The nation of Afghanistan is now fully under Taliban control.
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After US military forces spent 20 years fighting the Afghani civil war, 2448 US soldiers were killed, tens of thousands of civilians died, and nearly $2 trillion was spent to prevent a terrorist takeover, Afghanistan is now the land of the Taliban. Or, in other words, the time fighting, the lives lost, and the money spent was all for nothing!
Although other US commanders in chief promised to end the war in Afghanistan and bring American troops back home from the endless fighting, President Biden actually did it. The only problem is that Afghani forces were not quite prepared for the aftermath.
Soon after US troops were pulled from the war zone, Taliban forces made their move and quickly seized control of the nation. Afghani troops gave up immediately and ran for the hills. President Ashraf Ghani also fled the presidential palace and disappeared into the night. Without firing a shot, Taliban forces toppled major cities in the middle eastern nation — one by one — until it gained complete control.
On Monday, the scene in Afghanistan was devastating.
As a US military plane evacuated embassy employees and other Americans, Afghani residents ran down the runway alongside the plane in a desperate attempt to save their lives. Some were able to grab onto pieces of the plane as it took off, only to fall to their deaths after the plane became airborne and reached an impossible altitude.
By Monday afternoon, President Biden was at The White House to address the nation and the world about the horrific events unfolding.
“I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces,” Mr. Biden said during his speech from the East Room. “That’s why we’re still there. We were clear-eyed about the risks. We planned for every contingency. But I always promised the American people I would be straight with you. The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.
“So, what happened?” Mr. Biden asked. “Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country.”
The President said he had “frank conversations” with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan delegation to peace talks, earlier this summer, but they chose not to take the US’ suggestions.
“We talked about how Afghanistan should prepare to fight their civil wars after the US military departed, to clean up the corruption in government, so the government could function for the Afghan people. We talked extensively about the need for Afghan leaders to unite politically. They failed to do any of that. I also urged them to engage in diplomacy, to seek a political settlement with the Taliban. This advice was flatly refused,” President Biden said. “Mr. Ghani insisted that the Afghan forces would fight. And obviously, he was wrong.”
“I cannot and will not ask our troops to fight on endlessly in another country’s civil war,” the president concluded.
Not long after his speech, Democrats and Republicans alike ripped Mr. Biden’s decision to sit by and watch Afghanistan succumb to terrorist rule.
“These past few days have been difficult to process, and not because the Taliban’s progress was surprising,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Air Force veteran said.
“The naïve Trump Administration legitimized the Taliban by having ‘talks’ with them about peace and openly negotiating with terrorists, while the Biden Administration tried to fulfill a campaign promise without any semblance of a plan or forethought into how this would play out,” GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said.
“And where are they now? What are they doing to save the countless lives being brutally murdered by the Taliban today?”
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I blame both Trump for this moment coming, and Biden for this botched ending. I’m not picking sides, because both sides have failed you. It’s the truth about #Afghanistan
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) August 16, 2021
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However, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, had a different take and said on Twitter that an “unholy alliance” in Washington kept the war going.
“Afghanistan was always going to collapse,” Gallego said. “Keeping Afghanistan low profile stopped many, including Congress, from seeing institutionally how weak it was and asking for hard reforms or a quicker exit.”
So, what does Taliban control of Afghanistan mean for America and the world going forward?
The good news is that American forces will no longer risk their lives to fight an unending civil war in a nation clear across the globe. However, the bad news is that a terrorist organization now has its own nation and will be able to harbor all the “bad guys” of the world without recourse. Additionally, the US has no diplomatic ties with the Taliban, so there will be no negotiating from here on out. Whatever the Taliban wants is what the Taliban will get.
Twenty years, thousands of deaths, and trillions of dollars later, we have nothing to show for it.
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[“The naïve Trump Administration legitimized the Taliban by having ‘talks’ with them about peace and openly negotiating with terrorists, while the Biden Administration tried to fulfill a campaign promise without any semblance of a plan or forethought into how this would play out,” GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said.
“And where are they now? What are they doing to save the countless lives being brutally murdered by the Taliban today?” ]
Basically they’re standing around looking stupid and doing nothing. It’s too late and all of it is an absolute disgrace. I have more to say but first let me say this……
DJ your entire post hit it OUT the park. Every point is On point. Well done and thank you!