Let’s be frank. The withdrawal from Afghanistan is a disaster. While some of the chaos was unavoidable, much of it was not.
Most of us yearned during the Trump years for adults to be in the room. When Biden won and assembled his group of careerists, we were relieved that experience and competence had been restored to our Executive Branch.
We failed to realize that experience has its down sides. These were the very people who had actively participated in creating and perpetuating the war in Afghanistan. They were the hard-headed realists, and their narrow vision created a withdrawal that was poorly planned and left behind thousands of people who could have been saved.
It is inconceivable that the special visas had not been prepared months before. We must have known how corrupt and inept the government was, yet, somehow thought it would hold together while we left.
It is a shameful chapter in our history.
There are those who choose to ignore their own role in creating this catastrophe. Mike Pompeo was an architect of this failure. He was applauded by some of the same voices castigating Biden, a group of opportunists who now include Pompeo and Trump, the “Johnny Appleseeds” of this policy. Their “deal” with the Taliban set the stage. Biden could have changed it, but he was so tired of seeing previous Presidents being rolled by the Pentagon he just wanted it over. And the adults in the room didn’t know how to make it work.
From This Corner 
No, no and no, Allan. That is by no means a shameful. chapter. Biden had the courage to say “enough is enough”, enough of this war and we just can’t postpone the date of withdrawal ad infinitum. Whether a month, 3 months or more, it would have been the same. The French got everyone out in May but the numbers were much smaller. In 2 weeks we got 120,000 people out. It has just been revealed that the Biden administration had talks with the Taliban who agreed to escort Americans and others to the gates of the airport. Well, good. Positive talking for once. for a positive outcome. Maybe we’ll do some more of it. What were the other options? Can anyone say in good faith that if planes had arrived beginning in May there would not have been chaos? We knew the Afghan government was corrupt. But could we make it less corrupt in 1 month or 2 or 6? Could we substitute for them? All this is in the end the result of staying there 20 years and not knowing what the mission was.
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