Joe Biden finally appeared before the American people on Tuesday to lay the blame for the Afghanistan fiasco on everyone but himself. Even while saying "the buck stops here", bad intelligence, bad advice, all were trotted out as reasons his well-laid plans went awry. He saved his particular contempt for the Afghan forces who 'refused to fight' while ignoring the fact that these same forces suffered over 60,000 casualties during the war. The collapse of the Afghan military was foregone when America withdrew its intelligence gathering capability and the contractors who maintained their air support vanished over the horizon. The only purpose the Afghan air force served at that point was to allow a few savvy Afghan pilots to abscond with our aircraft and disappear over the horizon right behind them.
As is their wont, the intelligence agencies promptly leaked a few incriminating documents claiming they in fact warned Biden that this was the likely outcome of a precipitous pullout. A second grade teacher in Muskogee could have told him that was coming.
Not content to simply hide at Camp David, Biden emerged again on Wednesday to give a press briefing on…Covid 19. Not a word about Afghanistan and, as on Tuesday, not a question taken from reporters. But Biden still wasn't through. During an interview Wednesday night with George Stephanopoulos, Biden became defensive when asked about Afghans crowded into Air Force planes and falling to their deaths.
"That was four or five days ago," Biden snapped.
No, it was Monday…two days before.
There is little doubt, though most Democrats won't admit it, Biden forced the rapid withdrawal to meet a self-imposed political deadline, originally September 11th but moved up to August 31st due to the bad optics of surrendering on the anniversary of the event that started the war. Getting the troops out was critical to his goal; getting the American and Afghan civilians out was an afterthought. The resulting optic to the rest of the world of the American military cutting and running while abandoning civilians to their fate will frame the story of America's ill-begotten adventure in Afghanistan.
Equally disastrous was the briefing delivered by General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday when they acknowledged the US doesn't have the capability to rescue Americans and Afghan allies from the country. In a CNN analysis, Stephen Collinson states "At the Pentagon news conference, Milley and Austin inadvertently revealed the deficiencies of the US evacuation."
Nope, not inadvertent. It was intentional to let the American people know the orders initiating the fiasco came directly from the Commander in Chief.
America, in fact, is entirely dependent on the good graces of a bunch of militant goatherds for any chance of success in rescuing our people. The Taliban itself is fractious, however, and proclamations of cooperation from its leaders may mean little to the uneducated young Afghans that make up its army.
In today's Wall Street Journal, columnist Kimberly Strassel writes "The Democratic Party owns this American humiliation and is already worried about the political fallout." In his CNN Analysis, Collinson notes "Anytime a commander in chief does not appear in control or is in denial of obvious developments is a moment that threatens to inflict political damage." That pretty much sums up the problem. The politicians aren't concerned about Afghanistan or its people or our citizens stranded behind Taliban lines. Oh no, they're worried about the political fallout. What are a few dead bodies compared to losing an election?
Here's what should really frighten Americans. Biden is clearly suffering from senility and his condition appears to be advancing. That raises the question of who's really governing the country? Certainly not Kamala Harris. She's trying to remain invisible after being thrown under the bus by Biden on the border crisis. She clearly wants nothing to do with this disaster. So, who's pulling the strings?
On that note, what has become of Dr. Jill Biden, our First Lady? Remember her? Other than a brief appearance at the Tokyo Olympics, she has been seen less than any other First Lady in recent memory.
The concern now is that the Taliban or one of its factions, which have so far refrained from taking American hostages, may begin to do so. They needn't bother. They already have the ultimate hostage…Joe Biden.
Wouldn’t you just love to be a fly on the wall of the Oval Office?