Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates famously wrote that President Biden has been on the wrong side of every major foreign-policy issue in his long career. The world is getting another example as Mr. Biden’s hell-bent, ill-planned withdrawal from Afghanistan is turning into a strategic defeat and moral debacle.
The Taliban march to Kabul continues with the fall of more provincial capitals each day. The last count was 12 capitals, including Ghazni City on the road between the major cities of Kandahar and Kabul. Reinforcing Afghan forces defending Kandahar will become harder if the road is blocked.
The Afghan government is trying to mount a counterattack, and President Ashraf Ghani has sacked another army chief. But the Taliban now controls at least eight entire provinces, according to the Long War Journal, and its reach includes areas in the north that the Taliban didn’t control when it ruled the country before 9/11. The city of Herat also fell Thursday, and Kandahar could be next.
Many Afghan troops are fighting bravely, but they lack the air support that has been their main military advantage. Mr. Biden blundered in withdrawing all U.S. air power from the country, including private contractors who assist the Afghan air force in maintaining helicopters and planes. The contractors are now literally having to assist via Zoom calls, while the U.S. military flies too few sorties from the Persian Gulf region to slow the Taliban.
The White House has failed to understand what’s happening, with leaks saying the Administration is surprised by the Taliban assault. Surprised? The military warned Mr. Biden and so did U.S. intelligence. The Taliban began this offensive on May 1, two weeks after Mr. Biden announced his withdrawal, aiming for the symbolic date of Sept. 11.
The Pentagon said Thursday it is sending 3,000 troops back into the country to protect the withdrawal of U.S. Embassy personnel, as well as the evacuation of Afghan translators who assisted the U.S. This is necessary but one more sign that the White House had no plan for helping our Afghan allies.
The White House dispatched diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad to warn the jihadists not to take the country by force. Mr. Khalilzad struck the “peace” deal during the Trump Administration that the Taliban failed to honor. The U.S. is also pleading with China and Russia to intercede with the Taliban.
Someone also dispatched White House press secretary Jen Psaki to the briefing room to say that “if the Taliban claim to want international legitimacy, these actions are not going to get them the legitimacy they seek. . . . They could choose to devote the same energy to the peace process as they are to their military campaign. We strongly urge them to do so.” Strongly urging should do the trick.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump issued a statement absolving himself of all responsibility, though he cut the bad deal with the Taliban and set the 2021 withdrawal date. “I personally had discussions with top Taliban leaders whereby they understood what they are doing now would not have been acceptable,” Mr. Trump said. “It would have been a much different and much more successful withdrawal, and the Taliban understood that better than anyone.”
That’s not what Mr. Trump said in the spring when he praised the withdrawal and claimed credit. Both men were so determined to get political credit for bringing the troops home that they failed to face the consequences. The military offered a way to keep a minimal force in the country, providing air and other support to Afghan troops. Mr. Biden refused that advice and bet on retreat.
Many Americans may not care now what happens in Afghanistan. But as in Vietnam, the abandonment of our allies will have significant costs. When the world’s rogues sense that a superpower lacks the will to support its friends, they soon look for other ways to take advantage.
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