Two Decades Down The Drain - Biden Abandons Afghanistan To The Taliban
Twenty years ago, American troops set foot on Afghani soil. Some warned it was the “grave of empires”, as every empire since the days of Alexander the Great that crossed into the rugged mountains of the Hindu Kush seemed to mark that time as a beginning of the “end” of their empire. For Alexander, he died shortly thereafter while marching into India, yet to fulfill his dream of a global empire.
In modern times, the last empire to leave Afghanistan- the USSR -pulled out following a failure to maintain her presence in the country, largely due to the US success of Operation Cyclone from 1979 to 1988 that, in paraphrasing the words of CIA strategist Michael Vickers, was meant to draw the US into a ‘Vietnam-style conflict’. It worked, and was one of several events that marked the fall and breakup of the USSR.
But today, on August 16th, 2021, US President Biden addressed the world, saying that the US ended her stay in Afghanistan:
Striking a defiant tone, President Joe Biden said Monday that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and that the Afghan government’s collapse was quicker than anticipated.
Biden said he was faced with a choice between sticking to a previously negotiated agreement to withdraw U.S. troops this year or sending thousands more service members back into Afghanistan for a “third decade” of war.
Biden said he will not repeat mistakes of the past and did not regret his decision to proceed with the withdrawal.
“I stand squarely behind my decision,” Biden said in a televised address to the nation from the White House East Room. “After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.”
Biden said he’d rather take the criticism over the fallout in Afghanistan than leave the decision to another president. He said the decision to leave Afghanistan is “the right one for America.” (source)
This is a historic day, and while only seven months into the Biden presidency, this moment is going to be one of, if not the defining event of his tenure in office, because of how serious this is.
It’s going to be a very long next forty-one months.