For the past few weeks, something has overtaken Covid in the news cycle—the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. It is something that should have happened a long time ago. However, the incompetence and loss of life surrounding American extrication from the Afghan theatre of war and how it was done, are frankly hard to comprehend. But how does this compare to other Presidential actions?
1. Bay of Pigs
In 1961, the CIA had a plan ready, hatched under the Eisenhower administration the previous year. Its goal was to overthrow Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro with an invasion of Cuban exiles from Florida. President Kennedy authorized the plan but wanted it kept secret and without any linkage to his government.
The invasion at the Bay of Pigs didn't surprise Cuban forces. Castro's forces were waiting for the exiles who botched it––the "invasion" failed. Castro's forces captured the majority of the exiles. In the end, President Kennedy went on television and stated," the final responsibility is mine", for the failed attempt. For being honest and candid, Kennedy's favourability went up with the American public.
2. U.S. Withdrawal From Viet Nam
In 1973, President Richard Nixon had negotiated an accord between the Communist North Vietnamese and the south. Because of the Watergate affair, President Nixon resigned. The North Vietnamese, sensing American weakness, gradually moved southward, taking over more and more cities. By 1975, then-President Ford ordered Americans airlifted, except for the U.S. Embassy staff in Saigon.
Ultimately, as Saigon fell, multiple helicopters landed on the roof of the Embassy, ferrying staff and even many Vietnamese to American ships offshore. While the collapse of South Vietnam was an American humiliation, President Ford acted appropriately under the circumstances.
3. The Watergate Break-In
This event in 1973 showed what can go wrong when illegal activity is amplified by trying to cover it up. The event occurred when operatives for the Republican Committee to Re-elect Richard Nixon broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in the Watergate building. Where this all came apart was when President Nixon and his inner circle tried to cover it up. It cost him his Presidency, and he resigned.
Although Nixon was a somewhat flawed individual, he had a remarkably successful Presidency, though bogged down in his final year by the Watergate Investigation.
4. Attack On The U.S. Embassy In Benghazi, Libya
The attack on the Embassy in 2012 was a cover-up much like Watergate. However, in this case, the media and the Obama White House promoted a false narrative about the attack's origins. They stated that it was spontaneous due to an anti-Islamic video. The problem was that it was a lie. A couple of militia groups coordinated and planned the attack. The result was that four people, including the U.S. ambassador, died in the attack. Also, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied military assistance to protect the Embassy.
The Benghazi attack didn't need to happen as the ambassador requested extra security before the attack. The assault was an example of ineptitude by the Obama administration. In the following days and weeks, the administration continued the cover-up. That alone would have resulted in the impeachment of someone like Trump.
5. The Afghanistan Capitulation
The desertion of Afghanistan has to be the most significant single instance of Presidential malfeasance. Whether of his own volition or advice from his advisors, President Biden pulled the U.S. military back to the airport's perimeter in Kabul. American citizens caught behind these lines were abandoned to be under the thumb of the Taliban. The chaos that ensued allowed a suicide bomber to kill 13 service members along with over 100 others. Many American citizens are now trapped and at the mercy of the Taliban. They are, in effect, hostages. The action by Biden, imposing a deadline of August 31, amounts to the abandonment of American citizens. Everyone knows that you get your civilians out first, then pull out your military.
What enabled the Taliban to encircle the Kabul Airport was the U.S. evacuating the giant military base, Bagram, just outside Kabul. Further adding insult to injury, the military leaders did not prevent some $85 billion of military equipment from falling into terrorists' hands. The Taliban secured planes, hundreds of thousands of firearms, drones, hundreds of assault vehicles and night vision equipment. The bonanza for the Taliban ranks them third in the world in military spending, except they didn't spend anything. It was courtesy of U.S. taxpayers.
A religious Taliban leader couldn't believe his luck at the Bagram Air Base, "Never in our wildest dreams could we have believed we could beat a superpower like America with just our Kalashnikovs," he beamed. Bagram Air Base is only 400 miles from China. The Chinese will have a field day rummaging through the spoils from the American withdrawal.
Without even considering some other Biden policies, this President to date is an abject failure. The way the withdrawal occurred indicates either gross negligence or, more than likely, a man with early-stage dementia.
The effect of Biden's actions undermined the credibility of the U.S. and its Nato allies. In addition, the U.S. appears in disarray, and the terror states of the world are emboldened. Al Queda and ISIS are back in action. In seven months, Joe Biden has rendered the world a less safe place and won the ineptitude award.
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