By Glen Melanconn
The United States Armed Forces have shown the world again that it is the best trained and equipped on the planet. In 2001, they went into Afghanistan to kill Osama Bin Laden and dismantle the 9/11 terror network.
Long after their mission to kill Osama Bin Laden was successful and Al Qaeda driven from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden kept his promise to bring Americans home. Every other President before him hesitated. I am happy that President Biden did not.
President Biden prioritized the lives of US troops. He extended an artificial deadline negotiated by Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to make that happen. In November 2020, days after the US election, Pompeo surrendered Afghanistan to the Taliban and promised all US forces would be gone by May 2021.
To protect US lives President Biden moved the deadline to August 31. In July, the US military returned control of Afghanistan over to the Afghans. The pull out went well. Thousands of US forces got out safely.
Biden kept his promise. Unfortunately, the US trained Afghan forces were not up to the task of holding back the Taliban. US forces then had to organize an incredible mission to evacuate thousands of Americans and Afghans who thought they could stay after the US exit. The Afghan government failed to secure the country, not the US military.
While conservatives continue to badmouth US military operations, let’s look at the facts. American service men and women successfully evacuated 110,000 people. That is 48% of the total of 230,688. Team USA can be a force for good in the world. The US military did its job.
Conservatives on Fox News and in Congress wanted President Biden to delay. They never wanted to leave this war. Now some want to send US forces back into Afghanistan.
Conservatives have learned nothing. After 20 years, trillions of dollars, and thousands of dead Americans, they still want to nation build. Conservatives refuse to recognize that US troops would always face another suicide bomber.
No more Americans need to die in Afghanistan. The mission is over. They are coming home.
The next time some politician tries to convince you that occupying a foreign country is easy, please, remember the recent images. Armchair patriotism is easy today. It is much harder when we are trying to stop the drumbeats of war. Twenty years in Afghanistan is too long.
uld be a life or death conversation.
Glenn Melancon is a professor of history at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He can be reached at glenn@glennmelancon.com. His opinions are his own and do not reflect those of the Jefferson Jimplecute.