By Peter Lemiska

It doesn’t take a military strategist to understand the precarious position America now faces because of Joe Biden’s feckless plan for evacuating Afghanistan. A few thousand U.S. troops, tasked with the evacuation, are completely surrounded by a ruthless, well-armed, increasingly agitated enemy that now controls the entire country. Mixed in among that enemy in various locations are an unknown number of American and European civilians, as well as Afghan allies, who face certain death if identified by the enemy. And while Biden suggests that his arbitrary deadline of August 31st may be extended, if necessary, the Taliban haven’t agreed to that extension. The situation is already being called catastrophic, and it could very easily become exponentially worse.

Under enormous pressure, Biden, who’d much rather talk about COVID vaccinations, has finally addressed the Afghanistan situation. His comments have done little to reassure the American people.

On August 16, he began by blaming President Trump, President Ghani, the Afghan military, and unavoidable circumstances for the crisis at the Kabul airport. Near the end of his remarks, he proclaimed, “I am president of the United States of America, and the buck stops with me.” Considering his finger-pointing introduction, reasonable listeners know that line, borrowed from Harry Truman, was nothing more than a feeble attempt to sound like a leader. He repeated it a few days later.

His contradictory message was this: The buck stops here; but don’t blame me. Politicians like Biden have learned that it’s easy to say they’re responsible — if they know they won’t be held accountable.

Only a handful of stalwart supporters were impressed with Biden’s remarks. Among them was MSNBC news anchor Brian Williams, who seemed awestruck by Biden’s use of Truman’s words. In discussing those remarks, Williams told a guest that Biden “didn’t run from it. He owned it. He owned the fact that, as he put it, the buck stops with him.” Maybe that astute news anchor was dozing during the first part of Biden’s speech.

It doesn’t matter whether Joe Biden accepts responsibility or not. As commander-in-chief, he is wholly responsible for the chaos at the Hamid Karzai International Airport and for any violence or escalation that might ensue. It doesn’t matter what plans President Trump had established. Biden rescinded virtually all of Trump’s international agreements, as well as his policies on our southern border and energy resources. Yet he expects us to believe that his hands were tied in Afghanistan?

There are a lot of profound quotations about leadership. The leader of our country should read this one by a little-known 20th-century businessman and author. Arnold H. Glasow wrote: “A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”

And it’s not just the finger-pointing. There are the patent lies told by Biden. He said unequivocally that the chaos was unavoidable, that the Taliban are allowing safe passage to all American citizens, that our European allies are completely satisfied with the operation.

Leaders make miscalculations, but we all recognize gross incompetence when we see it. The whole world is beginning to understand that the occupant of this White House is worse than incompetent. The decisions coming from Biden are those of an irrational, obstinate, self-serving, and deceptive politician — one who shirks all responsibility for the chaos he causes.

Biden may yet pay a price for his failed leadership.

Even if the evacuation is “successful” — that is, if all Americans and Afghans who helped us are successfully extracted without more fatalities — Afghanistan will once again become an unfettered breeding ground for terrorists. The Taliban, armed with a new arsenal of American weapons, will be more powerful than ever, and America will have lost immeasurable credibility and prestige on the world stage.

And the other crises generated by Biden are not going away. There’s the invasion on our southern border, accelerating inflation, and our renewed dependence on foreign oil.

Considering all of that, a growing number of Americans are convinced that it’s impossible for Calamity Joe to complete his term in office. It will end through resignation, impeachment, or invocation of the 25th Amendment.

In that event, progressives will be cheering another major milestone, something they really wanted all along — the first woman of color in the White House. But replacing one incompetent politician with another likeminded one won’t solve any of the problems Biden created.

“Build Back Better” has proven to be another catchy but empty campaign promise, and America will likely remain in its downward trajectory for the next three years. But we can’t be too hard on Team Biden. After all, it was just over nine months ago that 80 million Americans, led by the news media and social media, determined that this duo possessed the competence, character, and qualifications needed to lead our country. Let’s hope voters don’t make the same mistake in 2024.