The picture of President Biden stealing a glance at his watch Sunday during a solemn ceremony for the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan says it all: Biden can’t deal with the reality of what he’s wrought; he’s desperate to move on.
What a dishonorable end to America’s longest war.
The last service member left Afghanistan late last night local time, and the Taliban took over the airport. But Biden already has his mind on other issues and is ignoring the damage he’s caused: the deaths of those 13 heroes and nearly 200 Afghans. The untold number of Americans and allies who have been left behind. The fact that his withdrawal puts Afghanistan in the hands of Taliban terrorists who protected al Qaeda after 9/11. The likelihood of new terrorists emerging there.
And, of course, the monumental humiliation and loss of trust he’s caused for America across the globe.
Indeed, on Sunday, after talking to reporters about Hurricane Ida, he refused to answer any questions at all about Afghanistan. Better to simply wave it away.
This has long been the way Biden’s viewed Afghanistan — and much else. It’s the reason his pullout is so botched: He decided early on that troops would be gone by Aug. 31 no matter what, even while claiming there’d be no “hasty rush to the exit.” The withdrawal would happen “responsibly, deliberately and safely.” It was “highly unlikely” the Taliban would take over soon, and there was “no circumstance” where helicopters would be needed to evacuate people from the US Embassy.
That was all fantasy, of course. “There has been no plan. Their plan has basically been happy talk,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, fumed Sunday. “People have died and people are going to die because President Biden decided to rely on happy talk instead of reality.”
It also explains why Biden was vacationing at Camp David and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Hamptons as Kabul fell. They actually believed their own p.r.
And despite all the chaos and bloodshed since — and the dark days ahead — they’re still indulging their delusions: Asked by ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Sunday what he’d tell Americans and Afghans about leaving the country after the airport closes, Blinken cited a “senior Taliban spokesman” who’s “repeatedly reassured the Afghan people” they’d be free to travel after Aug. 31. Oh, and “the international community intends to hold the Taliban” to their commitments.
Real-world translation: You’re on your own, folks. Good luck getting out!
The president similarly closes his eyes to the likelihood of a resurgence of terrorism in Afghanistan, pulling out every last US troop instead of leaving a small force behind to provide eyes (and boots) on the ground. He claims “over the horizon” US counterterrorism can keep a lid on it. Yet even with US troops still in the country, ISIS-K terrorists have already launched at least three terror attacks just through Sunday.
Afghanistan isn’t the only issue where Biden & Co. view the world the way they’d like to see it rather than how it really is: They claimed there’s no crisis on the southern border, calling it merely a “challenge” that would abate when the weather warms. Instead, the number of migrants only went up as temps rose — and even Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas now admits the situation is “unsustainable.”
Biden and his fellow Dems claim inflation is only temporary, even as it’s inched up for months. And they’re focusing on their $3.5 trillion spending plan — a subject they can’t wait to turn to — even though there’s no pressing need for it and despite the economic damage it’s likely to cause.
Biden’s “happy talk” cost lives, jeopardized Americans’ safety and now threatens the nation’s economy. And none of that will change until he comes to grips with reality.