Americans on 9/11/2001, and we're going to bail on 9/11/2021?  That would appear that we are giving the Taliban two victories on the same date.  So, the date was changed to August 31, 2021.

I understand the argument against our having stayed there for this long.  Nation building in Afghanistan was never likely to succeed.  But we are (were) still there, so the analysis should be made based on current circumstances, not what we should have done 10 or 15 or more years ago.  But Biden wanted out, and the consequences be damned.  Biden kept his own counsel.  His advisers' opinions were irrelevant to him.  After the last of our people are home, the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State and National Security Adviser should all have the decency to resign.  Yes, the Commander in Chief has the last word.  But if the CIC's decision is dangerous to national security, and you have not convinced your boss of that, then resign.  

Speaking of that, please do not email me about Trump and January 6.  Assuming Trump could even be held responsible for the 5-6 deaths that may be related to that day, the amount of blood on Biden's hands is far greater.  Yesterday, August 26, 2021, a suicide/homicide bomber killed at least 92 people, including 13 US troops.  The US had the Taliban providing security outside the Kabul airport.  The Taliban!  But, you say, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.  That would be the same ISIS members which the Taliban just released from prisons which, until recently, were under US/Afghan government control.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of ISIS prisoners were released.  So, how is the Taliban, the group tasked with guarding the airport for the US, also not responsible?

Isn't it interesting that Osama bin Laden saw just how weak Joe Biden is.  In the computers taken from bin Laden's compound, was this memo:  "Obama is the head of infidelity, and killing him automatically will make Biden take over the presidency.  Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis."  A crisis?  No, many crises.  Let's see.  Afghanistan is again a safe haven for terrorists.  Our southern border crisis should make it easier for terrorists to come to the US.  We already know that people are coming in from countries all over the world.  And the nearly $5 trillion dollars in pending legislation should prevent us from keeping up militarily with the ever increasing threats from China, Iran and Russia, among others.  

Speaking of which, maybe someone can explain why we left billions of dollars worth of military hardware at Bagram Air Base.  While much of social media was saying that $80 billion of equipment was left behind, Politifact (which many claim to have a left-wing bias) claimed the assertion was false, and that maybe less than $10 billion in equipment was left behind.  Either way, I don't get it.  If we were unable to take it, then destroy it   Blow it up.  I wonder how much money the Taliban will be able to make by selling our military hardware to China or Russia or Iran?  And the buyer will then be able to reverse engineer our equipment so that they can mass produce their own.  Great.  

Biden said he did not want to turn over Afghanistan to yet a fifth president.  That is confusing.  Was he about to leave office, or does he not have well over 3 years left in his term?  No, he wanted out by the twentieth anniversary of 9/11.  I imagine he envisioned himself giving a speech on that day about what a great job he did in ending that war.  I wonder what he is going to say now.  Leon Panetta, Obama's Defense Secretary, said the war may be over for us, but it is not over for them.  The Taliban, ISIS, Al Qaeda and others will continue to try to do us harm.  Panetta anticipated that sooner or later we will have to go back.  

I happened to watch Chris Wallace interview Secretary of State Anthony Blinken last Sunday on "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace."  Wallace may be on Fox, but he is a Democrat.  (As an aside, Fox has far more balance than the other two cable networks.)  I had seen Wallace be a tough interviewer with Republicans, but less so with Democrats.  But it was apparent that Wallace, like many Americans, was angry with the debacle that was unfolding in Afghanistan - even before the events of yesterday.  Biden had said that Al Qaeda was no longer a threat in Afghanistan.  False said Wallace.  A UN report said Al Qaeda was still operating in 15 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces.  Biden had said that none of our allies had criticized his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.  Wrong again. said Wallace.  At one point Wallace asked Blinken:  "Mr. Secretary, does the President not know what's going on?"  I lost track of how many times Wallace suggested Biden was lying.

Armin Laschet, the head of the Christian Democratic Union in Germany, and a possible successor to Angela Merkel, called Biden's handling of the withdrawal "the biggest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding, and we're standing before an epochal change."  French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe would need to "reassess the reality of what NATO is in light of the commitment of the United States."  The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Britain's House of Commons, called Biden's retreat "shameful."  

Which brings me back to Biden's 8/31 deadline.  Biden having announced the deadline, the Taliban then said that they would not agree to any extensions.  So Biden has a deadline, regardless of whether or not all Americans, and all Afghanis who assisted our troops, are safely out.  That is beyond incredible stupidity.  It is beyond infuriating.  It is a complete failure to exercise the primary responsibility of any American president - the responsibility to protect Americans.  It is, indeed, "shameful."  But for those of us paying attention, we know that Biden does not care about Americans.  If he did, he would protect our southern border.  He would not allow people who tested positive for Covid to freely enter the country and move anywhere within the country that they like.  And he would care about the illegal drugs, the criminals and likely terrorists, entering our country. 

But everything that was stable under President Trump had to be reversed.  His leftist run party told him that and he obeyed.  The deal that Trump made with the Taliban had a number of conditions.  Those conditions were never met.  Here is what I would have announced to the Taliban if I was the CIC (and assuming I was determined to exit Afghanistan):  "We will get out when we are good and ready to get out.  It will not be before every single American is safely evacuated.  It will not be before every Aghan is out that we want to get out.  And I will send in as many troops as are necessary to accomplish those goals.  If you interfere with our evacuation, if a single American is killed or even injured, you will regret it - now and for the foreseeable future."

It was not just democrat Chris Wallace who turned on Biden.  The Democratic leadership, of course, has not.  But some in the mainstream media seem to have awoken to the fact that they are journalists.  Here is the front page headline in the 8/18/21 USA Today:  "Who is responsible for this catastrophe?"  Here is a headline, albeit on page 7, of the 8/24/21 New York Times:  "Afghan Fiasco Shows Fault Lines in NATO."  Fiasco indeed.  

After yesterday's terrible attack on our troops and others, I watched Biden say "We will not forgive, we will not forget.  We will hunt you down and make you pay."  I did not see the kind of passion, of anger, that I would have liked to have seen from a CIC.  At this point I might be pushing for Biden's impeachment.  But, if successful (I know, impossible under Pelosi and Schumer) we would get Harris.  Possibly more unfit for the job than Biden.  And, with her displays of uncontrollable and inappropriate laughter, she clearly has some issues.  

As I am typing this, I received a news bulletin on my phone that the US has carried out an attack on ISIS in Afghanistan.  It is being described as an "unmanned airstrike."  Presumably a drone attack.  The report also indicates that one ISIS fighter was killed.  Good, but too little, too late.

Finally, I ask my friends on the left - where are all the women's marches to protest what will be happening to the women and girls in Afghanistan after we leave?  Where are all the demonstrations protesting the brutality of the Taliban and ISIS and Al Qaeda?  Why have so many Afghanis tried to leave their country for the USA?  Isn't the Taliban going to govern under Sharia law, and isn't Islam a religion of peace?  Isn't the USA an irredeemably racist country?  Why would darker skinned people want to come here?  

And, how many of you are happy to have Biden as President now, instead of the man who at times sent out some nasty tweets?  I asked a friend and Biden supporter just that.  He replied he would prefer to see Joe Manchin in the White House at this time.  He asked my preference.  I said for this moment I would like to see Trump back in the White House.  But if I could not get him, I would pick Joni Ernst or Nikki Haley.  (And, I would have no problem with others, such as Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio.)