Trump’s Perfect Plan
We need to remember and not rewrite history again
Donald Trump has stated how he would have handled the evacuation from Afghanistan perfectly. I beg to differ. In 2019 the United States stepped back and allowed Turkey to invade northern Syria to attack our Kurdish allies. The result was the release of many ISIS prisoners. Far from perfect.
Donald Trump left the Afghanistan withdrawal to Joe Biden, not because he had a plan, but because he knew it would be messy. He now can say it didn’t happen on my watch. Pointing fingers is what Donald Trump is good at.
I have a problem with this.
In early 2020, he blamed the coronavirus pandemic on a lack of a plan by the Obama administration. At the time he had been president for 3 years. Trump’s greatest asset is to blame others for problems. His business fix of choice is to declare bankruptcy for a failed enterprise, leaving others to pick up the pieces as he walks away to his next debacle.
Why isn’t more being reported about the peaceful transfer of power?
If Trump had such a perfect withdrawal plan, as an outgoing president it was his duty to transfer that plan to the Biden administration. He spent his time encouraging insurrection with Jan 6th being the result. For the first time in our history an outgoing president refused to acknowledge his defeat.
The result an Afghanistan withdrawal which is a disaster. Does Biden and his administration deserve some blame? Yes, but less than 8 months after taking office without a peaceful transfer, he also was at a disadvantage.
The post mortem must include these facts as well.
Our status as world leader has been tarnished.
Throughout the Trump presidency, he cozied up with dictators. His work with our NATO partners and allies disrupted decades of trust. Trust is what builds alliances. That trust has been broken resulting in us being more isolated in a global economy than any time since World War II.
Afghanistan does not help. Allies and afghan civilians who helped us over 20 years will be left in uncomfortable, probably unsafe conditions. Our word is no longer solid.
This trust took decades to build. In 4 years of Donald Trump our allies are quite rightly looking for alternatives to United States. The humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan can not help but weaken us further.
Biden’s initial statement was.
This happened on my watch. This is my responsibility. That is presidential in a way that Donald Trump never was and never will be. And yes he did hint that Donald Trump bore some responsibility.
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