Ever since President Biden made the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, it has fallen into the control of the terrorist group, the Taliban. Worse yet, somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 American citizens are still trapped in this terrorist-controlled country, according to Pentagon Joint Staff member Major General William Taylor. According to the President and White House staffers, the withdrawal did not go as expected as the Taliban has attacked sooner than the US had planned. Make no mistake, this is a crisis. Any other word to describe this would be a massive understatement, and despite many politicians flocking to defend the president, the execution of the withdrawal was poor.
(Photo by Wakil Koshar)
Joe Biden’s approval rating tanked as a direct result of this, with USA Today reporting that 41% of the nation approves of the job he has done, while 55% percent disapproves, with 4% being unsure. What seems to irk people more than anything is his refusal to accept any form of responsibility. Don’t be fooled, while he may claim that “the buck stops with me” and that “I stand behind my decision”, he is quick to shift the responsibility for his decision onto former President Trump or the Afghan Government. To make matters worse, there seems to be a denial of any wrongdoing in the White House for the President’s strategy failing. Even Press Secretary Jen Psaki says that calling Americans in Afghanistan “stranded” is “irresponsible”. Psaki butted heads with Fox White House Correspondent Peter Doocy over the use of the word stranded, Newsweek has published the following regarding the exchange:
“Doocy, who is White House correspondent for Fox News, asks her: "Does the president have the sense that most of the criticism is not of leaving Afghanistan it's the way that he has ordered it happen by pulling the troops before getting these Americans that are now stranded. Does he have a sense of that?”
“Psaki responds: "First of all, I think it's irresponsible to say Americans are stranded. They are not. We are committed to bringing Americans who want to come home. We are in touch with them via phone, via text, via email, via any way we can possibly reach Americans to get them home if they want to return home.”
Her statement is questionable. These are American citizens who are trapped in a foreign land, occupied by terrorists, with no way to return home. Stranded is exactly the correct word to use. The Biden administration continues to say that the plan is to have all US citizens out of Afghanistan by August 31st, while considering staying longer just in case this goal is not met. A spokesperson from the Taliban has announced that all US forces must be gone by August 31st or there could be “consequences.” A little over $80 billion worth of weaponry has fallen into the hands of the Taliban, making them more dangerous and they have officially seized the capital of Kabul with them, making their threats very real.
(Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta)
At home, many politicians have praised Biden for his decision to leave Afghanistan, despite the massive fallout surrounding it. Such people include Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who either haven’t seen what has happened because of this decision or simply don’t care, Their applause for Biden’s handling of Afghanistan is a far cry from what the American people think, with only 25% believing that it has gone well, and 57% who disapprove of the President’s handling of the crisis and 18% being unsure. Long story short, a majority of Americans view his handling of the withdrawal poorly and the President only seems to dig his heels in and shirk any form of responsibility, claiming that history will remember his withdrawal as “logical, rational, and right”. We’ll see how well his handling of this ages, but until then, let’s bring our citizens home before August 31st.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcomed. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Katherine Montgomery kmontgomery2@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
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