Two years ago this month, we watched in horror as Kabul fell to the Taliban and America’s two-decade involvement in Afghanistan came to a hasty and chaotic end. Nearly twenty years of great sacrifice protecting our nation from those that intend us harm, it ended with the deaths of thirteen American service members, the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan, and a complete reversal back to the harsh reality of Taliban control for the people of Afghanistan.
I lost faith in our nation’s leadership on that dreaded day. When President Biden announced his intent to begin an accelerated withdrawal from Afghanistan, many warned him of the consequences, and those of us who served in Afghanistan knew the potential of tragic outcomes. A chorus of experts urged Biden to take his time and methodically withdraw Americans and those Afghans who risked their lives along our side. But Biden gambled with those American lives, our nation’s greatest treasures, in his hasty withdrawal, and we all lost.
Biden’s withdrawal undermined all the progress made in Afghanistan over the course of two decades. The Taliban immediately resumed control of Afghanistan, giving them free rein to repress and abuse women, execute detractors, and commit various atrocities. As a direct result, the region became less stable, less prosperous, and the world more dangerous. It makes America weak.
President Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is, without a doubt one of the worst foreign policy disasters in American history.
As we look back two years later, here is what we know:
President Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was determined not by the conditions on the ground but by his own political whims. Rather than studying the situation in Afghanistan and implementing a thoughtful course of action, the Biden Administration accelerated the withdrawal to meet an arbitrary deadline and create a photo-op for himself.
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In the lead-up to the withdrawal, the Biden Administration certainly valued optics and political wins most. But they violated the most sacred of sacred promises between a government and its service members. Our oath is that we “will be loyal to the United States, the President, and the officers appointed over me.” We expect to enter a sacred agreement where we are willing to sacrifice everything we have and that our President will never take this lightly nor put us in unnecessary danger because of personal political gain. He broke his promise.
The deaths of our thirteen service members were preventable. The humanitarian and geopolitical disaster that has unfolded in Afghanistan over the last two years was avoidable.
We armed the Taliban with the latest and greatest equipment – weapons, vehicles, and helicopters. He created an Army – an Army intent on destroying America.
And yet today, too many other questions remain unanswered. The Biden Administration continues to stonewall Congress and gaslight the American public. The thirteen Gold Star families who lost loved ones in Kabul are still in the dark, even as they beg for answers about their loved ones' final moments. Our families deserve better.
In April, the White House released its first report reviewing the withdrawal from Afghanistan. This memo gave the Administration an opportunity to examine their failures, take responsibility for their mistakes, and implement procedures to ensure a preventable disaster of this magnitude never happens again. Instead, the White House once again refused to hold itself or anyone accountable.
Our military is built on trust and loyalty. It is composed of volunteers willingly serving this great country. Overnight, Biden destroyed this ideal. It makes you wonder why DOD recruiting is at the lowest it’s been in 50 years since we became a volunteer force. We can’t fill the ranks. Who wants to serve when we can’t trust the Commander in Chief?
It has been two years since we saw Kabul fall, but for the Gold Star families, the wounds of this disaster will remain forever. For veterans like me and many I served with in Afghanistan, Biden is unforgivable for what he’s done. The nightmare continues for our Afghan allies, who are still struggling to flee their homeland. President Biden will never take responsibility for the many ways he failed those who perished, but of this, I am sure: history will remember forever.
Never, never, never, never, never, never forget those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation because we can never repay them.
Colonel David Trotter is Retired United States Army. He is a graduate of Iowa State University and was raised in Altoona, Iowa. COL Trotter is a Board Member of The Bastion Institute a non-profit focused on American strength abroad and why it matters to everyday Americans at home. Learn more at TheBastionInstitute.com.
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