In Brief: Biden’s Crisis of Confidence
His fumbled Afghanistan retreat is impacting his domestic and international credibility.
The way a president conducts foreign policy has consequences. And Joe Biden is reaping what he’s sown with his disastrous retreat from Afghanistan. Fox News reports:
President Biden is facing a crisis of confidence in his ability to serve as commander in chief due to the overwhelming negative fallout he is receiving over the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, which left 13 U.S. service members dead and Americans and Afghan allies stranded.
Former defense officials, military leaders and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have criticized Biden for leaving Americans behind as the last U.S. C-17 plane took off from Kabul Monday night, despite the president’s promise weeks ago that “If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out.”
Foreign policy experts are also warning that the international credibility of the U.S. has diminished, as both allies and adversaries now view America and the Biden administration as weak and unable to protect its own citizens and crucial partners from the Taliban and terrorist attacks.
In addition, families of the 13 service members killed by an ISIS-K attack near the Kabul airport last Thursday are expressing outrage at Biden for his bungled decisions that directly led to the deaths of their loved ones.
Public confidence in Biden has also diminished due to the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Former officials and advisers of both parties have slammed Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan for the harm it has caused U.S. national security and interests abroad. Gold Star families — loved ones of the 13 Americans killed by terrorists while evacuations in Kabul were underway — have vocally and vehemently criticized the president for his lack of leadership and compassion. Republicans have obviously hammered Biden, but so have many Democrats. In fact, “At least 45 members of Congress have called for Biden’s removal from office since the Afghanistan withdrawal went awry.”
Damage to American credibility in future diplomacy and military action is severe. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy Michael C. Ryan summed it up: “The unilateral and hasty manner in which this decision was taken will likely reinforce the now entrenched belief in many parts of Europe that America is an unreliable partner and will undermine President Biden’s ability to pursue his stated preference for working closely with our allies and partners.”
But hey, at least we don’t have a president who mean tweets.
