Even for supporters of liberal causes, Biden’s pullout from Afghanistan is a disaster

Summary

The article expresses that President Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan is widely viewed as a foreign policy disaster, with serious implications for those left behind and a questionable claim of success for the ongoing evacuation efforts.

Abstract

The article on the website critically assesses President Biden's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, labeling it a significant foreign policy failure. It highlights the public condemnation from Amnesty International USA, which accuses the administration of abandoning vulnerable Afghans to their fate. Despite the ongoing airlift, the article suggests that the evacuation efforts, while commendable, do not overshadow the criticism of the chaotic withdrawal. The piece underscores the risks faced by Americans and Afghan allies who may be left behind due to the August 31 deadline, and the reliance on the Taliban to ensure safety from terrorist groups like ISIS-K. The historical context of conquering armies' behavior is invoked to question the Taliban's ability to control its forces post-victory. The article predicts a grim outlook for Afghanistan, drawing parallels to the fall of Saigon and anticipating a refugee crisis as people attempt to flee the Taliban's rule through perilous overland routes. It concludes by criticizing the Biden administration's attempt to portray the airlift as a success story, an assertion not supported by the Democrats' usual allies.

Opinions

Amnesty International USA condemns Biden's policy, stating it communicates a message of abandonment to those at risk in Afghanistan.
The article suggests that President Biden's claim of the American airlift being a major success is not aligned with the reality of the situation.
It is argued that the current evacuation efforts are overshadowed by the lack of foresight and planning in the withdrawal process.
The article expresses skepticism about the Taliban's ability to control local terrorist groups and to manage the behavior of its own troops post-victory.
The piece predicts a humanitarian crisis similar to the post-Saigon era, with refugees facing dangerous land routes to escape.
The Biden

Even for supporters of liberal causes, Biden’s pullout from Afghanistan is a disaster

When Amnesty International USA is publicly attacking a Democratic president, the problem has to be pretty bad.

Here’s what that organization is saying:

“‘By reiterating that he will end U.S. evacuation operations by the August 31st deadline, he communicated one message to those most at risk in Afghanistan: “This White House’s preferred policy option is to abandon you to your fates,”’ said Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA. ‘At this very moment, the Taliban is tracking and targeting people because of their beliefs, associations, or their identity, gender, religious affiliation, ethnic and language group.’”

What’s happening in Afghanistan simply isn’t acceptable. Unfortunately, President Joe Biden is now trying to pivot to claiming the American airlift is a major success. Here’s what POLITICO, no friend of conservatives, is saying in response to Joe Biden’s efforts:

“For critics of the administration, and neutral foreign policy observers too, the evacuation efforts are laudatory but don’t diminish their criticism of the botched ending to a 20-year war. Had the president more carefully planned for the drawdown, they note, he wouldn’t need to rush to get U.S. citizens and allied Afghans out now. And if he is to stick to his Aug. 31 deadline date, they warn, he will likely leave thousands behind.”

This just isn’t okay. It is a massive failure of foreign policy, and has put Americans in the unenviable position of having to trust not only the tender mercies of the Taliban toward those Americans and Afghans who worked with Americans who want to flee that country and will be left behind after we evacuate the country by the Taliban’s deadline, but also to trust the Taliban’s ability to keep a local terrorist group, ISIS-K, from attacking the evacuation efforts.

That’s a tall order to ask from any group that just rolled into a capital city after defeating the existing government in a war. How effectively did the Soviets control the behavior of their troops after conquering Berlin? History shows nightmarish behavior is not uncommon from conquering armies after years of war. It’s not surprising but rather normal for angry armies to seek revenge against those who killed their brothers, their friends, and their “battle buddies,” and if the Taliban is able to control the behavior of its troops in Afghanistan after conquering the capital, it would be the exception, not the norm, for a successful insurgent group.

What we’re seeing in Afghanistan is horrible and it is very likely to get worse once American troops are forced out by the Taliban a week from now.

What happened following the fall of Saigon, with huge numbers of refugees fleeing via dangerous waters in boats that weren’t seaworthy, and being preyed upon by pirates on the high seas, may well be repeated in the next few weeks, months, and even years. Of course Afghanistan is a landlocked country so the fleeing refugees won’t have to fear sharks or drowning. But the border regions are very dangerous due to terrain, terrorists, and lawless smugglers, and while those with money are likely to be able to buy their freedom if they get close enough to the borders to pay off the smugglers who infest those regions and care much less about politics than about cash, we can expect to see large numbers of ragged refugees with no money or food trying to escape the Taliban at any cost.

Remember, these are people who preferred death after hanging onto an airplane and falling hundreds of feet to the ground to death at the hands of the Taliban. The high peaks of the Hindu Kush and the hot deserts of western Afghanistan and eastern Iran are not going to deter them from trying to get out.

To see the Biden administration trying to change the narrative is not unexpected. No president wants to see the sort of headlines Biden is seeing now.

But to claim the airlift is some sort of success story?

Even the normal allies of the Democrats know that makes no sense.