President Joe Biden announced Wednesday afternoon the withdrawal of all American forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, two decades to the day after Islamic radicals based in Afghanistan attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing more than 3,000 Americans.
The removal of 2,500 U.S. troops is not based on conditions on the ground.
“I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats,” Biden said. “I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth.”
Press Secretary Jen Psaki dismissed concerns of top military officials and others Wednesday, too.
The decision splits party lines. While senators like Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders praised the decision, many Republicans, and even some Democrats, disagreed.
Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen attacked Biden’s plans, noting, “I’m very disappointed in the president’s decision to set a September deadline to walk away from Afghanistan. The U.S. has sacrificed too much to bring stability to Afghanistan to leave without verifiable assurances of a secure future.”
Others noted that withdrawing our forces from Afghanistan does not mean the war is over, and only emboldens the jihadists who attacked our homeland.
“Precipitously withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake. It is retreat in the face of an enemy that has not yet been vanquished and abdication of American leadership,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
“A reckless pullback like this would abandon our Afghan, regional, and NATO partners in a shared fight against terrorists that we have not yet won. There is no reason to believe the Taliban will abandon Al Qaeda if we leave. We know we cannot conduct effective counterterrorism operations without presence and partners on the ground. The President needs to explain to the American people why he thinks abandoning our partners and retreating in the face of the Taliban will make America safer,” he added.
A decade ago, President Barack Obama’s political machinations failed and invited the rise of ISIS. Only a few years later, American soldiers returned to Iraq and Syria because ISIS terrified the world with barbaric acts of slavery and genocide.
Local partners do most of the fighting in Afghanistan today. Our 2,500 volunteer troops there — far fewer than in Germany, Japan or Korea — cost taxpayers roughly $10 billion per year.
Recent UN reporting unfortunately indicates the Taliban remains powerful and also has not lost its taste for oppressing women and children. Instead of girls in school, prepare to hear stories again of them getting acid thrown in their faces by barbarians.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
