The Patriot Post® · Biden's Afghan Cluster: Implications for NATO
“I have seen no questioning of our credibility from our allies around the world.” Joe Biden
Biden’s catastrophic Afghan exfil failure is now manifesting in heavy criticism from our primary NATO partners.
Our allies have lost more than 1,100 of their frontline warriors to the Taliban over the last 20 years. But Biden scantly mentioned them in his address to the nation this week. Our friends in the UK Parliament are making their objections known.
Not only was the UK’s military left out of the loop, but it took UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson days to get Biden on the phone. Johnson declared that Biden’s handling of Afghanistan was “catastrophic” and “shameful,” noting: “The West could not continue this U.S.-led mission — a mission conceived and executed in support and defense of America — without American logistics, without U.S. air power, and without American might.”
But as I have written, there is no “American might” under Biden — the Taliban has no fear of Biden, which is the reason for the Afghan meltdown. And Biden’s blaming Afghan security forces for his failure is taking well-justified heat — those forces also knew they could not depend on Biden after the U.S. pullout.
As for Biden’s “no questioning of our credibility” LIE – our historic NATO alliance allies have already leveled very pointed criticism of Biden. That would include our closest ally, the UK, where the Parliament is holding Biden in contempt and members have voiced strong objections to Biden’s failure.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair blasted Biden’s retreat, noting it is being conducted in “a manner that seems almost designed to parade our humiliation.”
It was an impassioned statement by Conservative Party parliamentarian and Afghanistan War veteran Tom Tugendhat, that has received applause across party lines from his fellow member MPs.
Tugendhat, who is chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, said: “To see [Biden as] commander-in-chief call into question the courage of men I fought with, to claim that they ran — it’s shameful. Those who have never fought for the colors they fly should be careful about criticizing those who have.”
Tugendhat continued: “We’ve demonstrated it is not armies that win wars. Armies can get tactical victories, not victories that can hold the line. They can just about make room for peace. It is nations that make war. Nations endure, mobilize, and muster. Nations determine and have patience. We have demonstrated, sadly, that we in the West don’t [have the patience]. The tragedy of Afghanistan is that we’re swapping that patient achievement for a second fire and a second war.”
On the Left, UK Labor Party leader Keir Starmer protested, “To overlook the fighting of the Afghan troops and forces, and the fact that they have been at the forefront of that fighting in recent years, is wrong.” Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said, “The American decision to withdraw was not just a mistake — it was an avoidable mistake.” He further criticized “Biden’s decision to proceed, and to proceed in such a disastrous way.”
In the House of Lords, the criticism was equally pointed:
Former senior British Army officer Richard Dannattt: “First, notwithstanding his attempted explanation on Monday, the manner and timing of the Afghan collapse is the direct result of President Biden’s decision to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Lympne: "The responsibility for the decision to withdraw rests with President Biden. … President Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan is, and will be seen by history as, a catastrophic mistake which may well prove to be the defining legacy of his presidency.”
Robathan: “We should not underestimate the disaster and humiliation that this has been. … The humiliation and disaster of the West is appalling. The West is seen as an unreliable ally.”
Ricketts: “Confidence in NATO has been damaged. China is the main beneficiary of President Biden’s decision. ‘America is back’ now sounds rather hollow—'America is backing down’ fits the case better.”
Forsyth: “It is very hard to overestimate the scale of the catastrophe following the Biden Administration’s disastrous implementation of the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.”
Blencathra: “What Biden has done in Afghanistan will go down in ignominy as one of the most shameful and despicable acts of betrayal by any American President. Tens of thousands of men will be slaughtered, thousands of young girls forced to marry these Taliban brutes and 14 million women driven back into slavery. Afghanistan was emerging into the light with freedoms for women and children, who will now be ruled with 500 year-old barbaric religious laws.”
Anderson: “Biden, alas, will be diminished, certainly abroad.”
Touhig: “If ever there was a country that knows how dangerous a less safe world can be, it is the United States. That is even more so now, as we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11.”
McColl: “Biden has tried to shift the blame on to President Trump, that simply does not work.”
Bruce: “For Biden to say that the collapse of the Government and the defence capability was the Afghans’ fault is truly sickening. The rapid withdrawal demoralised the domestic forces, who were often deployed far from home with no protection or support for their families against the Taliban, so it is hardly surprising that they chose not to fight.”
Godson: “The Biden Administration have been rightly criticised, I think unanimously…”
The UK’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said, “Of course al-Qaida will probably come back.”
The critics were emerging in other major NATO partners, including Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel who joined other NATO member country leaders critical of Biden. She expressed her grief for families of soldiers killed “as it seems right now like it was all in vain.” Her heir-apparent, Armin Laschet, said, “This is the greatest debacle that NATO has seen since its foundation, and it is an epochal change that we are facing.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial board warns that Biden is breaking NATO: “A President who understood foreign affairs as well as Mr. Biden claims he does would grasp the damage his disgraceful Afghanistan exit has inflicted on America’s alliances and reputation. He will never be trusted the same way again.”
Remember all the Democrat Party and Leftmedia protests that President Donald Trump was damaging our NATO relations by asking allies to step up their financial backing for NATO operations?
Biden just said, “Hold my beer,” but his loyal MSM cadres remain silent.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776