And so it begins: regression to the Dark Ages and retaliation for those left behind, including women and girls, in the newly branded Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. It was so predictable, with the botched bug-out and American security outsourced to the terrorist Taliban. As chaos mounts, it appears President Joe Biden is reverting to the Democratic playbook on how to sidestep responsibility and employ the SODDI defense: Some Other Dude Did It. Biden appeared on August 31, placing the blame on former President Trump and reproaching the U.S.-trained Afghan military. He did not outline a concrete plan to rescue the remaining Americans and military allies.
Appearing few times in public throughout the fiasco, Biden has admitted he was told to call on only certain reporters to make sure no uncomfortable questions are posed. And it seems the president has struggled with attention deficit or boredom or testiness about the Afghan debacle. He had to check his watch frequently during the “dignified transfer” ceremony of 13 dead service members brought home from Afghanistan. It is apparent the president has washed his hands of anything related to the 20-year War on Terror.
What Did You Expect?
Afghan girl with “We want peace” sign.
(Photo by Alain Pitton/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Obviously, the “orderly and safe” withdrawal the Pentagon sought went off the rails. As the lights dimmed at Bagram Air Force Base, billions of dollars of resources were left for the Taliban to use. Heavily armed now with American munitions, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs), billion-dollar helicopters, and the like, the Taliban is expected to be diplomatic until all who want to leave finally get the hell out of Dodge. Does anyone really have that kind of influence over a terrorist organization? And this compassionate president left dozens of service dogs in crates at Kabul’s airport to starve and die.
Who is at risk in the Afghan desert now? Anyone American. Anyone who helped Americans. Anyone who is Christian. In an email, Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice warned this is “likely to become a genocide against Christians if the Biden Administration does not act.” Rumors abound that members of aid groups are hiding after being beaten and stripped of passports and other identifying information. And the Taliban is entirely in charge, doing what they do best: terrorizing innocent people.
Locals and those left behind when the airport was taken over now face a pent-up group of bloodthirsty radicals. Some report they are receiving “night letters.” The terrorists nail notes on doors in the middle of the night of those they accuse of “working for the crusaders.”
Recipients are told to report to a Taliban-convened court to prove they are loyal to the new governing entity of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and failure to appear is an immediate death sentence. One was a construction worker who helped the United Kingdom build roads in Helmond. Another, a British military translator, called a “spy of the infidel,” was ordered to give himself up or be hunted and killed. And a brother of an interpreter was sentenced to death for protecting his family.
We Did This, Now Fix It
Whether the 20-year War on Terror — implemented by the administration of George W. Bush and continued by Barack Obama and Donald Trump — was good or bad policy is irrelevant. America used Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban. The United States repeatedly promised, as then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a group of female Afghan ministers in 2020, “We will not abandon you, we will stand with you always.”
Biden and his administration have broken every promise to our servicemen, women, and canines and left our allies to face certain death. Joe, your SODDI defense is wearing thin.
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