A Long Way From Home
Photo by Kevin McCartney from Pexels.
Dylan Lister
On April 14, 2021, President Joe Biden announced to the people of the United States that it was “time to end the war forever,” in regards to the war in Afghanistan. This followed a 2020 withdrawal agreement between former President Trump and the Taliban, which freed 5,000 imprisoned Taliban soldiers and set a certain date of May 1, 2021, for the final withdrawal. Biden delayed the May 1 withdrawal date that he inherited, instead pushing that date to August 31, 2021.
Despite the obvious signs that the Taliban wasn’t complying with the May 1 agreement (e.g. publicly stating a goal was to create an “Islamic State,” in Afghanistan after the U.S. left, even if it meant it had to “continue our war to achieve our goal”), Biden assured Americans that a Taliban takeover was “not inevitable,” and promptly denied the U.S. Intelligence Report that the Afghan government would fall quickly.
On July 6, 2021, the U.S. military confirmed that it had pulled out of Bagram Airfield, its largest airfield in Afghanistan, as the conflict drew to a close. The military would not completely pull out of the country until August 30 of that same year. But there was one crucial variable that Biden had failed to account for: the 9,000 Americans that had been stranded in Afghanistan after the military left its last airfield .
Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated in August 2023 that the Biden administration had facilitated the departure of roughly 900 U.S. citizens since the U.S. occupation ended in 2021. He was quoted at a press availability, stating, "I believe some 900 or so additional American citizens who’ve told us at one point or another that they wanted to leave we’ve made sure could get home.” But the numbers just don't matter until everyone who wants to leave Afghanistan has left.
As well as Americans, there are thousands of Afghan allies eligible for resettlement in the U.S. who are currently detained by the Taliban. Our allies in the U.N. have to ask themselves, “Is the U.S. willing to risk engaging the Taliban or other enemies in combat to fulfill its stated obligations with us?” The Biden administration has restored a bit of faith in the U.S. with our aid in Ukraine and Israel, but not all have had their faith restored.
Committing Military personnel also makes a further statement to the world, that if we’re willing to do it in Afghanistan, we will be willing to do it when any of our allies come under threat. In referencing the Taiwanese conflict with China, Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies' Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, says, "The credible belief that the U.S. would commit military personnel does deter China. And one has to call into question the credibility of that based on the last two administrations….In the end, we're not willing to put U.S. troops where our rhetoric is."
Biden’s failure to act has inflamed Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail, but it has also stirred outrage amongst the parents and families of victims of the Kabul Airport Attack, in which 13 U.S. servicemen and women were killed after a member of the Khorasan Province Islamic State detonated a bomb strapped to his chest.
"We deserve to know the truth and why the government sent our kids to their deaths," states Coral Briseno, mother of deceased Marine Cpl. Humberto Sanchez.
"I say to Biden: Resign," says Darin Hoover, father of deceased Marine Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover.
"They are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, that were pawns in some agenda, and we deserve some information and collaboration from all political parties," adds Jaclyn Schmitz, stepmother of deceased Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz.
The fact is, Biden failed the American people; he abandoned US citizens, our allies, and our own troops.. Biden forgot the motto, “No man left behind,” and has failed to negotiate for the release of members of the Afghan Army who aided us in ousting the Taliban from power many years ago in 2001. Biden has forgotten what made America great: we won’t abandon our own. And I say to you, if he hasn't done it in his first term, do you really think he'll do it in his next?
