Five years ago, on April 14, 2021, President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. Just five weeks later, that country was in the hands of the hated Taliban.
The Fall of Kabul
President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 911 terror attacks. The mission was simple: kill al-Qaeda terrorists, eliminate the Taliban leaders who gave them shelter and sanctuary.
The operation quickly turned into a quagmire after 20 years of combat. Twenty years ago, President Biden vowed to remove all US troops on August 15, 2021, two weeks before American soldiers were set to withdraw. The Taliban entered Kabul. The US-backed government collapsed. The country’s president vanished with a whole load of money. Thousands fled the capital city as a disaster unfolded on live TV.
President Biden hailed the operation as “an extraordinary success” on August 31, 2021.
“The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery, and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.”
Ten days after Biden’s address, a suicide bomber killed 170 civilians and 13 members of the US military at Kabul International Airport.
The Pentagon launched an immediate investigation into the botched withdrawal of US troops. A special inspector general concluded the mission was doomed from the start, states his report, “withdrawal was abrupt and uncoordinated, the US simply handed Afghanistan to the Taliban. The operation destroyed the morale of Afghan soldiers and police.”
In total, America’s war in Afghanistan claimed the lives of 100,000 Afghans, 30-800 US contractors, and 2500 service members, and a family, mostly children, was accidentally killed by a U.S. drone. Little was accomplished, unless you believe that giving the Taliban all of our weapons was an accomplishment.
via Bill O’Reilly
