Quote of the Day

There is no evidence that a withdrawal under Trump would have been [according to a statement by Trump] “much more successful” than it’s going under Biden. Trump’s swift withdrawal of a small contingent of peacekeeping troops from Syria in October 2019, leaving Kurdish allies open to Turkish slaughter, suggests that Trump would have been no more discerning about protecting Afghans. (The Kurds had been instrumental in helping U.S. troops crush ISIS in northern Syria.)

Trump’s statement will no doubt be parroted by congressional Republicans and conservative pundits in the coming weeks and months. When Biden first announced his withdrawal in April, his critics were nonplussed. Trump, after all, had long called for a pullout; in fact, he initially supported Biden’s decision. Even as the Taliban began routing Afghan security forces and taking over whole provinces earlier this summer, critics remained unsure of how to respond, especially since polls showed a vast majority of Americans agreed with Biden’s move.

Now, however, the critics have received the word from their leader-in-exile: withdrawal isn’t a bad thing, but withdrawal under Trump would have been “much more successful” and “conditions-based.” [In reality, the “peace accord” that Trump’s emissaries signed with the Taliban in February 2020 imposed only a few conditions – and the Taliban are violating none of them at the moment.] When things worsen in Afghanistan, as they almost certainly will, this will be their mantra for attacking Biden’s foreign policy – and for absolving themselves of complicity.

– Fred Kaplan
Excerpted from “Trump’s New Big Lie: Afghanistan”
Slate
August 13, 2021

Above: People move towards the Kabul airport in their effort to leave the capital – Monday, August 16, 2021. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images)

Above: A family sits along the tarmac as they wait to leave the Kabul airport – August 16, 2021. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images)

Above: Over 600 people crammed aboard a U.S. Air Force transport plane at Kabul’s international airport. The cargo jet is capable of carrying 77,564 kilograms of cargo but is only designed for 134 soldiers. The captain and crew were overwhelmed by the number of Afghans on board yet made the decision to leave with all on board rather than force people off. (Defense One)

Above: Taliban fighters take control of the presidential palace in Kubal after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country – Sunday, August 15, 2021. (Zabi Karimi/AP)

Above: Pakistani soldiers, right, check stranded Afghan nationals at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman – Friday, August 13, 2021. (AFP via Getty Images)


Related Off-site Links:
Chaos and Collapse in Afghanistan: How Did the U.S. Not See It Coming? – NPR News (August 16, 2021).
Why We Failed: The American Exit From Afghanistan – Bari Weiss, et al (Bariweiss.Substack.com, August 16, 2021).
Biden: “I Do Not Regret My Decision” to Withdraw From Afghanistan – Domenico Montanaro and Franco Ordoñez (NPR News, August 16, 2021).
GOP Quietly Deletes Praise for Trump-Taliban Deal From RNC Website – James Devaney (TruthOut, August 16, 2021).
Calls to Aid Afghan Refugees in “Grave Danger” Grow Following Biden’s Address – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, August 16, 2021).
UN Experts Urge Immediate Action to Protect Human Rights and Prevent “Slaughter of Civilians” in Afghanistan – Kenny Stancil (Common Dreams, August 16, 2021).
Afghanistan: We Never Learn – Matt Taibbi (TK News, August 16, 2021).
Afghanistan Meant Nothing – Laura Jedeed (Medium, August 15, 2021).
As the Taliban Sweeps Into Power in Afghanistan, a Look Back at How the U.S.-led War Began – Priyanka Boghani (PBS Frontline, August 16, 2021).
The War in Afghanistan Cost America $300 Million Per Day for 20 Years, With Big Bills Yet to Come – Christopher Helman and Hank Tucker (Forbes, August 16, 2021).
Diplomacy, Not Bombs: Anti-War Voices Say Afghanistan Shows Need to Stop Any Further March to War – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, August 16, 2021).

UPDATES: Surrender or Withdrawal: The Afghanistan Contradiction – Ryan Grim (The Intercept, August 17, 2021).
When Will We Stop Letting Our Presidents Lie America Into Wars? – Thom Hartmann (Common Dreams, August 17, 2021).
A Hell of Our Own Making: Reflections on the Road to Kabul – Edward Snowden (Reader Supported News, August 17, 2021).
Taliban Vow “No Revenge” Against Fellow Afghans Who Worked With US Forces – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, August 17, 2021).
“People Are Thirsty for Peace”: Afghans Wary of Taliban as Group Vows to Uphold Rights – Democracy Now! (August 18, 2021).
Afghanistan and America: Bloodlust and the Failure of Prophetic Imagination – Wendell Griffen (Baptist News, August 18, 2021).
This War Needed to End – William J. Barber II (The Atlantic, August 19, 2021).
Afghan-Led Coalition Gives Biden Administration a Blueprint to “Prevent Further Harm” to People of Afghanistan – Kenny Stancil (Common Dreams, August 20, 2021).
Will Americans Who Were Right on Afghanistan Still Be Ignored? – Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies (Common Dreams, August 20, 2021).
For the Seventeenth Time, Afghanistan Was Never “Winnable” – Mike Lofgren (Common Dreams, August 21, 2021).
The Lessons the U.S. Will Probably Not Learn from Afghanistan – Robert Freeman (Common Dreams, August 21, 2021).
How to Help People in Afghanistan and Your Local Afghan Community – Edwina Seselja (ABC News, August 21, 2021).
Who’s to Blame for Afghanistan? – Peter Van Buren (The American Conservative, August 23, 2021).
The U.S. Endgame in Afghanistan Was Mineral Extraction, Not Democracy – Nadia Ahmad (Common Dreams, August 25, 2021).
The “War on Terror” Scam Continues – Caitlin Johnstone (Popular Resistance, August 27, 2021).
I Fought in Afghanistan – And Want to Stop Similar Wars Before They Start – Rory Fanning (Jacobin, August 27, 2021).
Contrasting U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan With Trump’s Abrupt Departure From Syria – Juan Cole (Common Dreams, August 29, 2021).
We Waged War in Afghanistan; We Did Not Wage Peace – Marianne Williamson (Transform, August 29, 2021).
Last Plane Carrying Americans From Afghanistan Departs as Longest U.S. War Concludes – Rebecca Shabad and Shannon Pettypiece (NBC News, August 30, 2021).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Phyllis Bennis on the Crisis in Afghanistan
• Saying “No” to Endless U.S. Wars
• A Letter to “Dear Abby” re. Responding to 9/11
• Remembering September 11 and its Aftermath

Opening image: People climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport to depart – Monday, August 16, 2021. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images)