The war in Afghanistan is over. The current administration is parading around everyone from the Department of Defense to the State Department to the national security adviser to remind us how magnificently all those entities and individuals executed the president’s directive. Sadly, I see it as nothing but a cascade of lies and political double talk that is setting the narrative for Joe Biden to potentially recognize the Taliban as a viable government entity.
From my perspective, the national security adviser, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of U.S. Central Command all need to resign. Their reading of prepared political statements about their magnificent success is repugnant. I am especially offended by the current four-star generals and one former four-star general, who have totally forgotten what wearing the uniform and four stars entails — integrity, courage and honor.
Having “been there, done that” and having attended countless funerals of brothers and sisters who gave the ultimate sacrifice, their continual pontification of prepared political statements to justify Joe’s failed and devastating departure from Afghanistan is disgusting. I was deployed to Afghanistan right after 9/11 and commanded senior logistical teams. We were heavily involved in the initial combat operations staged from Bagram in early 2002, known as Operation Anaconda. I am not sure our senior leaders or politicians learned anything from that initial operation.
While it’s very easy to blame President Biden and his senior advisers for this catastrophe and what it means for the future security of our country (and we should), the real guilty parties of this horrendous mess are the 75 million-plus American voters who chose personality over policy and voted for Joe Biden in November.
For four-plus years, all we heard from the Democrats and their publicity arm, the press, was the excoriation of candidate and then president, Donald Trump. He couldn’t do anything right, and his personality was dragged through the mud at every opportunity while he was president. The House impeached him twice on what I consider are totally false charges. Will the same happen to Joe for his incredibly dangerous and ignorant withdrawal strategy? No, because that gives us Kamala Harris, a presidential candidate who couldn’t even get enough support in her home state!
From a strategic standpoint, while Joe and company puff out and beat their chests in outlining the magnificent job they did in ending the war in Afghanistan, were they thinking beyond Aug. 31? I firmly believe our country is in more danger now than on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Terrorists are extremely patient people, and remember, to them we are the “Great Satan.”
So for all of you who voted for Joe and company, you got what you voted for. With that in mind, please think about the following: We are out of Afghanistan (for now), our Southern border is wide open, we are losing our energy independence, Joe is pushing for more grotesque government spending to further destroy our economy, and the government continues to use scare tactics concerning COVID-19.
As we potentially lose more of our constitutional freedoms with the discussion of government mandates, we cannot lose sight of the actual dangers presented by China, Russia, Iran and now the Taliban. Therefore, come November 2022, maybe you need to think about a politician’s policy statements versus believing any ugly and skewed discussion of a candidate’s personality.
Retired U.S. Army Reserve Col. Frank Daniels
Dover
