Our military and our allies no longer trust Biden
Betrayal?
Article by David Harsanyi in The New York Post
Our military and our allies no longer trust Biden
President Biden has lost the trust of the military, our allies — and the American people. In April, the president promised that troops would come home from Afghanistan “responsibly, deliberately, and safely,” downplaying any risk associated with withdrawal.
Today, he says the “evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul was going to be hard and painful no matter when it started, when we began.”
After a Kabul airport attack that killed 13 American servicemen, at least 90 Afghans, Biden has done nothing but deflect responsibility for the biggest foreign policy blunder in decades.
Even as the president was telling Americans that Kabul was unlikely to fall in July, intelligence reports were informing him that situation was precarious. As the New York Times reports, American intelligence were skeptical that Afghan security forces would resist an onslaught of the Taliban, or that the American-allied government could hold on to Kabul.
None of this stopped Biden from abandoning Bagram airbase and refusing to set military safe zones and retrieve stranded Afghan allies or Americans — of which there are probably a thousand left. His disastrous decisions created the bottleneck into the Kabul airport that put our troops in a precarious position and left hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Americans and green-card holders stranded.
How can the troops trust Biden now?
During his press conference after the Kabul airport attack, Biden attempted to create the impression that critics of his botched withdrawal were questioning the competence and bravery of American soldiers rather than the leaders who failed them. When Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, posted video demanding accountability from our military leaders for putting his comrades in needless danger, he was relieved of his duties. As of this writing, however, not a single leader who oversaw the debacle in Afghanistan has resigned or even taken responsibility. In fact, the administration continues to claim the withdrawal is a success.
Then again, how could military leaders trust Biden, either?
When interviewed by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, the president claimed “no one” had advised him to keep troops in Afghanistan to enforce the existing peace agreement or provide cover to evacuate Americans and our allies. Yet, numerous anonymous defense administration officials tell The Wall Street Journal that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had warned Biden that full withdrawal from Afghanistan wouldn’t provide stability and Joints Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley advised Biden to keep 2,500 troops to cover the withdrawal. Biden not only ignored their advice he threw them under the bus by lying that they agreed with him.
And how can our allies trust Biden anymore?
Even Britain, the nation that suffered the second-most casualties among our Western allies in Afghanistan, was reportedly kept in the dark about plans. The New York Times reports that British officials “embarrassed and embittered” at President Biden.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Biden seems to trust the Taliban, seeking their cooperation and allowing the group to dictate terms and timelines of withdrawal and security. When asked in July if he trusted the Taliban, Biden incredulously responded, “is that a serious question?” When the reporter reiterated that it was, the president claimed, “No, I do not.”
Today, the Biden administration is sharing counterterrorism intelligence with the Islamic militia — a group that were bombing only a few weeks ago. Politico, in fact, reports that U.S. officials handed the Taliban a list of “American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies” so that they could be granted entry into the U.S.-controlled airport at Kabul. Biden did this even as Taliban was seizing Afghan-Americans ’ US passports outside Kabul airport and reportedly turning away Americans.
“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” an anonymous defense official told Politico. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.”
“Let me be clear,” Biden told the country this week, “The evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul was going to be hard and painful no matter when it started, when we began.”
This is not what he told the American people in the past. And it was his administration’s incompetence that has made it this painful. Biden’s “aw shucks” folksy “straight-talk” act has always been cynical performative politics. Now, it is part of a deadly lie.
https://nypost.com/2021/08/27/our-military-and-our-allies-no-longer-trust-biden/
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