Two Things President Biden ’s Speech Missed

Sahar KhanYesterday, President Joe Bidenaddressed the nation as the Taliban took over Kabul. In his remarks, he stood firmly by his decision to leave Afghanistan, saying,I ’m now the fourth American President to preside over war in Afghanistan — two Democrats and two Republicans. I will not pass this responsibly on — responsibility on to a fifth President.He also said:I cannot and I will not ask our troops to fight on endlessly in another — in another country’s civil war, taking casualties, suffering life-shattering injuries, leaving families broken by grief and loss.This is not in our national security interest.He is right to stand by his decision. It was time for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan. In fact, the U.S. achieved its goals, which were to dismantle al Qaeda in Afghanistan and capture Osama bin Laden within the first decade of the war. Even as past presidents like Barack Obama and Donald Trump tried to leave, they were unable to. Something like this outcome was inevitable.What was not inevitable, however, is the incompetent way the U.S. left Afghanistan. While Biden had announced that all U.S. troops would leave by September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S., the withdrawal was basically complete by mid-August. In fact, U.S. troops left the Bagram airbase in themiddle of the night without telling the new Afghan commander. To say that the withdrawal could – and should – have been handled better is an understatement.But bey...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs