When historians look back on our era, they will identify the summer of 2021. As the moment the American public turned against President Joe Biden. During that summer, the crisis at the southern border grew despite the President’s claim that things were under control. During that summer prices rose despite Biden’s assurances that inflation would be temporary. Most significantly, on August 26 2021 13, American servicemembers died in a terrorist attack amid the panicked, humiliating and unnecessary us retreat from Afghanistan. Biden’s popularity has yet to recover from the blow, it’s a stain during the Afghan debacle. American morale has not recovered either. The Afghan defeat was an invitation to further provocation, disorder and violence. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping watched as the US government abandoned the democratically elected government of Afghanistan. The self inflicted blow to American security and international credibility was welcomed in Moscow and Beijing.
Put a no doubt reason that if Americans were willing to throw Kabul overboard after 20 years, we surely would do the same to our allies and Keef. Six months later, he launched the largest war in Europe since World War Two. Xi Jinping no doubt interpreted Biden’s blunder as further evidence of American decadence. It was another signpost on Xi’s path to invading Taiwan.
America’s flight from Afghanistan was a taste of things to come. Since then, Biden has evacuated partially or fully embassies in Kyiv, Belarus, Sudan and Egypt where the US Embassy in Kyiv has reopened. But the stain on a reputation remains. As the Taliban retook Afghanistan in August of 2021. Americans learned quite a bit about their leader, President Biden had been in the public eye for close to half a century, yet peculiar aspects of his character were only then starting to surface. The families of the 13 service members killed in action through cold comfort from Biden’s aloofness as well as his callous habit of relating every tragedy, no matter how unrelated to his own experience. In the years to come. Residents of East Palestine Ohio, and most recently Lahaina, Hawaii would feel the same dejection and disappointment.
Biden was dishonest. He said America would continue efforts to bring our people home, the US citizens and permanent residents remain in Afghanistan. These days, the Taliban hunts down and persecutes the hundreds of 1000s of Afghans who assisted us forces, subjecting these freedom fighters to extra judicial killing, and forced disappearance. Biden also said that America’s over the horizon military capability would prevent Afghanistan from becoming a terrorist haven. While Biden deserves credit for ordering the strike that killed al Qaeda co founder Iman al-zawahiri in Cabo last year. The fact that Zawahiri was in Afghanistan in the first place, showed that the Taliban does not operate in good faith.
The original elements of al Qaeda, the terrorist group that struck the United States on September 11 2001, may be decimated, but successor organizations such as the Islamic State of Corizon, or ISIS K have replaced their evil forebears.
According to documents obtained by the Washington Post, ISIS K has plotted multiple attacks on targets in Europe and Asia from within Afghanistan, and over the horizon is too far away for America to do much about it. In his speech to the nation on August 31 2021. Biden also claimed that America would continue to champion the rights of Afghan women and girls
empty words. We’ve done little to stop the Taliban from denying women secondary and university education and equal employment, nor have we prevented the Taliban from barring women from public spaces. To the contrary, US and Taliban officials recently participated in two days of talks. Treating the Taliban as a normal government is a deadly mistake. harboring terrorists and suppressing freedom are not quirks of the Taliban. They are its mission.
And we’ve been here before, willful ignorance and wishful thinking characterize the US approach to Afghanistan the last time the Taliban took it over in 1996. Five years later, the brutal reality was brought home with mass casualty attacks in New York and Washington. The lesson is clear, absent punitive action against Taliban, special assistance for Afghan translators, and a substantive commitment to global security in Europe, the Indo Pacific and the greater Middle East. The situation in Afghanistan will continue to deteriorate. The threat to our interests and to ourselves will grow. Another rude awakening will draw closer to yours on Biden’s Afghan route haunts him still. It haunts the rest of us too.
Related
Matthew Continetti
Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
View Video LibraryCommentary
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
How could RFK Jr. impact 2024 election?
Friday
Peter Zeihan
Global warming won’t impact Russian-Chinese shipping
Thursday
Peter Zeihan
Can other nations replicate success of US shale revolution?
Wednesday
Peter Zeihan
Peace between Israel and Iran, at least for now
Tuesday
Peter Zeihan
Biden’s declining popularity began in Afghanistan
Sep 07, 2023
By Straight Arrow News
In February, 2020, the United States and the Taliban agreed to a ceasefire requiring the U.S. and NATO allies to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan no later than May, 2021. The United States completed the withdrawal of forces on roughly that schedule, evacuating the last U.S. troops in August, 2021. The Afghan national government folded shortly thereafter, symbolized by the Taliban takeover of Kabul itself.
Straight Arrow News contributor Matthew Continetti argues that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, conducted in a manner that concerned even fellow Democrats, was the beginning of the end of President Joe Biden’s popularity.
When historians look back on our era, they will identify the summer of 2021 as the moment the American public turned against President Joe Biden.
During that summer, the crisis at the southern border grew despite the president’s claim that things were under control. During that summer, prices rose despite Biden’s assurances that inflation would be temporary.
Most significantly, on August 26, 2021, 13 American service members died in a terrorist attack amid the panicked, humiliating and unnecessary U.S. retreat from Afghanistan.
Biden’s popularity has yet to recover from the blow it sustained during the Afghan debacle. American morale has not recovered either. The Afghan defeat was an invitation to further provocation, disorder and violence. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping watched as the U.S. government abandoned the democratically elected government of Afghanistan. This self-inflicted blow to American security and international credibility was welcomed in Moscow and Beijing.
Putin no doubt reasoned that if Americans were willing to throw Kabul overboard after 20 years, we surely would do the same to our allies and Kyiv. Six months later, he launched the largest war in Europe since World War II.
Xi Jinping no doubt interpreted Biden’s blunder as further evidence of American decadence. It was another signpost on Xi’s path to invading Taiwan.
When historians look back on our era, they will identify the summer of 2021. As the moment the American public turned against President Joe Biden. During that summer, the crisis at the southern border grew despite the President’s claim that things were under control. During that summer prices rose despite Biden’s assurances that inflation would be temporary. Most significantly, on August 26 2021 13, American servicemembers died in a terrorist attack amid the panicked, humiliating and unnecessary us retreat from Afghanistan. Biden’s popularity has yet to recover from the blow, it’s a stain during the Afghan debacle. American morale has not recovered either. The Afghan defeat was an invitation to further provocation, disorder and violence. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping watched as the US government abandoned the democratically elected government of Afghanistan. The self inflicted blow to American security and international credibility was welcomed in Moscow and Beijing.
Put a no doubt reason that if Americans were willing to throw Kabul overboard after 20 years, we surely would do the same to our allies and Keef. Six months later, he launched the largest war in Europe since World War Two. Xi Jinping no doubt interpreted Biden’s blunder as further evidence of American decadence. It was another signpost on Xi’s path to invading Taiwan.
America’s flight from Afghanistan was a taste of things to come. Since then, Biden has evacuated partially or fully embassies in Kyiv, Belarus, Sudan and Egypt where the US Embassy in Kyiv has reopened. But the stain on a reputation remains. As the Taliban retook Afghanistan in August of 2021. Americans learned quite a bit about their leader, President Biden had been in the public eye for close to half a century, yet peculiar aspects of his character were only then starting to surface. The families of the 13 service members killed in action through cold comfort from Biden’s aloofness as well as his callous habit of relating every tragedy, no matter how unrelated to his own experience. In the years to come. Residents of East Palestine Ohio, and most recently Lahaina, Hawaii would feel the same dejection and disappointment.
Biden was dishonest. He said America would continue efforts to bring our people home, the US citizens and permanent residents remain in Afghanistan. These days, the Taliban hunts down and persecutes the hundreds of 1000s of Afghans who assisted us forces, subjecting these freedom fighters to extra judicial killing, and forced disappearance. Biden also said that America’s over the horizon military capability would prevent Afghanistan from becoming a terrorist haven. While Biden deserves credit for ordering the strike that killed al Qaeda co founder Iman al-zawahiri in Cabo last year. The fact that Zawahiri was in Afghanistan in the first place, showed that the Taliban does not operate in good faith.
The original elements of al Qaeda, the terrorist group that struck the United States on September 11 2001, may be decimated, but successor organizations such as the Islamic State of Corizon, or ISIS K have replaced their evil forebears.
According to documents obtained by the Washington Post, ISIS K has plotted multiple attacks on targets in Europe and Asia from within Afghanistan, and over the horizon is too far away for America to do much about it. In his speech to the nation on August 31 2021. Biden also claimed that America would continue to champion the rights of Afghan women and girls
empty words. We’ve done little to stop the Taliban from denying women secondary and university education and equal employment, nor have we prevented the Taliban from barring women from public spaces. To the contrary, US and Taliban officials recently participated in two days of talks. Treating the Taliban as a normal government is a deadly mistake. harboring terrorists and suppressing freedom are not quirks of the Taliban. They are its mission.
And we’ve been here before, willful ignorance and wishful thinking characterize the US approach to Afghanistan the last time the Taliban took it over in 1996. Five years later, the brutal reality was brought home with mass casualty attacks in New York and Washington. The lesson is clear, absent punitive action against Taliban, special assistance for Afghan translators, and a substantive commitment to global security in Europe, the Indo Pacific and the greater Middle East. The situation in Afghanistan will continue to deteriorate. The threat to our interests and to ourselves will grow. Another rude awakening will draw closer to yours on Biden’s Afghan route haunts him still. It haunts the rest of us too.
Related
Who will Trump pick for vice presidential running mate?
Donald Trump is now clearly on track to run as the GOP candidate for president in the 2024 elections, regardless of how his various criminal trials proceed. What’s less clear is who else might run as his running mate for the position of vice president. Straight Arrow News contributor Matthew Continetti reviews a list of…
Thursday
Education, income becoming key variables in elections
Education, income level, geography, race and ethnicity are all key variables in estimating who voters might support. But the importance of these variables has changed in recent elections, as America’s demography, culture and political movements continue to evolve. Straight Arrow News contributor Matthew Continetti argues that education and income level have become more important than…
Mar 21
If we’re lucky, AOC and the Squad are on their way out
The Squad, comprised of eight left-wing House Democrats, has been openly critical of Israel both before and during Israel’s war with Hamas. As primaries approach, some of these House members are facing challenging political races. Straight Arrow News contributor Matthew Continetti delves into the backlash against the Squad and hopes its members will face a…
Feb 22
All bets are off in a Biden-Trump rematch
As the presidential primaries unfold, a Trump-Biden rematch in November appears increasingly likely. History suggests a smooth path to victory for incumbents like Joe Biden, but the scenario becomes far less predictable when that incumbent is running against another former president like Donald Trump. Straight Arrow News contributor Matthew Continetti highlights the rarity of a…
Jan 25
If America cuts off Ukraine aid, Putin will never stop aggression
The U.S. Senate is not expected to vote on a package for increased aid to Ukraine until early next year. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the United States has granted a total of $111 billion in aid to Ukraine, including a minimum of $45 billion allocated for military assistance. The…
Dec 21
Underreported stories from each side
Biden’s 13th-Quarter Approval Average Lowest Historically
8 sources | 13% from the left
AP Images
Jamie Raskin Slams Supreme Court Over Trump Immunity Case: ‘Acting Like A Bunch Of Partisan Operatives’
6 sources | 0% from the right
AP Images
Latest Stories
Several dead after tornadoes sweep through Midwest
Watch 5:57
11 mins ago
Biden uses NFL draft ad to try to connect with young voters
Watch 2:16
Friday
Powering pot: Energy for US cannabis industry could electrify 13.5M homes
Watch 1:29
Friday
Allies plan for Trump to have more control over interest rates
Watch 3:07
Friday
FDA: Bird flu found in 1/5 commercial milk samples, suggests greater spread
Watch 1:21
Friday
Popular Opinions
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.
House Speaker Johnson’s foreign aid bill shows a focused GOP
Friday
Star Parker
Trump’s own behavior betrays his guilt
Friday
Dr. Rashad Richey
Portraying far-left and far-right as equal in ‘Civil War’ is wrong
Thursday
Jordan Reid
Who will Trump pick for vice presidential running mate?
Thursday
Matthew Continetti