All eyes (for a minute) are on Afghanistan after the U.S. pullout turned to chaos. Yes, President Joe Biden, his administration and the Pentagon clearly screwed up the final withdrawal. They should have acted sooner to help people who aided the U.S.-backed Afghan government and our earlier efforts to prop up the country.
Republicans, Democrats and much of the media are acting as if the chaos we witnessed as the Taliban swept into Kabul is all Biden’s fault. This is a 20-year war that has been mismanaged from the start and through four U.S. presidencies. Our position in Afghanistan leading into when Kabul fell was not one of harmony and peace that could have lasted forever. The Taliban had been making gains for months and years — not to mention the fact that Trump rapidly drew down our forces and signed a deal with the Taliban to get out once and for all.
Our failed venture in Afghanistan is about much more than what we witnessed at the Kabul airport, it’s not all about Joe Biden. The least we can do now is work to get the desperate people out who helped us or are trying to escape the Taliban. (That list is very long and is going to need more than a few transport planes.) Since we’ve completely bungled the war in Afghanistan for decades, I hope we at least do all we can to help Afghan refugees today.