A Biden White House official has told Politico that they are “horrified” by what’s happened in Afghanistan. The unnamed official says that “I am absolutely appalled and literally horrified we left Americans there,” adding that the evacuation mission that Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and spokesperson Jen Psaki have all defended as a success was not a success at all.
“It was a hostage rescue of thousands of Americans in the guise of a NEO [noncombatant evacuation operations], and we have failed that no-fail mission.”
Politico reports that a second White House official considers the mission unfinished as long as any Americans remain in Afghanistan.
That’s evidence of two people in the Biden White House who have patriotism and a conscience. What about the rest?
The theme of the Politico piece is that Biden keeps trying to shift blame for the mission, which he also characterizes as a success. As my colleague Matt Margolis points out, that’s incoherent. Why blame others — from Trump, to the Afghan government, to the Americans who are stranded — if he really thinks it’s a smashing job he and his administration should be proud of? Why yell at America, as Biden did Tuesday, when taking a victory lap? Maybe he really thinks we’re all too dumb to understand his greatness.
Politico:
Biden spent no time dwelling on his own broken promises — including a vow to fly out any U.S. citizen who wished to leave — and instead delivered a defiant address to close out America’s longest war, defending his handling of the exit, pointing to “corruption and malfeasance” in the Afghan government that the U.S. spent far too long supporting, slamming his critics as downplaying the costs of the armed conflict and arguing the country must move past the “War on Terror” that began almost exactly 20 years ago.
“This decision about Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. It’s about ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries,” Biden said. He took no questions.
Moving past the “War on Terror” will prove to be a serious challenge for America. Those who launched that war 20 years ago are once again in control of the very country they launched it from: Afghanistan. Only now, they’re better armed than ever, control more territory than ever, and know how to get an American commander-in-chief and the most powerful military in the world to do their bidding. Twenty years ago it was possible to unite most of the country when we were attacked, but in the years since, academia and the media have openly waged divisive campaigns against America through critical race theory. The Democrats have bought into that campaign. Biden himself has sought to push it into our public schools.
Twenty years after 9-11, the victim country is divided and the Taliban are kings of Afghanistan again. It will be difficult to move past the “War on Terror” when jihadists launch the next phase.
“I give you my word with all of my heart, I believe this is the right decision, the wise decision, and the best decision for America,” Biden said of the withdrawal Tuesday. If that’s really what he believes, and it seems to be, we are in deep trouble.
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