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Credit Biden for a Brilliant Speech Defending His Action in Afghanistan

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118 comments on Credit Biden for a Brilliant Speech Defending His Action in Afghanistan

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If you thought Biden would fumble and stumble in delivering a speech on the situation in Afghanistan, you thought wrong.

I have had no praise for Biden for anything until now. But his delivery today was a grand slam smash hit that all but perpetual war mongers should stand up and salute. 

Video

Full Transcript 

Here is a link to the Full Transcript of Biden’s address to the nation on Afghanistan. 

I recommend reading it in entirety. 

Better yet, watch the video and see for yourself one of the best written and delivered political speeches ever.

Eighteen Key Highlights 

  1. Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation building. It was never supposed to be creating a unified, centralized democracy.
  2. That’s why I opposed the surge when it was proposed in 2009 when I was Vice President. And that’s why, as President, I am adamant that we focus on the threats we face today in 2021 — not yesterday’s threats.
  3. When I came into office, I inherited a deal that President Trump negotiated with the Taliban. Under his agreement, U.S. forces would be out of Afghanistan by May 1, 2021 — just a little over three months after I took office.
  4. U.S. forces had already drawn down during the Trump administration from roughly 15,500 American forces to 2,500 troops in country, and the Taliban was at its strongest militarily since 2001.
  5. 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.
  6. I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.
  7. But I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you. The truth is: This did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.
  8. So what’s happened? Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight.
  9. If anything, the developments of the past week reinforced that ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision. 
  10. American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves. 
  11. We spent over a trillion dollars. We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong — incredibly well equipped — a force larger in size than the militaries of many of our NATO allies. 
  12. We gave them every chance to determine their own future. What we could not provide them was the will to fight for that future.
  13. And here’s what I believe to my core: It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan’s own armed forces would not.
  14. So I’m left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay: How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghans — Afghanistan’s civil war when Afghan troops will not? How many more lives — American lives — is it worth? How many endless rows of headstones at Arlington National Cemetery?
  15. And once we have completed this mission, we will conclude our military withdrawal. We will end America’s longest war after 20 long years of bloodshed.
  16. I will not mislead the American people by claiming that just a little more time in Afghanistan will make all the difference. Nor will I shrink from my share of responsibility for where we are today and how we must move forward from here. I am President of the United States of America, and the buck stops with me.
  17. I know my decision will be criticized, but I would rather take all that criticism than pass this decision on to another President of the United States — yet another one — a fifth one. 
  18. So, thank you. May God protect our troops, our diplomats, and all of the brave Americans serving in harm’s way.

Brilliant and Accurate

Not only did Biden have amazingly good text. he delivered his message far better than anyone might have expected.

Let the Trump apologists and warmongers disagree, but it was Trump who left Biden with 2,500 troops, down from 15,500.  And that was 2,500 troops too many.

Give credit where credit is due. 

Forget about the messy exit. What’s important is Biden ended the longest war in US history. 

And he gave all the right reasons for doing so. Any rational person should agree with those 18 points. But don’t expect warmongers or Trump apologists (who would have cheered if Trump gave that same speech) to agree.

Finally, Biden made a promise and kept it. Trump and Obama didn’t. 

Addendum Tweets

The Danger

Discussing Libertarians

Nation Building Fantasies

A Word About Trump

We should all be grateful a 20-year boondoggle is over. 

Instead, and as expected, people blame the person who got us out instead of Bush who put us there, or Obama and Trump who both pledged to get us out and failed miserably!

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Mike Shedlock

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118 Comments
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Oldest Most Voted
tbergerson
tbergerson
4 years ago
And now the useless nothing of a person pretending to be the President of the United States is compounding his incompetence.  When the Taliban come out and say “you will remove all of your troops by 9/11”, while – through the disastrously poorly planned exodus – we have 10 or 15 thousand Americans still there, the correct and immediate response is “We will take just as long as it takes to get everyone out of the country we need to get out.  We will not be dictated to by the Taliban”.  Or when asked whether we will stay past the arbitrary August 31st deadline to assist in the evacuation of the country by Americans, the correct response is “We will stay as long as necessary to evacuate all those who need evacuation”.  Not whatever mealy mouthed nonsense Jen Psaki said.
A REAL leader would say these things and be leading and in the spotlight.  Not hiding in some basement somewhere spooning their oatmeal into their gumless mouth whining that Mommy might come and make it all go away. 
Here is a prediction.  Biden will not be in office a year from now.  His Deep State Handlers will have seen to that.
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Mish2020
Mish2020
4 years ago
It truly is hilarious (and frankly pathetic) there’s any left describing anything Biden does as lucid. Wow. OK. Enjoy your fantasy I guess…
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prumbly
prumbly
4 years ago
The biggest lie in the speech was Biden saying that the mission in Afghanistan was to destroy Al Quaida and make sure that no future attacks could ever be launched from there again. So how does returning the country to the Taliban prevent future attacks?  Won’t Al Quaida in Afghanistan now be able to plan future attacks?
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prumbly
prumbly
4 years ago
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Now let the beheadings of our allies begin.
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Bungalow Bill
Bungalow Bill
4 years ago
Guys like @Wayne_Razzi are always quick to use the term “America hating Marxists.” They also are quick to put on the MAGA cap despite:

1. Donald Trump trampling all over personal property rights with executive order 13945.
2. Donald Trump promoting the redistribution of wealth with numerous programs like stimulus checks disguised as stimulus checks.

3. Donald Trump treading all over the Second Amendment with his push for red flag gun confiscation, bump stock ban, FIX NICS, and honey badger ban.

Something tells me Marx would applaud the Donald’s actions.

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brian henry
brian henry
4 years ago
You have stated BS is King ?
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numike
numike
4 years ago
how did the Taliban take back Afghanistan so fast?? As the mainstream media acts blown away at how easily the Taliban takes back Afghanistan, none of them seem to want to mention that two of the Taliban’s BIGGEST income streams for the past 20 years have been payments from the US government & opium (protected by the US).
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JONZDOG
JONZDOG
4 years ago
Not out yet!.   I’m hoping  line from Godfather hopefully will not haunt us…….”just when I thought I  was out and they pulled me back in”.  Will the lobbyists and think tanks send us back?  Hope not.  
STeven
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Maximus_Minimus
Maximus_Minimus
4 years ago
What a hoot. Not a single mention of Iraq, which both current and ex wholeheartedly supported.
Afghanistan started to go sour from there, and by regime change agenda all around.
Apparently, the US establishment hasn’t learned from that fact, and is bound to repeat the failures.
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oee
oee
4 years ago
I am glad he had the fortitude to level with American people about this failure. I am glad that he listened to Daniel Elsberg who wanted an American president to level with the American people . This was said 13 years ago when BHO extended the war in Afghanistan.
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amigator
amigator
4 years ago
Good Stuff! Nicely done JB!
And a little pat on the back of the king of the great inserection Trumpolini he’d did get this ball rolling!
He should have sign an agreement to get Pelosi out of office by Jan 7, 2021!
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meltdownman
meltdownman
4 years ago
It’s was a great and dandy speech until ISIS and their supporters decide to export their drugs and terrorism once again to the US.  The exported drugs alone will make any drug addictions caused by pharmaceutical company reps look like amateurs.  Again the US will live in fear and those in charge will keep us under their watchful eyes to make sure we comply.  Just give it time.  It will happen.  
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Tengen
Tengen
4 years ago
Reply to  meltdownman
The Taliban were burning the poppy fields pre-2001. We were the ones who turned the country (along with our Afghan puppet government) into a poppy plantation.
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Kick'n
Kick'n
4 years ago
I don’t think you’ve written an article I agree with more. Enough said…
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xbizo
xbizo
4 years ago
Really, there are only a couple of points here worth recognizing, Mish.  1) The U.S. should not be in the business of nation building, 2) the WH ignored the actual political will of the afghan culture and got played for two decades and 3) the current administration had eight months to figure out their exit strategy – more than enough time to adjust the Trump plan.  Leaving now is fine, but like this?
The questions after all of this chaos, human loss and abandonment of the Afghan friends that supported us – can we contain the new terrorist threat going forward?  How do we save our friends?  What’s the plan now?
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anoop
anoop
4 years ago
you guys are so gullible.  he just sent 7000 troops in.  why do you think he didn’t take any questions?
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LawrenceBird
LawrenceBird
4 years ago
Biden’s choice was as time expired on the Trump deal:  pull out completely or put 50-100K troops back in to fight against an estimated 80-100K Taliban fighters.  Lead balloon on the latter.
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bayleaf
bayleaf
4 years ago
Most Democrats and Republicans (including Trump) agree that we should withdraw troops. However, the only relevant thing Biden said regarding the fiasco in Afghanistan was that the buck stops with him.
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davebarnes2
davebarnes2
4 years ago
“What’s important is Biden ended the longest war in US history. “
Not true.
Our longest war was from 1917-1989 against the Russian Bolsheviks.
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  davebarnes2
A Chinese general several years ago gave a talk to some American counterparts and he said that the longest war the US fought was the three hundred war against the native Americans resulting in the conquering of North America. He seemed to admire how we took, the long view even before the Revolution.
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Corvinus
Corvinus
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
Sort of a tangent but I’ve always found it interesting how many Anglo-Germanic Americans will always say they are part Apache, Choctaw, Iriquois or some other Indian tribe. I’ve always had the suspicion that it is some sort combination of claiming the ‘mystique of the Indian’ mixed with legitimizing the conquest of the land by claiming some drop of lineage. Most of the people saying this look about as Indian as Elizabeth Warren.
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  Corvinus
It’s a common belief in those whose ancestors came in the 1600’s and 1700’s because at the time there was some intermarriage or concubinage white-indian. Since the early group breed like rabbits in the end a lot of people had some Indian ancestry albeit very small. Warren is different because she used it to get ahead. In my family there is supposed to be some Mohegan but it never would have come into my mind to use it the way she. 
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RonJ
RonJ
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
When the long view is all you have… The U.S. started out with 13 states bordering the Atlantic and adjacent territory.
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Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
We have 40 kids a day being admitted to hospital in Texas (as of 4 days ago) for COVID, which is about 10% of the kids who are getting sick enough to get tested. And school is starting this week.
Governor Abbott is going full retard, now having gotten his Trump-loving Republicans in the legislature to back him, as a well as our often-indicted-but-never-actually-convicted AG Ken Paxton…..and the Republican dominated (elected) Supreme Court. He has really doubled down on preventing schools from enforcing their own mask mandates, which is about the only tool they have to protect a vulnerable population that isn’t even eligible yet to get vaccinated.
This is not only monumentally stupid, it will have political consequences. When the dead kids’ faces start hitting social media, expect a shift in the thinking of the herd on this one. It’s just a matter of time.
School districts are giving Abbott the finger and just making the mask mandates anyway. I expect some pushback from the Evangelical parents, who expect God to protect their little progeny. 
If the chokehold the Trump base has on politics in the South can be broken, this is probably how it will happen.
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IB6
IB6
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
Sorry, but that is not true. mask mandates do not help. We can compare data from cdc website between Louisiana where there is a statewide mask mandate, and TX, where there is no mask mandate. LA: 97 cases/100K population; TX – 48 cases/100K population. Furthermore, I have not seen a peer-reviewed, clinical study showing that simple face masks work.
WRT to Mish article, I agree completely. Buck stops with current President, and while Obama and Trump failed, Biden delivered something which was 20 years overdue.
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Carl_R
Carl_R
4 years ago
Reply to  IB6
If masks work, they work by reducing the size of the initial dose of virus, which, while it would not reduce the number of cases, would reduce the number of severe cases. Unfortunately, you don’t have equal populations, with the same levels of diabetes, obesity, etc, and mask mandates tend to come and go, so it’s difficult to get any accurate comparisons.
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RonJ
RonJ
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
Just start prescribing Ivermectin and start treating patients, instead of leaving them to deteriorate to the point of winding up in the hospital.
This is on the FDA, not Abbot.
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Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
OT….COVID in kids is pretty worrisome, especially given the circumstances.
The thing that is going to get rid of the strength of the right’s populist base, imho,  is COVID. Our governor and his legislature, which he has at this beck and call, and his AG, and his Republican dominated Texas Supreme Court, are all committing political suicide by making their absurd stand against masking in schools….while the virus, which does not care, is infecting maybe 400 kids a day here in the state, among a cohort of the population that isn’t even eligible to be vaccinated. Look for it to get worse before it gets better.
School districts are giving Abbott and Paxton the finger, as they should.

“the state legislature got right back to the business at hand on Monday, resuming the special session aimed at giving Abbott and the Republicans the electoral safe-space they increasingly need. This is due at least in part because Abbott and his pet legislature have handled the pandemic so deftly that https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dallas-hospitals-pediatric-icu-beds-covid/__;!!Ivohdkk!xSGMbm0ssHgzdEqBopNaO02ldq7uYJzbFSWH9Ju1Wcd4gm0p45udxKYltnFMYboC%24 From CBS News:

“In Dallas, we have zero ICU beds left for children,” Jenkins said Friday at a virtual news conference. “That means if your child’s in a car wreck, if your child has a congenital heart defect or something and needs an ICU bed, or more likely if they have COVID and need an ICU bed, we don’t have one. Your child will wait for another child to die.” He said the same is true for pediatric ICU beds in the 19 surrounding counties as well, mentioning that young patients may have to be transported farther away for care.

“Your child will just not get on the ventilator,” he said. “Your child will be CareFlighted to Temple or Oklahoma City or wherever we can find them a bed, but they won’t be getting one here unless one clears and that’s been true for 24 hours.”

Meanwhile, on Monday morning, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/08/15/texas-supreme-court-blocks-lower-court-rulings-allowing-mask-mandates/8145434002/__;!!Ivohdkk!xSGMbm0ssHgzdEqBopNaO02ldq7uYJzbFSWH9Ju1Wcd4gm0p45udxKYltsQPNTcH%24 any mask mandate put in place by local city and town officials in defiance of Abbott’s preposterous executive order forbidding such mandates, a truly authoritarian measure that profanes any idea about “liberty” that it pretends to protect. Also from the A-S:

However, a growing number of local jurisdictions — including Austin, Travis County and numerous area school districts — have implemented mask mandates despite Abbott’s order as the highly contagious delta variant has produced a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections, overrunning intensive care units in adult and children’s hospitals across Texas. Many local mask requirements focused on schools because children under 12 lack access to the COVID-19 vaccine, and officials outside of Dallas and San Antonio said Sunday that they intended to continue enforcing mandatory masks.

Of course, this set off Governor Cartman, https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-attorney-general-paxton-aligned-in-defense-of-executive-order-prohibiting-mask-mandates__;!!Ivohdkk!xSGMbm0ssHgzdEqBopNaO02ldq7uYJzbFSWH9Ju1Wcd4gm0p45udxKYltg4bXLLU%24school boardshttps://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WptlIruczS0__;!!Ivohdkk!xSGMbm0ssHgzdEqBopNaO02ldq7uYJzbFSWH9Ju1Wcd4gm0p45udxKYltsSdU7BT%24. In this, he is joined by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“Under Executive Order GA-38, no governmental entity can require or mandate the wearing of masks,” said Governor Abbott. “The path forward relies on personal responsibility—not government mandates. The State of Texas will continue to vigorously fight the temporary restraining order to protect the rights and freedoms of all Texans.”

“This isn’t the first time we have dealt with activist characters. It’s deja vu all over again,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Attention-grabbing judges and mayors have defied executive orders before, when the pandemic first started, and the courts ruled on our side – the law. I’m confident the outcomes to any suits will side with liberty and individual choice, not mandates and government overreach.”

These two are priceless. For god’s sake, Paxton’s been under https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/19/ken-paxton-criminal-case-timeline-texas-attorney-general-fraud/ since 2015. Kids are getting sick and dying and there are no beds for them in the appropriate medical facilities and we get prattle from a governor with 2024 in his eyes and an indicted AG. Maybe you can reach higher office if enough bodies pile up beneath your feet. There are all kinds of cascades, after all, and some of them are not natural disasters.

FYI
As an aside, a lot of kids are getting RSV too, which is another nasty respiratory illness that puts kids in the hospital.  Where are the beds going to come from? ICU’s are full in Austin….as in completely full.
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bayleaf
bayleaf
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
The vaccine doesn’t prevent hospitalization. Ever consider the reason might be the thousands of Covid-19 carrying illegals that are bused to these cities?
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Casual_Observer2020
Casual_Observer2020
4 years ago
This morning even Russia and China are reluctant to recognize the Taliban and on the defensive. I guess no one believed the US would leave. 
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FromBrussels
FromBrussels
4 years ago
Reply to  Casual_Observer2020
Maybe, if necessary, Russia, its sphere of legitimate influence having borders with Afghanistan, will take care of things, after all THEY dealt with Isis in Syria in just a couple of months, a feat fatass US never achieved….probably because the US is a fn conniving doublecrosser with a quadruple agenda…
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Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
Afghanistan was a key part of why the Soviet Union fell. I wouldn’t expect Putin to commit a lot of resources there. He’s too smart for that.
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FromBrussels
FromBrussels
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
you are probably right but I don t think Russia can afford, and won t allow, Afghanistan to become a terrorism hotbed….Interesting times, but not in a positive way, I am afraid….and not only as far as Afghanistan is concerned… Well, maybe it s just me suffering paranoia, age related, possibly 😉
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
With the Ukraine problem not settled and tension with NATO the last thing Russia needs is to have to switch more resources to the Central Asia although if necessary they will do it. 
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Corvinus
Corvinus
4 years ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
I was a kid at the time but I seem to remember the Soviets had a tough time of it in Afghanistan with the Mujahideen or whatever it was called.
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jiminy
jiminy
4 years ago
Biden hit a homer on this one.  He actually looked like a president instead of a carnival clown.  Let’s not blame the carnival clown or Biden, the villain in this play is George Bush.  Bush was possibly the dumbest human or hominid that ever walked the earth.
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Casual_Observer2020
Casual_Observer2020
4 years ago
How the Taliban engineered ‘political collapse’ of Afghanistan
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hendogcu
hendogcu
4 years ago
Mish –
The idea of pulling out our troops is fine.  However, the implementation is what needs to be questioned. 
Why not evacuate all that aided us before we announce the pull-out?  10’s of thousands have been left behind.
These people have been left to be executed by the Taliban for their relationships with the US.
If you don’t think this haphazard evacuation will spawn a new wave of hate and future terror directed at the US, you are severely mistaken.
Actions like this is exactly what spawned Al-Qaida.  When we abandoned the Afghan forces we equipped to fight Russia during their 20-year Afghan boondoggle – Al Qaida was spawned…
Quit fawning over the speech – those are just words.  The total lack of planning, which is cowardly and incompetent, is what needs to be addressed.
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grazzt
grazzt
4 years ago
Reply to  hendogcu
US never abandoned the mujahedeen, they continued supporting them after the Soviets left. And those fighters were as bad or worse then the Taliban that eventually took power from them. US simply didn’t want communism getting a foothold in Afghanistan, so they sided with brutal muslim extremists over a more Western society being pursued by USSR. We’re all so concerned about women losing rights now the US has left, but that wasn’t an issue 30 years ago when we supported the fighters who were going to take those rights away.
Here’s a good read on part of US history in Afghanistan – https://consortiumnews.com/2021/08/16/hollywoods-dangerous-afghan-illusion-2/
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Scooot
Scooot
4 years ago

Not everyone thinks it was such a great speech.

I think @bennyjohnson ‘s comments are very valid as well.
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Casual_Observer2020
Casual_Observer2020
4 years ago
Reply to  Scooot
Taiwan isnt Afghanistan. Get a clue.
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Webej
Webej
4 years ago
Was there a civil war going on in 2001? No.
And all this time I’m told we were bombing schools and hospitals to make it safe for school girls?
The Americans will be remembered by the Afghanis as the villains and terrorists.
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Casual_Observer2020
Casual_Observer2020
4 years ago
Despite the chaos over the weekend it looks like Afghan civilians are being flown out today after Kabul airport reopened. 
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Bungalow Bill
Bungalow Bill
4 years ago
Clearly it was an America first speech the MAGA cult hates. Telling the world America is done wasting treasure, limbs, and lives trying to support a people who clearly don’t wish to help themselves.
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FromBrussels
FromBrussels
4 years ago
Reply to  Bungalow Bill
…the US ‘trying to support a people’ …Really ? … You gullible, or simple rather?
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Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
4 years ago
That Biden told you what you wanted to hear does not make it better.
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Bungalow Bill
Bungalow Bill
4 years ago
Reply to  Captain Ahab
Isn’t that what presidents do? I mean Trump told you all the time he was a big supporter of the Second Amendment only to push red flag gun confiscation, ban bump stocks, signed FIX NICS, and allowed his ATF to ban the honey badger without a fight. Of course, he told you what you wanted to hear and you bought into it.

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ajc1970
ajc1970
4 years ago
Reply to  Bungalow Bill

“Isn’t that what presidents do?”Yes, and we’re used to the partisan fools (whichever side) chirping along with “their” President.Mish doesn’t usually eat it up like this though.

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QTPie
QTPie
4 years ago
Those who don’t study history are doomed to something, something…

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a37316869/afghanistan-us-leave-taliban

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rktbrkr
rktbrkr
4 years ago
Mish I agree, Biden’s speech was historic.
The bad intelligence possibly bad military planning must be ferreted out. I wouldn’t rule out a trump holdover in intelligence feeding info up his chain of command hoping it would be used to lead to this sort of calamity. Flynn’s brother in Pentagon helped slow walk the 1/6 insurrection response, we could have fifth could have fifth columnists lingering in our midst.
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rktbrkr
rktbrkr
4 years ago
Running an orderly evacuation of US interpreters without a functioning Afgan government is an impossibility but leaving them behind is cruel. We need to take a pragmatic approach and pay the Taliban cash bounties to deliver these people safely to the airport, part paid to Taliban, part paid, cash in hand to the escort upon safe delivery. It should be a lot cheaper than maintaining a long term military evacuation effort and we can’t go pluck these people out of Afgan like armed Uber drivers.
The bounties will be a rounding error compared to what we’ve pissed away in 20 years.
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FromBrussels
FromBrussels
4 years ago
….with special thanks from Europe for creating  YET ANOTHER refugee crisis……MEGALOMANIAC BUNGLERS !
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QTPie
QTPie
4 years ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
Afghanistan has been a rolling refugee crisis for years with masses of Afghans already making their way overland to Europe in the past decade.
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
If Europe can’t or is not willing to protect it’s boarders then expect more people try to get in. Merkle wants to do another 2015 massive refugee settlement program. Thank your leaders for the wide-open boarders and don’t blame the US. 
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FromBrussels
FromBrussels
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
Howdeedough !…(sounds nice with a texan accent)  Seems like I don t ‘know’ you after all…I had expected you to remind me ‘how you saved us from fascism a odd 70 years ago’ but you didn t, thank gowd, I already got my answer ready when necessary.  Honestly Dough(my name is Patrick btw), I do think the US is to blame for the refugee crisis in the ME, of course you felt hurt for the first time since Pearl Harbour when your former terrorist allies flew into the towers because of some betrayal only the criminal CIA will have details about. A ‘insane and mindboggling’ 3000 victims was an awful lot for a smug, taking safety for granted, super power! You finally got yourself the ideal enemy and the moral motive to test your, since Vietnam untested, impressive  war arsenal on mostly innocent people…and that s what you did !  There would ve been NO need to protect our borders if the fatass US would ve steered clear of our fn backyard! Don t you and your french lady think so ?  
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
I was just reminding you of the way the world works. If you have something and you don’t defend it then someone will come and take it away therefore it is better to be big and powerful than small and weak. If you are weak like your country of Flanders you have to be good friends with someone who is powerful. Sure it sucks but that is life but on the positive side you can proclaim the injustice of it all on the internet. Belgium was neutral in WW I but Germany invaded anyway. The lesson is as the Athenians said to the Melians ““The strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must.”  
In France they make fun of the Belgium accent in French. Do the Dutch make fun of your accent too? I wonder.
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FromBrussels
FromBrussels
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
‘The weak Flanders’, ….or Belgium for that matter…fair enough, I am not a chauvinist like the French and Americans tend to be !  The way you speak is clear evidence and  confirmation that ‘syphilization’ is just a fn illusion, you ll agree with me.  The way things were in 2001, the US of A and its unwordly habitants had  hardly anything to fear apart from some relatively minor attacks by a few, mostly invisible  enemies created by the very US of A itself, possibly but rather unlikely  interrupting a far too smug unthreatened existence.  I notice you ve been doing your best recently catching up on belgian history, lemme tell you though that  Belgium was actually NOT so neutral in WW1, as it wouldn t allow the german army to cross Belgium in order to attack its french enemy before Germany would be attacked by  France’s russian ally…a plain stupidity all things well considered, but that s what life was like at the time and still is : ‘the enemy of my enemy can be my friend even if we are enemies.  What a fn stupid game when you come to think of it ! Apart from that, and on a more personal note, my short fused friend, I d like to inform you that MY french pronunciation is next to perfect, especially compared with Americans ‘trying’ to speak french,  although I do agree that some flemish people despite a sometimes perfect grammar and vocabulary don t care to pronounce a perfect french rrrr.  Allow me to assure you at the same time that the Dutch do NOT make fun of a flemish accent, they never do, they even like and admire it .  You don’t have to thank me but tell me,  ain t it just great to have a flemish friend informing you how things really are in your insignificant neighbouring country?  
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
Perfect French? A few months ago when I wrote to you in French you told me that you don’t speak or write it well. I thought it strange because I wrongly assumed that you were from Brussels. Now you say your pronunciation is perfect. Did you take lessons since then? I found your attempt at writing something in Texas English very strange and unsettling. Why would someone in Belgium want to write using Texas English and why did he direct it at me? I am not from Texas. I am from Ohio and Florida. If you want to address me in those accents then go ahead. I have been speaking and working in French since 1976 and I do have a small accent but French people can’t place it from where. Originally I wrote to you in French till you told me you are not very good in the language. French people and especially Parisians  like to make fun of regional accents. The worst to their ears is the Quebecois accent while I rather like it.  
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FromBrussels
FromBrussels
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
Ok , here we go, we were talking ‘pronunciation’ remember ?  My french vocabulary and grammar is indeed not fluent and perfect for lack of practice, I don t need a dictionary(or google) to translate though, writing takes some more time ,I do pronounce nicely though, I am good at languages in general, very good spanish too, I lived there as I probably told you.  I was just trying to be funny with the texas accent, that ‘s all, absolutely no offense there in case you thought so.  I don t care were you from either,but you ll agree with me that the Texas accent is quite remarkable,  ain’ t it ?  There are already too many conflicts in the world, no need for us to be ‘enemies’ because of trivial stuff, right ? 
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
Oh Ok. I will take it as humor then. Texas does have a distinctive accent I agree. Ohio is Midwestern and Florida since most are from somewhere else can be Midwestern on the western  coast, Cuban in the south, New Yorkish on the east coast and in the north of the state Old Southern. Yes let’s not get upset over trivialities. 
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FromBrussels
FromBrussels
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
Wish I did but I really don’t know a lot about The States …. 
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  FromBrussels
You should take a trip there, a month if you can and drive through it. If you stay in NY, LA or Washington you won’t understand much but if you see anywhere else you will understand a lot. 
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CristiC
CristiC
4 years ago
“We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong — incredibly well equipped — a force larger in size than the militaries of many of our NATO allies”
 
And now that force (except for 1000s which flew over the border into Tajikistan) has switched sides and work for Talibans.
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randocalrissian
randocalrissian
4 years ago
Reply to  CristiC
A great argument for never getting involved is that’s what has happened almost every time we try it. It happened last time the Afghans bought lots of imported weapons. We are accomplished at trying and failing at nation building and ending up with all the goods in the enemy’s hands. 
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Bagger
Bagger
4 years ago
Biden’s speech may have been technically “right”. Unfortunately, in politics, being “right” isn’t always enough. Here in the UK there is a slightly different narrative. Last month US strongly advised us to delay evacuations, especially of Afghan Nationals that had assisted UK during last 20 years, whilst we fought shoulder to shoulder alongside US troops. My youngest son was part of the “advanced” front line in Helmand Province. Fortunately, he returned alive, unlike many of his colleagues.
Now that the mad scramble to evacuate is taking place it appears to be a question of “everyman for himself”. US planes and troops are there to evacuate their own. We Brits and other NATO allies appear to have been forgotten by Biden and have to make our own arrangements (UK has sent over 700 troops in last few days to help).
Will UK public be keen to allow our troops to stand alongside US next time? Do the UK public appreciate Biden’s constant carping and threats about Northern Ireland and Brexit? He needs to remember who his friends are (or were) and support them.
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  Bagger
Biden said he is Irish and I am afraid that that colors his view of Great Britain. Don’t worry too much because he won’t be there long.
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Peter Turchin who some of you might know through his books has an interesting take on what Afghanistan could turn into. 
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Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
Interesting read.
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  Eddie_T
I never knew that the former president Ashraf Ghani wrote a book titled “Fixing Failed States” in 2009. That must have made him loved in certain academic circles.
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Corvinus
Corvinus
4 years ago
So Biden says the “buck stopswith me” but still wants to blame Trump’s deal that all of a sudden he’s incapable of reversing? Which is it?
“Let the Trump apologists and warmongers disagree, but it was Trump who left Biden with 2,500 troops, down from 15,500.  And that was 2,500 troops too many.”
Trump withdrew 85% of the troop presence but Shedlock seems to present this in a negative light while Biden getting the remaining 15% out is a marvelous achievement complete with accolades of brilliance?
What would have been brilliant would have been to at least provide cover and support to all those Afghanis that actually supported the American war effort only to be abandoned at the last minute.
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FloydVanPeter
FloydVanPeter
4 years ago
Reply to  Corvinus
@Corvinus, how would you suggest “covering and supporting” those Afghanis, who supported the American war effort? How would you determine who they actually are?
 
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Corvinus
Corvinus
4 years ago
Reply to  FloydVanPeter
Have a plan to evacuate those that want to leave and relocate them either to some third party nation with which we’ve made preexisting agreements for that purpose or give them US residency, perhaps depending on the nature and length of their service.
Every Afghan contractor has biometric data on file for identification purposes – this is exactly the kind of situation they use as an excuse to collect that data in the first place.
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Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
4 years ago
Reply to  Corvinus
Biden, the cluster-f*&k president has a plan for everything. 
FYI, the Gatling guns on 100 Wart Hogs (A10) could’ve locked up Kabal until the withdrawal was complete. 
Next up, US military academies will be teaching Retreat 101.
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Felix_Mish
Felix_Mish
4 years ago
I agree with @Mish about this speech. It covered the bases and explained things in simple, concrete terms. My estimate of Biden (spurred by his comments about Covid last year) is that he’s an Andropov-old, middle manager deep in Peter Principle territory. But this speech was presidential.
Now, as to those who fuss about him blaming others: He could have blamed congress. He could have blamed the public. He could have blamed the chattering class. He didn’t. And, BTW, the previous Democratic president was quite clear in support of Afghanistan (as opposed to Iraq). Why? I never heard a good reason. And, the previous president was clearly constrained by American politics. It was probably a miracle he got a real cease-fire and essentially removed American troops from Afghanistan without being hit with yet another impeachment farce.
You say, “Botched exit!”? Please point to where you described your most-excellent, alternative exit plans. Before now. Now is Monday morning and quarterbacking now is just blather. So, shut up, I explain.
A danger in the future will be that no matter what bad things happen in that area of the world, it’ll be because the US didn’t stay the course in Afghanistan. Or, at least, that’s what plenty of people paid for expressing their opinions will have us believe. They could be right. We’ll never know.
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Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
4 years ago
Reply to  Felix_Mish
You want exit plans:
Before withdrawing, that ‘previous President’ would have sent a clear message about advancing to the Taliban .prior to withdrawal completion. He would also back it up.
A smart president would’ve brought in a few hundred ground-attack planes (aka Wart Hogs) and decimated the Taliban advance BEFORE it reached Kabul.
As far as I can tell, Biden’s plan received no support from his military advisors beforehand. Maybe the Secretary of Health and Human Services thought it was a good idea?
Those people who say bad things will happen, are correct. It will not be just in the region. A weak and incompetent president is now very visible
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Casual_Observer2020
Casual_Observer2020
4 years ago
The administration obviously botched the exit but who seriously expected the Afghan army to lay down and the President to leave ? 
I voted for Clinton in 92 and 96 and didnt vote again until 2008 for Obama and Romney in 2012 and Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. Biden is the first president that is leveling with the American people and doesnt have a hidden agenda.  Today he hit it out of the park. If you cant handle the truth about Afghanistan then just go listen your echo chamber. Biden admitted even he screwed up but that the best way forward was to move forward now. He disagreed with the Bush/Obama/Trump and stuck to his conviction on Afghanistan which turned out to be proven right in a matter of days. The Afghan government and army gavr up on their own country in a matter of days after 20 years of support. 
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FloydVanPeter
FloydVanPeter
4 years ago
Reply to  Casual_Observer2020
Biden doesn’t have a hidden agenda on Afghanistan.
But, there is lots of things to hide in the those multi-T-USD bills (1T, 3T, …). 
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Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
4 years ago
Reply to  Casual_Observer2020
Voting for Obama indicates a low level of critical thinking skills.
Now, for the proof:
How do you know Biden does NOT have a hidden agenda? It’s HIDDEN!
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Tengen
Tengen
4 years ago
The more I think about this, the more I believe that Biden is a one term president. This isn’t because he loses in 2024, it’s because he won’t run. Somebody had to be the fall guy here and a fiasco of an Afghanistan exit was inevitable after two decades of rampant fraud and corruption.
Biden took one for the team today. I still completely agree with the exit regardless of the circumstances, but the American public is constitutionally incapable of accepting reality as unpleasant as this and the political establishment in DC knows it.
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Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
4 years ago
Reply to  Tengen
If hInd-sight is 20/20, predicting the future is blindness. Good luck!
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Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
Reply to  Tengen
I wouldn’t expect him to run again, but the idea that Kamala Harris will carry the torch for the Dems is looking less likely to me all the time. I expect them to field a worse candidate than Harris, and probably lose.
And if they do win, they’ll be even more socialist than they’re trying to be now.
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Esclaro
Esclaro
4 years ago
Not one of the war mongering apologists below can give one reason why any more AMERICAN blood should be shed when the Afghans themselves don’t give a hoot. It’s not our job to save the Afghans who refuse to fight from other Afghans! You want to fight the Taliban – don’t let me stop you – good luck but you are not doing it with our tax dollars and our boys!!!!
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Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
4 years ago
Reply to  Esclaro
One US fatality in the last few years, 58,000 Afghani soldiers dead.   Unless you are privy to inside information, I would not speculate on why the Afghan army failed. I am not privy to such information, however, by going here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Afghan_Air_Force_aircraft you will see that the air force is quite weak, mostly planes/helicopters from the 1980s.
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Eddie_T
Eddie_T
4 years ago
Reply to  Captain Ahab
The Afghan military, weak or strong, is not the reason Afghan fell in a few days.
I was SLIGHTLY surprised, I though it might take a couple of months….but it was always going to happen. It has far more to do with religion and culture than it does with who has the most weapons.
In a country that runs on tribalism and has a religion that reinforces repression and subjugation women, there was never any will for the typical Afghan male to fight (for instance) to protect the rights of women and girls. Among many who are not the talking heads interviewed in the US media, the ideas we consider important are superfluous claptrap. Religion and tribe are everything.
The way we think here is WAY more modern than the general population of Afghanistan thinks. Patriarchy s accepted as normal and correct, and praying five times a day, with a group of other men, is how they roll. 
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pimaCanyon
pimaCanyon
4 years ago
great post!  totally agree!
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Tengen
Tengen
4 years ago
All this hand-wringing about the optics is a bit strange. The Taliban would return to power easily no matter when we leave and regardless of how various personnel are evacuated. Isn’t that the point here, 20 years of constant lies and massive spending for nothing?
It seems too many Americans don’t care at all about reality as long as it can be edited to look good on television. The Afghanistan Papers should have tempered expectations for any graceful exit back in 2019.
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anoop
anoop
4 years ago
we can only consider it over when the 7000 troops he’s sending in now return back.
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Roto1711
Roto1711
4 years ago
Biden’s speech was right on, however the pullout was a bungled mess and Biden owned all of it, and he is still a buffoon, and a lot of innocent people who helped us are going to die in Afghanistan. Biden has blood on his hands. If Trump did what Biden did Mish certainly would not be praising the speech.
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Jackula
Jackula
4 years ago
I noticed a lot of comments about the messy US exit from Afghanistan. You folks are no students of history. The US withdrawal from Vietnam was far worse. My uncle’s Flying Tiger 747 was shot full of bullet holes airlifting one of the last batches of escapees out of Saigon and it was a very close call. The British withdrawal from the middle east in the 50’s and 60’s was no picnic either. At least the Taliban have a general no hostilities order in Kabul while the Americans clear out with their Afghan “friendlies”. This is about as clean as an exit that is gonna happen in these types of circumstances.
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njbr
njbr
4 years ago
The army walked away from their posts.
The president left on a helicopter with 4 cars stuffed full of cash.
20 years of war, death, bombings, maiming and torture by the taliban convinced no one to fight them.
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Dean2020
Dean2020
4 years ago
Would have been a brilliant speech delivered by Obama in 2009 with Biden by his side but he was part of the problem by sitting idle for 8 years as VP and never questioning our involvement.
Better late than never but too bad it cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
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indc
indc
4 years ago
When mish comments on politics is when I understand the utility of different specializations. Just because biden withdrew troops and gave statements supporting his decisions and Mish agrees with his decisions Biden turns into brilliant orator.
His decisions are all wrong. He said taliban will not take control of kabul for 6 months and they took over kabul in 72 hrs. People listening to their own echo chambers will take such stupid decisions.
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eths
eths
4 years ago
Reply to  indc
Whether you like it or not, and whether he truly believed it or not, it was definitively not possible to say otherwise at the time without creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
If he had said that Kabul would fall in 72hrs, or called for evacuation before, he would have been accused of being the source of Afghan’s soldier demoralization and Taliban’s win. By lying or not seeing the reality , he did gave them an opportunity to fight.
Sometimes there is no good way out of a bad situation.
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Tengen
Tengen
4 years ago
Reply to  indc
I think Biden was probably dumb enough to believe the Afghan government would hold longer, but he couldn’t say otherwise. People would have pounced on him if he said Kabul and the rest of the country would revert to Taliban control immediately. American politics do not allow for that level of honesty.
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Karlmarx
Karlmarx
4 years ago
Reply to  indc
A debacle is a debacle no matter how it is spun.  I would hate to be in Taiwan or Ukraine right now. Not much of a track record on supporting allies for the good ol usa
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  Karlmarx
If those countries act like the Afghan army and government did then there is no reason for us to use our armed forces to protect them.
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Karlmarx
Karlmarx
4 years ago
Reply to  Doug78
Totally agree. Problem is that history shows that we wont protect them.  Being a us ally is about as smart a thing to do as investing in dogecoin
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Doug78
Doug78
4 years ago
Reply to  Karlmarx
Western Europe would disagree to that considering WW I and WW II. 
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Jcbl
Jcbl
4 years ago
I am about as far from a Biden supporter as one can get but in this instance I am in complete agreement with him.  I have said to friends for weeks that I at least give Biden credit for withdrawing as he said he would.  The fact that the Afgan military would not fight and let the country fall so quickly and tragically is to my mind just support for his position.  
Are the pictures of the withdrawal ugly?  Yes of course they are but as a Vietnam vet I can assure you that the alternative would be equally ugly and much longer lasting. 
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