As Afghanistan falls right before our eyes, Joe Biden, who incorrectly predicted the Taliban would never take back the country, has developed a new strategy to deflect blame away from himself for the rapidly deteriorating situation there: blame Trump.
In a statement issued Saturday, Joe Biden first reiterated the efforts taken by his administration to “end our military mission in Afghanistan,” before channeling his inner Barack Obama.
“Now let me be clear about how we got here,” he wrote. “America went to Afghanistan 20 years ago to defeat the forces that attacked this country on September 11th. That mission resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden over a decade ago and the degradation of al Qaeda. And yet, 10 years later, when I became President, a small number of U.S. troops still remained on the ground, in harm’s way, with a looming deadline to withdraw them or go back to open combat.”
“When I came to office,” Biden continued, “I inherited a deal cut by my predecessor—which he invited the Taliban to discuss at Camp David on the eve of 9/11 of 2019—that left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001 and imposed a May 1, 2021 deadline on U.S. Forces. Shortly before he left office, he also drew U.S. Forces down to a bare minimum of 2,500.”
“Therefore, when I became President, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our Forces and our allies’ Forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country’s civil conflict. I was the fourth President to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan—two Republicans, two Democrats. I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth.”
Later, Trump blasted Biden in a statement of his own. “Joe Biden gets it wrong every time on foreign policy, and many other issues. Everyone knew he couldn’t handle the pressure. Even Obama’s Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, said as much,” Trump said.
“He ran out of Afghanistan instead of following the plan our Administration left for him—a plan that protected our people and our property, and ensured the Taliban would never dream of taking our Embassy or providing a base for new attacks against America. The withdrawal would be guided by facts on the ground.”
Trump also explained what changed between his time and office and now.
“After I took out ISIS, I established a credible deterrent. That deterrent is now gone,” Trump continued. “The Taliban no longer has fear or respect for America, or America’s power. What a disgrace it will be when the Taliban raises their flag over America’s Embassy in Kabul. This is complete failure through weakness, incompetence, and total strategic incoherence.”
The situation in Afghanistan has sadly mirrored the situation at the U.S. southern border. When Trump left office, the southern border was secure and Afghanistan was in good shape. Then, Joe Biden took over, and everything went to hell. So Biden’s blaming Trump for what’s happening now in Afghanistan is as shameful and absurd as Barack Obama blaming the rise of ISIS on George W. Bush. Joe Biden has failed repeatedly, from America’s southern border to Afghanistan. From the economy to COVID. Everything Biden touches seems to break down.
