We didn’t want to talk about it the same day, but what President Joe Biden managed to launch during the twentieth anniversary of 9/11.
He clearly foresaw that his Afghan withdrawal would allow for a triumphant speech on the twentieth anniversary of the world’s deadliest terrorist strike. But he was so determined to avoid the political end of America’s longest war, as the country commemorated the attack that provoked him that it provoked national humiliation.
It should be noted that Biden extended the deadline to leave, until the combat season, allowing the Taliban to plan an offensive that made it appear that they were leading the United States towards retreat. Then, when the Afghan army collapsed, deprived of air support and its morale shattered by events such as the abandonment of Bagram Air Base in the middle of the night by the United States, it stubbornly clung to its deadline imposed by himself even after it became clear ”. it would mean abandoning Americans and allies.
Its debacle leaves the Taliban much stronger than on September 11, 2001, and increases the risk of terrorism around the world by al-Qaeda and related groups.
And to think that he turned his supposedly famous experience in foreign policy as the central axis of his campaign.
The Taliban established their Islamic emirate in 1996, but never had full control of the country: U.S. special forces that helped overthrow them relied on the northern resistance. But this year’s resistance faced a force enriched by the vast U.S. arsenal abandoned in the Biden-ordered retreat: thousands of armored vehicles and dozens of planes confiscated from the Afghan army. The United States delivered seven helicopters in July alone, just a month before the Taliban’s acquisition.
In the rush to evacuate, the United States even left biometric data on millions of Afghans, allowing the Taliban to identify and kill or torture their enemies, those who risked their lives working alongside the forces. of the coalition during the 20-year war. .
The Biden team continues to claim that the Taliban have reason to be better as they seek international legitimacy for their new government. Hah! Provisional leaders are the same old monsters: as Thomas Joscelyn, a member of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, points out, “More than a dozen of them were first sanctioned by the UN Security Council. at the beginning of 2001 “.
And many have links to al-Qaeda. The new interior minister is Sirajuddin Haqqani, a member of the FBI’s most wanted list, with a reward of millions of dollars at his head as the leader of the Haqqani network, especially brutal and linked to al-Qaeda, known to the his videos of mass beheading. as well as the 2011 siege of the U.S. embassy complex in Kabul that resulted in the deaths of 16 Afghans.
Biden declared al Qaeda dead, although the Treasury Department noted just before taking office that the terrorist group has been “gaining strength in Afghanistan while continuing to operate with the Taliban under Taliban protection.” In June, the UN Security Council reported that al-Qaeda is active in at least 15 of the country’s 34 provinces.
Nor is it the only Islamic terrorist outfit that supports the Taliban. Biden repeatedly mentions, for no apparent reason, that ISIS-K is the sworn enemy of the Taliban. But the truth about the group that killed 13 members of the U.S. service and hundreds of Afghans last month is much more complicated. As security expert Sajjan M. Gohel wrote in Foreign Policy, “In fact, there has been a tactical and strategic convergence between the Islamic State-Khorasan and the Haqqanis, if not the entire Taliban.”
Ken McCallum, the head of the UK’s MI5 intelligence agency, warns that the Taliban victory could have “encouraged” terrorists to carry out future 11/11 attacks.
Biden had to undo his planned “I ended the war” speech for the 9/11 anniversary. Instead, he headed to the solemn day with a different offer to claim leadership – about COVID. All the first signs suggest that the plot will not work better.
The nation needs its president to stop playing politics with vital decisions and start leading.