Afghanistan deadline

[Skybird]

The quite left-leaning Süddeutsche Zeitung writes this, and I almost completely agree wit everything in it (doesnt happen often with the SZ):

Nobody will claim that US President Joe Biden did everything right in withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan. Not even he himself would. But just as wrong are those who now say that he did everything wrong. It is true that Biden's name will forever be associated with the inglorious end of the 20 year long war, with all the terrible images that are going around the world and will be remembered for a long time. But it's not just his fault. -

Four presidents have sat in the White House since 2001, two Republicans and two Democrats. George W. Bush started the war based on the 9/11 attacks, which will soon be the 20th anniversary. Even under his leadership it became clear that the USA would not win this war. Bush's successor Barack Obama couldn't bring himself to withdraw at first, just as he couldn't bring himself to do so much - by the way, although his Vice President Biden advised him to end his American engagement at the time. Then Obama decided to withdraw most of the combat troops by 2014, although the US Air Force and special forces continued to support Afghanistan's army. -

Obama, arguably the most intellectual US president in recent history, has often been a procrastinator. His successor Donald Trump, arguably the least intellectual US president in recent history, had agreed with the Taliban to withdraw American troops, but failed to negotiate any significant consideration in return. The main thing was just to get a deal - any deal. Trump had even promised to withdraw the troops by May 1st - Biden is right when he says that his predecessor's agreement left him little choice but to initiate the withdrawal. Trump had even promised to withdraw the troops by May 1. Biden then slowed the process down a bit, hoping to make a halfway orderly transition. This hope has not been fulfilled, on the contrary. It is a withdrawal accompanied by death and suffering, fear and anger, and for this Biden, as commander in chief of the armed forces, must take responsibility. -

When, after several days of silence, the president turned to the nation on Monday to justify his actions, he posed this question in the room: Why should US troops continue fighting a war that the Afghan troops apparently do not want to fight themselves ? -

On the one hand, it looked as if Biden, like a bad loser, was pointing his finger at an apparently unwilling army in order to shift the blame from itself. On the other hand, there is also something to it. The Americans worked hard to train the Afghan army. They invested billions of dollars and provided the equipment. The Afghan army and national police comprised 300,000 soldiers; they outnumbered the Taliban by more than four times. Could it really be expected that they would offer next to no resistance? -

Biden has been the White House's most experienced foreign policy maker for at least half a century. He saw the end of the Vietnam War as a young senator. Even so, he was told not to have learned anything from history. That's not true.
Precisely because of the experience from Vietnam, Biden had long been in favor of the trigger. He wanted and wants to recalibrate US foreign policy and focus more on the relationship with its major rivals China and Russia. He believes it has long played into the hands of these nations that the US invested gigantic resources in the Hindu Kush that were lacking elsewhere. -

There is no question that good arguments can be found for the trigger. The majority of US politicians in both parties have been in favor of this for years. It was no longer possible to convey to the American people that the country was waging a never-ending war on the other side of the world. Many supporters of Trump and Biden even agreed on this subject. The majority of people in the United States should therefore be in favor of Biden's approach. -

However, the way it was withdrawn is a complete disaster. Biden had decided on the symbolic date of September 11th by which he would bring the American troops home. He put himself under unnecessary time pressure, which the Taliban used mercilessly. It would have made sense to withdraw, in the course of which it is first ensured that the many Afghan aid workers are brought to safety. -

Herein lies the greatest failure of the United States, and with it Biden, too: that so many who stood on America's side are now being left in the lurch. On the one hand, this will shake the trust of current and potential future allies around the world. On the other hand, the USA's claim to leadership, at least in terms of self-perception, has always been a moral one. This has been forfeited for the time being.