It is just another BIG bald-faced lie from Biden and the Democrats. According to a “Report” issued by the White House, the United States surrendered in Afghanistan because President Trump agreed to pull American troops out by a specific date. Ergo, Trump was 100 percent responsible for the fact that American troops were removed and the manner in which they were removed.
That narrative is suspended between misleading and outright lies.
It is true that Trump wanted to remove American military presence – a plan this writer vehemently opposed as dangerous to U.S. and Western security – and one which would further unsettle international order.
It is also true that Trump had proposed a tentative timetable CONTINGENT on certain agreements and milestones to be met by the Taliban – who were all but certain to take over the country. Trump postponed his original deadline when the Taliban failed to meet their commitments.
The entire situation was in flux when Joe Biden assumed the presidency on January 20, 2021. It is critical to understand that Biden was not bound by any proposals, plans, or actions of the Trump administration in terms of Afghanistan. There was no enforceable agreement. In fact, Biden used his first days in office to reverse a record number of Trump’s policies, agreements, and Executive Orders.
The decision as to when and how to surrender in Afghanistan – or to surrender at all – rested squarely and exclusively on Biden’s shoulders. He – not Trump – is 100 percent responsible for the tragic events in Afghanistan and the fallout that is still falling out.
Not only does the Report lay the blame on Trump, but it claims that the exit from Afghanistan was NOT chaotic. Speaking for the President, White House National Security Coordinator John Kirby said that they did not see chaos. Rather, he described that airlift as an example of a highly successful military operation.
Kirby justified the removal of troops because “The United States had long ago accomplished its mission to remove from the battlefield the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.” He made that false claim despite the fact that the Taliban ARE an officially recognized terrorist organization – and al Qaeda maintains housed in Afghanistan to this day. You will recall that in 2022, a United States missile killed the leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in Kabul.
It is important to keep in mind that the decision to surrender in Afghanistan was virtually a one-man decision – something Biden has promised to do before becoming President. The Biden plan was opposed by the military leaders in the Pentagon – both the timing and the entire idea of withdrawal. It was opposed by virtually every ally – especially those with a military presence fighting for the defeat of al Qaeda and the Taliban. Once America withdrew, the allies had no choice but to follow suit – but they did so with uncharacteristic public criticism of Biden.
In order for the American military to no longer “engage” with Taliban forces – and to surrender the key military base at Kandahar — Biden enabled the terrorist group to swiftly take over the entire country. Biden put the United States military in such a weakened position they had to rely on … (you may want to sit down) … the Taliban to provide security around the airport – the only spot of land in Afghanistan of which the American military was still in precarious control.
Biden left billions of dollars of American military equipment behind – and photo evidence shows some of that equipment being used by the Taliban to terrorize the local population. Much worse. Despite his oft-repeated promise, Biden left behind scores of American citizens and thousands of Afghans who worked with the American military – even those with emergency documents that were to assure their removal from the country.
Many of those friends – and their families — are being hunted down and killed to this day. Private individuals and organizations are still engaged in efforts to find and surreptitiously remove as many as possible of those left behind by Biden.
And most tragic of all, thirteen American militaries were killed in a terrorist bomb attack at the very gate of the airport – a facility being “protected” by the Taliban. That was more fatalities than America suffered – in total — in the previous 28 months of warfare.
We all saw the news reports of desperate Afghans storming the gates of the airport … that mother who passed her child over the wall that she could not climb … mobs chasing after military transports even as they began their takeoffs … those clinging to the crafts and falling to their death as the planes rose into the sky.
While Kirby showed images of packed aircraft filled with refugees, he did not show the planes that took off half empty in order to maintain that precision schedule Kirby lauded.
If the surrender in Afghanistan was not chaotic, then the only proper description left is catastrophic – not only at the moment but in terms of the monumental damage to the security of America through the loss of an ally in the region and critical intelligence benefits, but also to the image and prestige of the United States among allies and adversaries alike.
Some describe it as the greatest military and diplomatic blunder in American history – and they have a pretty strong case. But Biden is lucky to have a compliant left-wing media to give him cover and not call him out for his latest BIG lie.
But the fact is, the blood and the consequence of America’s surrender in Afghanistan is the buck that stops at Biden’s desk in the Oval Office.
So, there ‘tis.