Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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The number of do-nothing experts complaining about the withdrawal from Afghanistan astounds me. This is running to safety. For a politician, it is always better to criticize an opponent about a result than to offer a solution and risk being wrong.
As an undergraduate, I heard President Harry Truman in each of his annual talks to us say he had two options only: He could authorize dropping atomic bombs and kill hundreds of thousands of Japanese, or he could invade Japan, killing more Japanese, and costing many thousands of American lives. He gritted his teeth and chose the former without remorse.
Mikhail Gorbachev’s withdrawal of Russian troops from Afghanistan confirmed the never-ending problem of being there. The United States has more slowly recognized this fact. President Joe Biden’s two options were to leave the country or move in tens of thousands of American troops. As seen, wishfully believing that the Afghanistan Army would stand up against Taliban forces without active American involvement was never a viable option.
Where were the Monday morning quarterback solutions and contingencies before Biden acted? What are their solutions now? Will they even now dare to risk offering a feasible solution that will resolve the problems in Afghanistan?
