Why shouldn’t we call a spade a spade? This is Biden’s Saigon Moment

There is one key difference here. Biden is (D) and is supported by a left-wing democratic party. True, the decision to withdraw was initiated by President Trump. It was a bad idea under Trump, and it has become a national disgrace under Biden. The incumbent cannot blame his predecessor here, this is not a policy that takes months or years to reverse, like many in economic policy. In his first day in office Biden reversed with the stroke of a hand many Trump policies and he could easily have ordered a reappraisal of why and how to leave Afghanistan.

Twenty years after 9/11, after investing (squandering?) over 2 Trillion dollars and thousands of lives of its servicemen and contractors, the US is leaving Afghanistan, less than emptyhanded, humiliated and with its reputation in tatters.

As the Taliban conquer the presidential palace, and the US send helicopters to evacuate its embassy, the memories of Vietnam become vivid. If there was a Republican at the white house, the media would have crucified the president presiding over this terrible precedent that the US is showing to allies and foes. One could argue that in recent years the Afghanistan campaign was highly successful in terms of costs vs benefits. The US only had less than 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, and hasn’t suffered a human loss in about a year and a half. In life it is usually not prudent to throw good money after bad, but protecting one’s investment on the cheap seemed the better strategy here…