Could Biden have done better? Almost surely. Could any prior admin, including the Cheney-Rove administration have done better? Yep. And earlier too. I’m pretty focused on what I think are the main two things here:
1: Biden actually pulled us out which was long overdue (given that we were there at all)
2: Biden’s making a sincere effort, with at least partly good results to get the “collaborators” out too.
I wonder what Gorrell’s reaction was to the hundreds of marines killed (230?) in that bombing of the barracks in Beirut back in ‘83? That happened during the first term of Grampaw Raygun’s so-called administration. The fallout from that event slipped off Teflon Ronnie, just like Iran/Contra, the exploded budget, and all the other scandals of his so-called administration, the most corrupt since Grant’s — until Trump’s.
Only conservatives are so unpatriotic that they see dead Americans as an opportunity to attack the President.
Donnie invited the Taliban to the White House. Freed thousands of them from jail, including their current leader. Agreed to pull out of Afghanistan. And got NOTHING in return for all those concessions.
And we are FINALLY leaving that hell-hole we should never have been it.
We now have a PRESIDENT. As opposed to loudmouthed clown.
In 1968 45 Americans(mainly draftees) were being killed a day in Vietnam. Will America ever be willing to accept committing troops to a war zone where significant casualties are likely if this is how we react to 13 deaths?
Biden’s surreptitious and abrupt withdraw began with the US armed forces, quite soon the control of the Bagram airbase was relinquished.
Biden then proceeded to end all U.S. air support for Afghan forces, even depriving the Afghan military of most of the contract and maintenance support it needed.
Many Afghans who had worked alongside the US in hope to bring peace and progress to their country woke up that morning to discover that their long-time allies had disappeared without notice.
The psychological impact especially on Afghan security forces of this abandonment can hardly be exaggerated. It caused them to feel hopeless and surrender which was the most significant contributor to the ease at which the Taliban could seize control.
The Taliban also knew that, unlike President Trump, there would be no sort of reprisals from Biden when they took over of Afghanistan by force
Biden did not even keep his allies in the loop. Biden reportedly ignored British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempts to contact him for approximately 36 hours as the Taliban cemented its control over Afghanistan.
The result is the US and its allies all over the world are now at the mercy of the Taliban for evacuating its citizens. The worst among Islamic terrorists have made Afghanistan their abode. Billions of dollars worth U.S. weaponry including Black Hawks and Humvees are now in the custody of the Taliban. It is likely that the Russians, the Chinese and even the Iranians will exploit the chaos to their advantage. With a nuclear-armed terror state such as Pakistan as a neighbour, the situation in the region is likely to become highly volatile.
There were those who were hopeful that the Taliban 2.0 will do the right thing. But the Kabul airport terror attack that killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, proved beyond any doubt that Afghanistan has descended into absolute anarchy.
In addition, the Taliban has ordered women to remain indoors. There also have been reports of women and children being attacked by the Taliban. There have been reports of journalists being brutalized by the Taliban. Taliban fighters also massacred nine ethnic Hazara men. The Taliban even admitted to killing an Afghan comedian. The incidences of brutality are numerous.
This couldn’t have possibly occurred any worse.
Even if we hypothesize that President Trump’s withdrawal plan and peace deal was deficient. Biden had all the time and authority to develop plans of his own, set his own timelines and implement them.
Let there be no more confusion, the buck stops with Biden.
Biden and only Biden is responsible for this unmitigated disaster.
Patrick Murphy: Your righteousness is uncalled for. Where were you when Trump allowed at least 500,000 citizens to die with his botched pandemic “response”?
Feb. 29, 2020 — U.S. and Taliban sign an agreement that sets the terms for a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, but do not release two classified annexes that set the conditions for U.S. withdrawal. At the time of the agreement, the U.S. had about 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, according to a Department of Defense inspector general report.
The withdrawal of U.S. troops is contingent on the “Taliban’s action against al-Qaeda and other terrorists who could threaten us,” Trump says in a speech at the Conservative Political Active Conference. (U.S. withdrawals, however, occurred despite the fact that the Defense Department inspector general’s office repeatedly reported that the Taliban worked with al-Qaeda.)
The pact includes the release of 5,000 Taliban fighters who have been held prisoners by the Afghanistan government, which is not a party to the agreement.
March 1, 2020 — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani objects to a provision in the agreement that would require his country to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners. “Freeing Taliban prisoners is not [under] the authority of America but the authority of the Afghan government,” Ghani says. “There has been no commitment for the release of 5,000 prisoners.”
March 4, 2020 — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley tells the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Taliban pledged in the classified documents not to attack U.S. troops and coalition forces or launch “high-profile attacks,” including in Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals. “[T]he Taliban have signed up to a whole series of conditions … all the Members of the Congress have all the documents associated with this agreement,” Milley says.
Despite the agreement, the Taliban attack Afghan forces in Helmand province, and the U.S. responds with an air strike.
March 10, 2020 — Under pressure from the U.S., Ghani orders the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners, but at the rate of 100 per day.
May 19, 2020 — In releasing its quarterly report on Afghanistan, the DOD inspector general’s office says the U.S. cut troop levels in Afghanistan by more than 4,000, even though “the Taliban escalated violence further after signing the agreement.”
“U.S. officials stated the Taliban must reduce violence as a necessary condition for continued U.S. reduction in forces and that remaining high levels of violence could jeopardize the U.S.-Taliban agreement,” according to the report, which covered activity from Jan. 1, 2020, to March 31, 2020. “Even still, the United States began to reduce its forces in Afghanistan from roughly 13,000 to 8,600.”
Aug. 18, 2020 — In releasing a report that covered activity in Afghanistan from April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020, the Defense Department inspector general’s office says, “The Taliban did not appear to uphold its commitment to distance itself from terrorist organizations in Afghanistan. UN and U.S. officials reported that the Taliban continued to support al-Qaeda, and conducted joint attacks with al-Qaeda members against Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.”
Sept. 3, 2020 — Afghanistan releases the final 400 Taliban prisoners, as required under the U.S.-Taliban agreement, clearing the way for intra-Afghan peace talks to begin.
Sept. 12, 2020 — After seven months of delays, Afghanistan government officials and Taliban representatives meet in Qatar for peace talks. The U.S.-Taliban agreement called for the first peace talks to begin on March 10.
Sept. 16, 2020 — The Taliban continued attacks on government forces. The Voice of America reported that “Taliban attacks in three provinces across northern Afghanistan since Tuesday killed at least 17 people, including six civilians, and wounded scores of others even as a Taliban political team was negotiating peace with Afghan government representatives in Doha, Qatar.”
Sept. 18, 2020 — At a press conference, Trump says, “We’re dealing very well with the Taliban. They’re very tough, they’re very smart, they’re very sharp. But, you know, it’s been 19 years, and even they are tired of fighting, in all fairness.”
Nov. 16, 2020 — Congressional Republicans, responding to news reports that the Trump administration will rapidly reduce forces in Afghanistan, warn of what Sen. Marco Rubio calls “a Saigon-type of situation” in Afghanistan. “A rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan now would hurt our allies and delight the people who wish us harm,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says.
Nov. 17, 2020 — Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller formally announces that the U.S. will reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by Jan. 15, 2021.
On the same day, the Defense Department IG’s office released a report for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2020, that said the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban representatives had stalled and violence increased. “At the same time, the Taliban increased its attacks against Afghan forces, leading to ‘distressingly high’ levels of violence that could threaten the peace agreement,” the report said.
Dec. 2, 2020 — After past false starts, Afghan and Taliban negotiators agree on a framework to govern peace negotiations. “At the same time, the Taliban continued its ‘fight and talk’ strategy, increasing violence across the country to increase its leverage with the Afghan government in negotiations,” the Defense Department IG’s office said a quarterly report covering this period.
The IG report also continued to warn that the Taliban was apparently violating the withdrawal agreement. “This withdrawal is contingent on the Taliban abiding by its commitments under the agreement, which include not allowing terrorists to use Afghan soil to threaten the United States and its allies,” the report said. “However, it was unclear whether the Taliban was in compliance with the agreement, as members of al-Qaeda were integrated into the Taliban’s leadership and command structure.”
Jan. 15 — “Today, U.S. force levels in Afghanistan have reached 2,500,” Miller, the acting defense secretary, says in a statement. “[T]his drawdown brings U.S. forces in the country to their lowest levels since 2001.”
Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh tells the BBC that the Trump administration made too many concessions to the Taliban. “I am telling [the United States] as a friend and as an ally that trusting the Taliban without putting in a verification mechanism is going to be a fatal mistake,” Saleh says, adding that Afghanistan leaders warned the U.S. that “violence will spike” as the 5,000 Taliban prisoners were released. “Violence has spiked,” he added.
I am not going to add all the material that relates to Biden’s decisions. The fact is, that he had the choice of bringing back US troops and prolonging the war or of accepting that most of the US public wanted out. He chose the latter.
It is pretty clear that many in the US Government thought the Afghan army would be able to deal with the Taliban.
April 14 — Saying it is “time to end the forever war,” Biden announces that all troops will be removed from Afghanistan by Sept. 11.
In a speech explaining the decision, Biden says he became convinced after trip to Afghanistan in 2008 that “more and endless American military force could not create or sustain a durable Afghan government.” Biden says the U.S. achieved its initial and primary objective, “to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again” and that “our reasons for remaining in Afghanistan are becoming increasingly unclear.”
Biden says he “inherited a diplomatic agreement” between the U.S. and the Taliban that all U.S. forces would be out by May 1. “It is perhaps not what I would have negotiated myself, but it was an agreement made by the United States government, and that means something,” Biden says, adding that final troop withdrawal would begin on May 1.
“We will not conduct a hasty rush to the exit,” Biden says. “We’ll do it responsibly, deliberately, and safely.” Biden assures Americans that the U.S. has “trained and equipped a standing force of over 300,000 Afghan personnel” and that “they’ll continue to fight valiantly, on behalf of the Afghans, at great cost.”
April 18 — In a released statement, Trump criticizes Biden’s Sept. 11 withdrawal deadline saying, “we can and should get out earlier.” He concludes, “Getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do. I planned to withdraw on May 1st, and we should keep as close to that schedule as possible.”
May 18 — The Defense Department IG releases a report for the first three months of 2021 that says the Taliban had increased its attacks against Afghanistan government forces during this period and appears to be preparing with al-Qaeda for “large-scale offensives.”
“The Taliban initiated 37 percent more attacks this quarter than during the same period in 2020,” the report said. “According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Taliban maintained close ties with al-Qaeda and was very likely preparing for large-scale offensives against population centers and Afghan government installations.”
May 18 — In a House hearing on U.S. policy in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, downplays the prospect of a swift Taliban takeover when U.S. forces leave. “If they [Taliban] pursue, in my judgment, a military victory, it will result in a long war, because Afghan security forces will fight, other Afghans will fight, neighbors will come to support different forces,” Khalilzad says.
Later Khalilzad added, “I personally believe that the statements that the [Afghan] forces will disintegrate, and the Talibs will take over in short order are mistaken. The real choices that the Afghans will face is between a long war and negotiated settlement.”
June 26 — At a rally in Ohio, his first since leaving office, Trump boasts that Biden can’t stop the process he started to remove troops from Afghanistan, and acknowledges the Afghan government won’t last once U.S. troops leave.
“I started the process,” Trump says. “All the troops are coming back home. They [the Biden administration] couldn’t stop the process. 21 years is enough. Don’t we think? 21 years. They couldn’t stop the process. They wanted to, but it was very tough to stop the process when other things… It’s a shame. 21 years, by a government that wouldn’t last. The only way they last is if we’re there. What are we going to say? We’ll stay for another 21 years, then we’ll stay for another 50. The whole thing is ridiculous. … We’re bringing troops back home from Afghanistan.”
July 24 — At a rally in Phoenix, Trump again boasts, “I started the move out of Afghanistan,” adding “I think it was impossible for him [Biden] to stop it, but it was a much different deal.”
Trump says that when he was president, in a phone conversation with the leader of the Taliban, he warned that after U.S. troops leave if “you decide to do something terrible to our country … we are going to come back and we are going to hit you harder than any country has ever been hit.” Trump says he believes the two “had a real understanding” but that after Trump left office “now they’re going wild over there.”
Notice that all of the above statements were either from official sources or at least checkable.
Trump made the deal that led to this — unilaterally, without the Afghan government being involved. You can guess how Afghans felt about that, if they even knew. Probably about like the Kurds, who were also abandoned by Trump and who were even better fighters than the Afghans.
It is clear that some people within the US Government were convinced the Afghan army would put up a real fight. There was clearly a failure to fact check in both the Trump and Biden administrations. That has been true from the very beginning (Bush through Biden).
It is also clear that there was no planning to remove Afghans at risk from the Taliban. Because the Afghan army was going to fight and win because they had American weapons and (some) training. The military made no plans for it, nor did anyone else. So of course, when panic set in, things were a giant mess. Blaming that entirely on Biden is wrong. Trump never planned for it either, despite right wing claims. That Marine Lt. Colonel was right to call out his superiors in the DoD for their part.
Trump was right in his comment about staying for another 21 years, etc. Our policies failed the Afghan people from the get go by supporting a corrupt government that a large fraction of the Afghan population hated. We did nothing to address the fundamental problems. The Taliban finally figured out that attacking US troops was only going to result in US troops remaining. Trump really did want US troops out so the Taliban, who understood the population better than the US Government, were happy to play up to him.
I must be a Nabob [?] cause I didn’t hear shit from you or Bob Gorrell about the other 2,448 American service members killed in Afghanistan, or about additional 3,846 U.S. contractors who died. And yes, I know what a nabob is.
In 1983, one truck bomb killed 241 U.S. service members in Beirut, Lebanon. Funny, how no Republicans and no Democrats attacked President Ronald Reagan or called for him to resign.
Say What Now‽ Premium Member over 2 years ago
Conserves like Gorrell would rather have the war go on for several more years than have a dem end it.
Concretionist over 2 years ago
Could Biden have done better? Almost surely. Could any prior admin, including the Cheney-Rove administration have done better? Yep. And earlier too. I’m pretty focused on what I think are the main two things here:
1: Biden actually pulled us out which was long overdue (given that we were there at all)
2: Biden’s making a sincere effort, with at least partly good results to get the “collaborators” out too.
LookingGlass Premium Member over 2 years ago
Sure Bobby, staying in Afghanistan, the graveyard of empires, for another 20 years would have produced the same thing … diddly squat!!
/SHEESH/
Patjade over 2 years ago
Goofy Gorrell conveniently forgets about the thousands of lives lost by the previous presidents putting/keeping troops there.
hermit48 over 2 years ago
62 dead on Trump’s watch (11 in 2020). 13 (killed by ISIS-K, not the Taliban) under Biden so far. Lets check back in three years.
braindead Premium Member over 2 years ago
YESTERDAY alone, there were twice as many evacuations as the TOTAL number of evacuations from Viet Nam.
VegaAlopex over 2 years ago
It’s happens to every president. Jimmy Carter wanted to be the first without any combat deaths. It didn’t happen.
johnebert1 over 2 years ago
How about 600,000 dead on Trump’s watch.
A# 466 over 2 years ago
BENGHAZI, BENGHAZI, BENGHAZI!!!
I wonder what Gorrell’s reaction was to the hundreds of marines killed (230?) in that bombing of the barracks in Beirut back in ‘83? That happened during the first term of Grampaw Raygun’s so-called administration. The fallout from that event slipped off Teflon Ronnie, just like Iran/Contra, the exploded budget, and all the other scandals of his so-called administration, the most corrupt since Grant’s — until Trump’s.FrankErnesto over 2 years ago
What they are really upset about is the sudden and complete end of military spending in Afghanistan.
Ignatz Premium Member over 2 years ago
Only conservatives are so unpatriotic that they see dead Americans as an opportunity to attack the President.
Donnie invited the Taliban to the White House. Freed thousands of them from jail, including their current leader. Agreed to pull out of Afghanistan. And got NOTHING in return for all those concessions.
And we are FINALLY leaving that hell-hole we should never have been it.
We now have a PRESIDENT. As opposed to loudmouthed clown.
Gen.Flashman over 2 years ago
In 1968 45 Americans(mainly draftees) were being killed a day in Vietnam. Will America ever be willing to accept committing troops to a war zone where significant casualties are likely if this is how we react to 13 deaths?
fusilier over 2 years ago
https://images.app.goo.gl/5aRW6UMiXpF2poKi8
fusilier
James 2:24
GradingGorrell over 2 years ago
13/89
Another Joe Biden logo
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2020/10/27
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2020/11/30
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2020/02/12
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2020/05/05
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2019/04/29
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2020/11/02
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2020/09/15
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2020/07/30
https://www.gocomics.com/bobgorrell/2019/06/10
where’s the Trump logo with over 500,000 coffins for the people who died because of Trump’s terrible response to Covid-19?
Sgt. Snorkle over 2 years ago
Let’s give the job to bob as he is so critical of what is happening!
Alberta Oil Premium Member over 2 years ago
Keeping all the dead hidden or bringing them home in the dead of night.. does not mean it didn’t happen. At least Joe accepts the responsibility
codak over 2 years ago
making a partisan issue out of what is really america’s bi-partisan /establishment foreign policy is, . . .really kind of stupid
littleann over 2 years ago
Now for what Biden actually did.
Biden’s surreptitious and abrupt withdraw began with the US armed forces, quite soon the control of the Bagram airbase was relinquished.
Biden then proceeded to end all U.S. air support for Afghan forces, even depriving the Afghan military of most of the contract and maintenance support it needed.
Many Afghans who had worked alongside the US in hope to bring peace and progress to their country woke up that morning to discover that their long-time allies had disappeared without notice.
The psychological impact especially on Afghan security forces of this abandonment can hardly be exaggerated. It caused them to feel hopeless and surrender which was the most significant contributor to the ease at which the Taliban could seize control.
The Taliban also knew that, unlike President Trump, there would be no sort of reprisals from Biden when they took over of Afghanistan by force
Biden did not even keep his allies in the loop. Biden reportedly ignored British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempts to contact him for approximately 36 hours as the Taliban cemented its control over Afghanistan.
The result is the US and its allies all over the world are now at the mercy of the Taliban for evacuating its citizens. The worst among Islamic terrorists have made Afghanistan their abode. Billions of dollars worth U.S. weaponry including Black Hawks and Humvees are now in the custody of the Taliban. It is likely that the Russians, the Chinese and even the Iranians will exploit the chaos to their advantage. With a nuclear-armed terror state such as Pakistan as a neighbour, the situation in the region is likely to become highly volatile.
There were those who were hopeful that the Taliban 2.0 will do the right thing. But the Kabul airport terror attack that killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, proved beyond any doubt that Afghanistan has descended into absolute anarchy.
littleann over 2 years ago
In addition, the Taliban has ordered women to remain indoors. There also have been reports of women and children being attacked by the Taliban. There have been reports of journalists being brutalized by the Taliban. Taliban fighters also massacred nine ethnic Hazara men. The Taliban even admitted to killing an Afghan comedian. The incidences of brutality are numerous.
This couldn’t have possibly occurred any worse.
Even if we hypothesize that President Trump’s withdrawal plan and peace deal was deficient. Biden had all the time and authority to develop plans of his own, set his own timelines and implement them.
Let there be no more confusion, the buck stops with Biden.
Biden and only Biden is responsible for this unmitigated disaster.
littleann over 2 years ago
The above is from this post: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/08/why_biden_is_solely_to_blame_for_the_fiasco_in_afghanistan.html
freshmeet2030 over 2 years ago
Bush started this crap. Blame him.
casonia2 over 2 years ago
Patrick Murphy: Your righteousness is uncalled for. Where were you when Trump allowed at least 500,000 citizens to die with his botched pandemic “response”?
Radish the wordsmith over 2 years ago
Another America hating cartoon.
TrulyTexan over 2 years ago
Now make one with the 600,000 plus dead from Covid under trump!
ferddo over 2 years ago
Could make a similar sign depicting Trump’s COVID response – but you’d need a LOT more coffins…
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 2 years ago
Littleann’s post is just full of crap.
Feb. 29, 2020 — U.S. and Taliban sign an agreement that sets the terms for a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, but do not release two classified annexes that set the conditions for U.S. withdrawal. At the time of the agreement, the U.S. had about 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, according to a Department of Defense inspector general report.
The withdrawal of U.S. troops is contingent on the “Taliban’s action against al-Qaeda and other terrorists who could threaten us,” Trump says in a speech at the Conservative Political Active Conference. (U.S. withdrawals, however, occurred despite the fact that the Defense Department inspector general’s office repeatedly reported that the Taliban worked with al-Qaeda.)
The pact includes the release of 5,000 Taliban fighters who have been held prisoners by the Afghanistan government, which is not a party to the agreement.
March 1, 2020 — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani objects to a provision in the agreement that would require his country to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners. “Freeing Taliban prisoners is not [under] the authority of America but the authority of the Afghan government,” Ghani says. “There has been no commitment for the release of 5,000 prisoners.”
March 4, 2020 — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley tells the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Taliban pledged in the classified documents not to attack U.S. troops and coalition forces or launch “high-profile attacks,” including in Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals. “[T]he Taliban have signed up to a whole series of conditions … all the Members of the Congress have all the documents associated with this agreement,” Milley says.
Despite the agreement, the Taliban attack Afghan forces in Helmand province, and the U.S. responds with an air strike.
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 2 years ago
March 10, 2020 — Under pressure from the U.S., Ghani orders the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners, but at the rate of 100 per day.
May 19, 2020 — In releasing its quarterly report on Afghanistan, the DOD inspector general’s office says the U.S. cut troop levels in Afghanistan by more than 4,000, even though “the Taliban escalated violence further after signing the agreement.”
“U.S. officials stated the Taliban must reduce violence as a necessary condition for continued U.S. reduction in forces and that remaining high levels of violence could jeopardize the U.S.-Taliban agreement,” according to the report, which covered activity from Jan. 1, 2020, to March 31, 2020. “Even still, the United States began to reduce its forces in Afghanistan from roughly 13,000 to 8,600.”
Aug. 18, 2020 — In releasing a report that covered activity in Afghanistan from April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020, the Defense Department inspector general’s office says, “The Taliban did not appear to uphold its commitment to distance itself from terrorist organizations in Afghanistan. UN and U.S. officials reported that the Taliban continued to support al-Qaeda, and conducted joint attacks with al-Qaeda members against Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.”
Sept. 3, 2020 — Afghanistan releases the final 400 Taliban prisoners, as required under the U.S.-Taliban agreement, clearing the way for intra-Afghan peace talks to begin.
Sept. 12, 2020 — After seven months of delays, Afghanistan government officials and Taliban representatives meet in Qatar for peace talks. The U.S.-Taliban agreement called for the first peace talks to begin on March 10.
cont’d
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 2 years ago
Sept. 16, 2020 — The Taliban continued attacks on government forces. The Voice of America reported that “Taliban attacks in three provinces across northern Afghanistan since Tuesday killed at least 17 people, including six civilians, and wounded scores of others even as a Taliban political team was negotiating peace with Afghan government representatives in Doha, Qatar.”
Sept. 18, 2020 — At a press conference, Trump says, “We’re dealing very well with the Taliban. They’re very tough, they’re very smart, they’re very sharp. But, you know, it’s been 19 years, and even they are tired of fighting, in all fairness.”
Nov. 16, 2020 — Congressional Republicans, responding to news reports that the Trump administration will rapidly reduce forces in Afghanistan, warn of what Sen. Marco Rubio calls “a Saigon-type of situation” in Afghanistan. “A rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan now would hurt our allies and delight the people who wish us harm,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says.
Nov. 17, 2020 — Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller formally announces that the U.S. will reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by Jan. 15, 2021.
On the same day, the Defense Department IG’s office released a report for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2020, that said the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban representatives had stalled and violence increased. “At the same time, the Taliban increased its attacks against Afghan forces, leading to ‘distressingly high’ levels of violence that could threaten the peace agreement,” the report said.
cont’d
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 2 years ago
Dec. 2, 2020 — After past false starts, Afghan and Taliban negotiators agree on a framework to govern peace negotiations. “At the same time, the Taliban continued its ‘fight and talk’ strategy, increasing violence across the country to increase its leverage with the Afghan government in negotiations,” the Defense Department IG’s office said a quarterly report covering this period.
The IG report also continued to warn that the Taliban was apparently violating the withdrawal agreement. “This withdrawal is contingent on the Taliban abiding by its commitments under the agreement, which include not allowing terrorists to use Afghan soil to threaten the United States and its allies,” the report said. “However, it was unclear whether the Taliban was in compliance with the agreement, as members of al-Qaeda were integrated into the Taliban’s leadership and command structure.”
Jan. 15 — “Today, U.S. force levels in Afghanistan have reached 2,500,” Miller, the acting defense secretary, says in a statement. “[T]his drawdown brings U.S. forces in the country to their lowest levels since 2001.”
Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh tells the BBC that the Trump administration made too many concessions to the Taliban. “I am telling [the United States] as a friend and as an ally that trusting the Taliban without putting in a verification mechanism is going to be a fatal mistake,” Saleh says, adding that Afghanistan leaders warned the U.S. that “violence will spike” as the 5,000 Taliban prisoners were released. “Violence has spiked,” he added.
cont’d
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 2 years ago
I am not going to add all the material that relates to Biden’s decisions. The fact is, that he had the choice of bringing back US troops and prolonging the war or of accepting that most of the US public wanted out. He chose the latter.
It is pretty clear that many in the US Government thought the Afghan army would be able to deal with the Taliban.
April 14 — Saying it is “time to end the forever war,” Biden announces that all troops will be removed from Afghanistan by Sept. 11.
In a speech explaining the decision, Biden says he became convinced after trip to Afghanistan in 2008 that “more and endless American military force could not create or sustain a durable Afghan government.” Biden says the U.S. achieved its initial and primary objective, “to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again” and that “our reasons for remaining in Afghanistan are becoming increasingly unclear.”
Biden says he “inherited a diplomatic agreement” between the U.S. and the Taliban that all U.S. forces would be out by May 1. “It is perhaps not what I would have negotiated myself, but it was an agreement made by the United States government, and that means something,” Biden says, adding that final troop withdrawal would begin on May 1.
“We will not conduct a hasty rush to the exit,” Biden says. “We’ll do it responsibly, deliberately, and safely.” Biden assures Americans that the U.S. has “trained and equipped a standing force of over 300,000 Afghan personnel” and that “they’ll continue to fight valiantly, on behalf of the Afghans, at great cost.”
April 18 — In a released statement, Trump criticizes Biden’s Sept. 11 withdrawal deadline saying, “we can and should get out earlier.” He concludes, “Getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do. I planned to withdraw on May 1st, and we should keep as close to that schedule as possible.”
cont’d
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 2 years ago
May 18 — The Defense Department IG releases a report for the first three months of 2021 that says the Taliban had increased its attacks against Afghanistan government forces during this period and appears to be preparing with al-Qaeda for “large-scale offensives.”
“The Taliban initiated 37 percent more attacks this quarter than during the same period in 2020,” the report said. “According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Taliban maintained close ties with al-Qaeda and was very likely preparing for large-scale offensives against population centers and Afghan government installations.”
May 18 — In a House hearing on U.S. policy in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, downplays the prospect of a swift Taliban takeover when U.S. forces leave. “If they [Taliban] pursue, in my judgment, a military victory, it will result in a long war, because Afghan security forces will fight, other Afghans will fight, neighbors will come to support different forces,” Khalilzad says.
Later Khalilzad added, “I personally believe that the statements that the [Afghan] forces will disintegrate, and the Talibs will take over in short order are mistaken. The real choices that the Afghans will face is between a long war and negotiated settlement.”
cont’d
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 2 years ago
June 26 — At a rally in Ohio, his first since leaving office, Trump boasts that Biden can’t stop the process he started to remove troops from Afghanistan, and acknowledges the Afghan government won’t last once U.S. troops leave.
“I started the process,” Trump says. “All the troops are coming back home. They [the Biden administration] couldn’t stop the process. 21 years is enough. Don’t we think? 21 years. They couldn’t stop the process. They wanted to, but it was very tough to stop the process when other things… It’s a shame. 21 years, by a government that wouldn’t last. The only way they last is if we’re there. What are we going to say? We’ll stay for another 21 years, then we’ll stay for another 50. The whole thing is ridiculous. … We’re bringing troops back home from Afghanistan.”
July 24 — At a rally in Phoenix, Trump again boasts, “I started the move out of Afghanistan,” adding “I think it was impossible for him [Biden] to stop it, but it was a much different deal.”
Trump says that when he was president, in a phone conversation with the leader of the Taliban, he warned that after U.S. troops leave if “you decide to do something terrible to our country … we are going to come back and we are going to hit you harder than any country has ever been hit.” Trump says he believes the two “had a real understanding” but that after Trump left office “now they’re going wild over there.”
https://www.factcheck.org/2021/08/timeline-of-u-s-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/
martens over 2 years ago
Q.E.D.
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 2 years ago
Notice that all of the above statements were either from official sources or at least checkable.
Trump made the deal that led to this — unilaterally, without the Afghan government being involved. You can guess how Afghans felt about that, if they even knew. Probably about like the Kurds, who were also abandoned by Trump and who were even better fighters than the Afghans.
It is clear that some people within the US Government were convinced the Afghan army would put up a real fight. There was clearly a failure to fact check in both the Trump and Biden administrations. That has been true from the very beginning (Bush through Biden).
It is also clear that there was no planning to remove Afghans at risk from the Taliban. Because the Afghan army was going to fight and win because they had American weapons and (some) training. The military made no plans for it, nor did anyone else. So of course, when panic set in, things were a giant mess. Blaming that entirely on Biden is wrong. Trump never planned for it either, despite right wing claims. That Marine Lt. Colonel was right to call out his superiors in the DoD for their part.
Trump was right in his comment about staying for another 21 years, etc. Our policies failed the Afghan people from the get go by supporting a corrupt government that a large fraction of the Afghan population hated. We did nothing to address the fundamental problems. The Taliban finally figured out that attacking US troops was only going to result in US troops remaining. Trump really did want US troops out so the Taliban, who understood the population better than the US Government, were happy to play up to him.
GiantShetlandPony over 2 years ago
Shame on you Gorrell.
Unless WWIII breaks out, fewer soldiers will die under President Biden than any of the last three presidents.
walfishj over 2 years ago
I must be a Nabob [?] cause I didn’t hear shit from you or Bob Gorrell about the other 2,448 American service members killed in Afghanistan, or about additional 3,846 U.S. contractors who died. And yes, I know what a nabob is.
jewett1 over 2 years ago
In 1983, one truck bomb killed 241 U.S. service members in Beirut, Lebanon. Funny, how no Republicans and no Democrats attacked President Ronald Reagan or called for him to resign.
Sun over 2 years ago
Failure Biden’s fault, Failure Biden very recently reinstated The Taliban, Taliban attacks are at fault of Failure Biden.
Boise Ed Premium Member over 2 years ago
Clever cartoon, although it completely ignores tRump’s screwball deal with the Taliban.