The war in Afghanistan was a colossal failure, as was nearly every decision of the Bush era. As we learned from the 'Afghanistan Papers', the American people were deceived for decades as to the success (ie, failure) of our continued presence in Afghanistan. It's also true that Trump saw no transactional value in continuing the war, and wanted 'out'. In typical Trumpian fashion, he negotiated a secret deal with no upside for the US, and would have botched the withdrawal as badly as Biden has done. That said, we expected far more from Biden. He continues to maintain that the American people were adamant that we end the war in Afghanistan, but is this true? First, I doubt that ending this conflict falls into the top 50 concerns of most Americans. Second, even if Americans had a vague desire to end the war, would they have agreed when presented with the stark reality of what withdrawal meant? I fail to see how withdrawal makes us more secure. If Biden wanted to avoid more US casualties, couldn't he have navigated a middle ground where contractors remained or an outside militia (accountable to Congress)? Activists, veterans, NGOs, even members of Congress begged the administration to assure the safe passage of Afghan allies, but were ignored. How does this help US standing in the world? How does this help ensure the safety of our troops elsewhere in the world? So, perhaps what I'm saying is that you can't disentangle the question of whether the US should have left from how we left.
The war in Afghanistan was a colossal failure, as was nearly every decision of the Bush era. As we learned from the 'Afghanistan Papers', the American people were deceived for decades as to the success (ie, failure) of our continued presence in Afghanistan. It's also true that Trump saw no transactional value in continuing the war, and wanted 'out'. In typical Trumpian fashion, he negotiated a secret deal with no upside for the US, and would have botched the withdrawal as badly as Biden has done. That said, we expected far more from Biden. He continues to maintain that the American people were adamant that we end the war in Afghanistan, but is this true? First, I doubt that ending this conflict falls into the top 50 concerns of most Americans. Second, even if Americans had a vague desire to end the war, would they have agreed when presented with the stark reality of what withdrawal meant? I fail to see how withdrawal makes us more secure. If Biden wanted to avoid more US casualties, couldn't he have navigated a middle ground where contractors remained or an outside militia (accountable to Congress)? Activists, veterans, NGOs, even members of Congress begged the administration to assure the safe passage of Afghan allies, but were ignored. How does this help US standing in the world? How does this help ensure the safety of our troops elsewhere in the world? So, perhaps what I'm saying is that you can't disentangle the question of whether the US should have left from how we left.