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This is evidenced by the steep drop in his approval rating. Denying there was a failure at all, as he did on August 18, makes him look weak and out of touch. What will be the fallout for Biden and America?Īs much as the decision to exit Afghanistan was justified, the execution on the ground has been disastrous, and spells trouble for Biden and America. We must honor the dead but make policy for the living.
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Putting more soldiers and money on the line for a cause the country neither believes in nor can win will do nothing to bring back the lives lost and dollars wasted. Spilled blood and treasure are a tragic, but sunk, cost. The only alternative to withdrawal, committing more troops and money, had no political buy-in. The decision before the president was not between staying and leaving it was between expanding the military footprint and leaving. reneged on its promise to withdraw, the Taliban would have intensified its campaign against American military personnel. presence had an expiration date-which was the overwhelming preference of the American public-the outcome was inevitable. But the moment it was clear that the U.S. Ever since Trump reduced troop levels from about 13,000 to 2,500, Afghan security forces had been rapidly losing territory and lives to an emboldened and stronger-than-ever Taliban. Finally listening to the American people was the surest way to deliver on Biden’s promise of a “foreign policy for the middle class.” This was true under Obama, it was true under Trump, and it was true under Biden. that wanted continued boots on the ground. Outside of Beltway pundits, there was no demographic in the U.S. This support spans 56 percent of Republicans, 73 percent of independents, and just over half of veterans and active-duty military. respondents said in July that they wanted the troops out of Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. In a time of intensifying polarization, it’s hard to get many Americans to agree on anything, but 70 percent of U.S. The American people have no appetite for forever war. If 20 years and $2 trillion couldn’t buy self-sustaining stability, no amount of additional time would. pulled out-whether today, in one year, or in five. The Taliban were always going to take over as soon as the U.S. As soon as the adversary ceased to be an existential threat to the homeland, the public (understandably) lost stomach for the war. As it turns out, the original mission was the only achievable mission. Without a mandate from the American people, the goal pivoted from counterterrorism to counterinsurgency and “nation-building.” Operational success and public support cratered as a result. Within six months of beginning it was a resounding success, having swiftly decimated al-Qaeda, rooted out the Taliban, and forced bin Laden into hiding.īut then mission creep set in. At the war’s height in 2002, the mission was immensely popular, with 93 percent of Americans supporting the invasion.
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launched Operation Enduring Freedom in response to 9/11, with the goal to eliminate a clear and present danger to the homeland and to punish those responsible for the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.
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On October 6, 2001, President Bush issued an ultimatum to the Taliban: shut down al-Qaeda’s base of operations, close their training facilities, and hand over Osama bin Laden. The mission the American people were sold was accomplished the war that followed was unwinnable. should draw down its presence in Afghanistan. However, as the record shows and he expressed clearly in his address to the nation on August 16, Biden himself has long believed that the U.S. He could have chosen to continue the fight. This is not to say that his hands were inextricably tied. Why was withdrawal the right call?īiden inherited a broken peace process and the prospect of a renewed conflict with a strengthened Taliban if he reneged on Trump’s commitments. It is a failure that could cost President Biden, and America, more than they bargained for.