Quote:
Originally Posted by SiMor29
What the **** have they been doing there for 20 odd years when it can all be undone in the space of a couple of days?
Based on what I have read, everyone knew that the withdrawal of U.S. forces -- whether it occurred now, six months from now, or two years from now -- would lead to encroachment by the Taliban.
The only question in the minds of knowledgeable people was the extent of Taliban rule and speed of the encroachment. Even Biden, it seems, was expecting that the Taliban would control a sizeable part of the country within six months or so.
I'm not sure why Biden thought this would occur more slowly and less completely than it did. And I would be very curious to know what he was being told by people on the ground re those points.
I don't know nearly enough about troop withdrawal to have any comments on execution, but I share the general sentiment that better execution than this must have been possible.
In the foreseeable future, I don't think we ever had a prayer of leaving Afghanistan in the hands of a functional, stable government that could maintain control over the entire country without U.S. support.
The real question for Biden was whether to resign himself to the prospect that U.S. troops would be in Afghanistan for his entire presidency. Telling the public that there was no timeline to withdraw would have been unpopular and contrary to what he said over the last two years, but it probably would have been the best decision.