Biden deserves ample criticism for a clumsily executed, poorly planned evacuation in Afghanistan. (We will see whether he can atone for it in the follow-up rescue.) But he should also receive credit for calling out the military’s dissembling over 2 decades washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Much of the blame for the failure to produce a competent Afghan army falls on the United States for its ill-conceived training programs, constant churn of leadership and cultural tone deafness. But the Afghans deserve blame, too.
the military concealed this doomed effort from decision-makers, who were told success was around the corner. Three presidents bought that falsehood, as did Congress, outside consultants and numerous pundits who were drawn into the “just give us more time and men” canard.
He wasn’t being discourteous to the Afghan military or blame-casting when he told Americans on Monday that the Afghan army lacked the will to fight. He was treating Americans like adults deserving of the unvarnished truth.
We deserve to know who was deliberately misleading and who was merely obtuse. It won’t prevent future debacles, but it might help us catch on quicker when we’re being misled.
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