It’s 2021 and the U.S. has unilaterally withdrawn from Afghanistan. Why? It is not because we were losing the war — we had a stable occupation. It is not because we ran out of money — we are planning on spending trillions of dollars on infrastructure. It is not because we are war weary — you can be certain that another war will crop up soon enough somewhere about the globe.
I think it is because the domestic political landscape has changed here in the U.S. Back in the late ’90s the Clinton Democrats avoided war and many have criticized them for enabling Osama Bin Laden’s build up. After 9/11, the GW Bush Republicans took charge and charted policy similar to HW Bushes. Hence the political amalgam was composed of Bush Republicans and Clinton Democrats. Both Democrats and Republicans agreed that the threat of radical Islamic terrorism justified our presence in Afghanistan.
The Obama epoch kept this alloy intact and the foreign policy remained stable — Obama Democrats and Bush Republicans. Both Democrats and Republicans agreed that the threat of radical Islamic terrorism justified our presence in Afghanistan.
But what changed in 2016 was the introduction of the new “Bone Spur” Republicans who no longer saw America’s commitment to foreign conflicts as necessary and in our best interest. The new President went about the globe treating foreign policy as a series of unilateral self-serving ‘deals’. It made no sense to the “bone spurs” to spend money on conflicts where there was no clear return. They called their philosophy “America First”. President Bone Spur touted the greatness of America as a world power, but shrugged when it came to our responsibilities.
For reference here is the peace agreement signed Feb 29, 2020, between the US and the Taliban which states the unilaterally exit of US forces from Afghanistan within 9.5 months. Bonespurs signed a peace treaty (if you can call it that) which stated our unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan by May 2021.
So by 2020 when Joe Biden took the helm, the amalgam had changed — instead of Obama Democrats / Bush Republicans we had Obama Democrats / Bone Spur Republicans. That’s what has changed. Both Biden and ‘Bone Spurs’ feel that radical Islamic terrorism is not a clear and present danger, and no longer justifies our presence in Afghanistan.
And because of this simple change of balance we are witnessing another tragedy, one that should not happen. There have always been bullies and tyrants, murders and rapes. Witnessing beheadings and other forms of subjugation through terror becomes tiresome.
America has a role in the world to prevent these tragedies.
The Afghan war was always about winning the hearts and the minds. This is no easy task. It can take generations. Our, America’s, contribution to Imperialism, that we are not trying to crush and subjugate these nations. We don’t rule by grinding our boots down on those we rule. Our destiny is to lead the world out of barbarism and savagery to democracy and freedom.
Our cause is right. We are the good guys. I ask you, is it really time for us to abdicate our world role?
