In what some are describing the worst foreign policy blunder in decades, President Joe Biden mustered up all the fortitude he could, stepped in front of the American people, and blamed everybody but himself for the Afghanistan crisis. He blamed the previous president. He blamed the Afghan military. He blamed the Afghan government for its reluctance to allow a preemptive US evacuation. After blaming everyone else, Biden reminded himself and others that, “I am the president of the United States and the buck stops with me.” His address was so fraught with blame and contradictions, however, that the only conclusion can be that Biden bungled the whole thing, with huge consequences for the future.
He said, “My national security team and I have been closely monitoring the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and moving quickly to execute the plans we had put in place to respond to every constituency, including — and contingency — including the rapid collapse we’re seeing now…We were clear-eyed about the risks. We planned for every contingency.” Then he contradicted that claim by saying, “The truth is: This did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” This is an admission that he and his security team totally misread the situation and failed to respond as the terrorist Taliban moved through Afghanistan and conquered all the cities that American troops fought, died and were maimed for life to secure.
Biden blamed President Trump, saying he inherited the Trump peace deal for a May 1 US troop withdrawal. Biden said that “The choice I had to make, as your President, was either to follow through on that agreement or be prepared to go back to fighting the Taliban in the middle of the spring fighting season. There would have been no ceasefire after May 1. There was no agreement protecting our forces after May 1. There was no status quo of stability without American casualties after May 1.” Biden failed to admit that he pushed back the withdrawal beyond May 1. Trump’s agreement was to fully withdraw troops in exchange for the Taliban to not attack American forces and cut ties with al-Qaeda. Biden obviously didn’t have the grit to stand up to the Taliban that was central to Trump’s strategy. And the Taliban knew Biden would be a pushover.
Reports are that the Taliban has freed al-Qaeda terrorists from the prisons and has seized extremely valuable US military assets that were left behind because of Biden’s botched retreat. Already, the Pentagon is “reassessing” the terrorist threat due to Biden’s blunder. Biden’s botch has ripple consequences across the world for the balance of power. China, Russia, Iran now know that Biden does not have the courage to defend the interests of the United States and its allies. Israel and European allies now know they can’t count on Biden. Proverbs 29:12 says, “If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.” If a leader believes his own lies, there are consequences as in Ephesians 5:6: “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” May the Lord have mercy on us all.
