I'm certainly willing to give Donald Ttump credit where I believe he deserves it. Operation Warp Speed? Yes. Judicial nominations? Yes. Border security? Yes, eventually, after some missteps and screwups. But where Afghanistan is concerned, he like Biden was a proponent of withdrawal. Whether he would have modified his position in the face of the Taliban's intransience is an academic question. Given his mercurial temperament, who can say? But it seems to me undeniable that we lacked the clear-eyed, cold-hearted leadership necessary to make a responsible decision on this very important issue. The cynical sentimentality of Biden's approach is condemned on its face. I find myself wishing that Henry Kissinger—or better still Bismarck—had been calling the shots. Come to think of it, even I could have done better...
Claire, which part of the Afghanistan thing was truly surprising after the first decade? Christine Fair, if you google her 9/11 Memorial and Museum interview from 2018 lays it out pretty depressingly.
The observances of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 struck me as glum rather than solemn. President Biden did much to set the tone. After botching what was in any case an ill-advised bugout from Afghanistan, he tried to change the subject just before September 11 by announcing an absurd, doubtless unworkable, vaccine mandate. That failed to get him off the hook and he was too fearful of public opinion to officiate at the observances, offering no more than a lame prerecorded message. So now his humiliation and that of his minions is complete. Cosmic justice has rendered its judgement, transforming Joe Biden's 9/11/21 victory lap into a cowardly skedaddle.
There is surplus blame to go around, of course. The voters who put Biden in the White House, and those who put Trump in the White House before him, are culpable in this. Trump's criticisms of Biden's pullout fiasco may be on the mark, but he's the wrong messenger. There's no reason to think that things would have ended differently if Trump had been reelected in 2020. Perhaps the debacle would have been more drawn out, but leaving Afghanistan, however it was managed, meant leaving it to the Taliban.
As for those who advocated ending a "forever war," I must be rudely frank and observe that they were talking nonsense. Despite the mistakes that had been made—and all wars are full of mistakes—the US ultimately achieved a stalemate in Afghanistan. If the Taliban had not been destroyed, it had been barred out of power. And the commitment necessary to maintain that stalemate was not onerous. There was no powerful groundswell of public opinion in favor of withdrawal; for most Americans the issue was abstract. For no good reason, therefore, the US abandoned a key strategic position, handing it back to the very people who enabled the 9/11 attack.
The whole thing is a national disgrace and much as I despise Joe Biden, I'm not willing to pin the blame on him alone—any more than the sole blame for the appeasement of the fascist dictators and its terrible consequences in the 1930s can be blamed solely on Neville Chamberlain.
My heart is full just now but I will offer this thought: that people who criticize Biden for his dishonorable abandonment of Afghanistan while arguing that it could have been done more efficiently are talking twaddle. Kicking an ally to the curb is wrong and stupid however it’s managed. Biden is a disgrace, no doubt about it, but why is he polluting the Oval Office? Because he’s the people’s choice…
Oh, Claire, you woke up on the morning of the anniversary of 9/11 way too pessimistic. Instead of focusing on everything that’s gone wrong in the past 20 years, turn your attention to everything that’s gone right. The list is long and varied.
We learned that men can menstruate and even become pregnant; thank goodness we’ve done away with dastardly terms like “mom” in favor of “birthing people.”
We learned that there aren’t two genders but many, potentially hundreds. There’s a gender for every color in the rainbow; that’s been a critical revelation, hasn’t it?
We learned that men in their 70s make great leaders and hence great presidents. Why is this important? Because it motivates us to go for the gold! Up next, octogenarian presidential candidates. Wait patiently; can presidents in their 90s be far behind?
We strengthened our democracy. In New York we just ejected a thrice-elected Governor for the heinous act of asking a subordinate if she dated older men. In California, with a mere year to go before the next election, we’re on the cusp of recalling a Governor who had the temerity to eat in a fancy restaurant without his mask. To add insult to injury, the name of the restaurant contained two words Americans justifiably hate; “French” and “Laundry.”
Twenty years ago we knew that the urban, inner city masses could be hopeless enough to succumb to the ravages of crack. But now we know we can share the prosperity. The Midwest masses have joined the party with opioids of many flavors despite the fact that crack has gone out of style.
If you remember, Claire, 20 years ago Americans and their Government alike spent money like drunken sailors, but at least we had the decency to worry about deficits. Look how far we’ve come! Happily, now we realize we can spend money with reckless abandon. There’s no need to worry at all. A trillion here, a trillion there; who’s counting? It’s great that we learned that we can buy whatever we want without every worrying whether the piper will ever want to be paid. Let the good times roll!
20 years ago we had the disgusting habit of referring to native Spanish speakers as Latinas and Latinos. We’ve made tremendous progress since then. Now we know we should use the far superior term “LatinX” and that we should use that phraseology whether Latinos and Latinas like it or not. Claire if you don’t count that as progress, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.
20 years ago, we suffered under the delusion that crime was bad and that we needed to strengthen the police to fight it. Thank goodness we’ve learned that it’s the police who are the enemy, not the criminals. We’ve defunded the police and elected prosecutors who realize that we need to learn to love murder and mayhem. You have to admit, that’s real progress.
20 years ago the United States had a border with Mexico, it was porous, but it was still a border. We’re much wiser now. We’ve learned that borders are racist and we’re enlightened enough to realize we should throw open the border to anyone who wants to live here. Same in Europe, Claire. Europeans are now enlightened enough to welcome anyone from the Middle East or South Asia who aspires to a better life. The more, the merrier. Aren’t we so much better for it?
And speaking of the Europeans, 20 years ago, they were deluded enough to actually think spending money on defense was important. Thank goodness they’ve learned that hot air is a fantastic substitute for missiles, bombs and planes. What’s the great news? Hot air is free.
20 years ago an Iranian nuclear weapons was little more than an Ayotollah’s wet dream. Now we’re on the verge of a far better era when an Iranian nuclear weapon will further the American interest in off-shore balancing. What’s not to like?
I could go on and on, Claire but you get the idea. America isn’t getting older, it’s getting better. Shed your pessimism and get with the program!
I'm certainly willing to give Donald Ttump credit where I believe he deserves it. Operation Warp Speed? Yes. Judicial nominations? Yes. Border security? Yes, eventually, after some missteps and screwups. But where Afghanistan is concerned, he like Biden was a proponent of withdrawal. Whether he would have modified his position in the face of the Taliban's intransience is an academic question. Given his mercurial temperament, who can say? But it seems to me undeniable that we lacked the clear-eyed, cold-hearted leadership necessary to make a responsible decision on this very important issue. The cynical sentimentality of Biden's approach is condemned on its face. I find myself wishing that Henry Kissinger—or better still Bismarck—had been calling the shots. Come to think of it, even I could have done better...
Claire, which part of the Afghanistan thing was truly surprising after the first decade? Christine Fair, if you google her 9/11 Memorial and Museum interview from 2018 lays it out pretty depressingly.
The observances of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 struck me as glum rather than solemn. President Biden did much to set the tone. After botching what was in any case an ill-advised bugout from Afghanistan, he tried to change the subject just before September 11 by announcing an absurd, doubtless unworkable, vaccine mandate. That failed to get him off the hook and he was too fearful of public opinion to officiate at the observances, offering no more than a lame prerecorded message. So now his humiliation and that of his minions is complete. Cosmic justice has rendered its judgement, transforming Joe Biden's 9/11/21 victory lap into a cowardly skedaddle.
There is surplus blame to go around, of course. The voters who put Biden in the White House, and those who put Trump in the White House before him, are culpable in this. Trump's criticisms of Biden's pullout fiasco may be on the mark, but he's the wrong messenger. There's no reason to think that things would have ended differently if Trump had been reelected in 2020. Perhaps the debacle would have been more drawn out, but leaving Afghanistan, however it was managed, meant leaving it to the Taliban.
As for those who advocated ending a "forever war," I must be rudely frank and observe that they were talking nonsense. Despite the mistakes that had been made—and all wars are full of mistakes—the US ultimately achieved a stalemate in Afghanistan. If the Taliban had not been destroyed, it had been barred out of power. And the commitment necessary to maintain that stalemate was not onerous. There was no powerful groundswell of public opinion in favor of withdrawal; for most Americans the issue was abstract. For no good reason, therefore, the US abandoned a key strategic position, handing it back to the very people who enabled the 9/11 attack.
The whole thing is a national disgrace and much as I despise Joe Biden, I'm not willing to pin the blame on him alone—any more than the sole blame for the appeasement of the fascist dictators and its terrible consequences in the 1930s can be blamed solely on Neville Chamberlain.
My heart is full just now but I will offer this thought: that people who criticize Biden for his dishonorable abandonment of Afghanistan while arguing that it could have been done more efficiently are talking twaddle. Kicking an ally to the curb is wrong and stupid however it’s managed. Biden is a disgrace, no doubt about it, but why is he polluting the Oval Office? Because he’s the people’s choice…
Oh, Claire, you woke up on the morning of the anniversary of 9/11 way too pessimistic. Instead of focusing on everything that’s gone wrong in the past 20 years, turn your attention to everything that’s gone right. The list is long and varied.
We learned that men can menstruate and even become pregnant; thank goodness we’ve done away with dastardly terms like “mom” in favor of “birthing people.”
We learned that there aren’t two genders but many, potentially hundreds. There’s a gender for every color in the rainbow; that’s been a critical revelation, hasn’t it?
We learned that men in their 70s make great leaders and hence great presidents. Why is this important? Because it motivates us to go for the gold! Up next, octogenarian presidential candidates. Wait patiently; can presidents in their 90s be far behind?
We strengthened our democracy. In New York we just ejected a thrice-elected Governor for the heinous act of asking a subordinate if she dated older men. In California, with a mere year to go before the next election, we’re on the cusp of recalling a Governor who had the temerity to eat in a fancy restaurant without his mask. To add insult to injury, the name of the restaurant contained two words Americans justifiably hate; “French” and “Laundry.”
Twenty years ago we knew that the urban, inner city masses could be hopeless enough to succumb to the ravages of crack. But now we know we can share the prosperity. The Midwest masses have joined the party with opioids of many flavors despite the fact that crack has gone out of style.
If you remember, Claire, 20 years ago Americans and their Government alike spent money like drunken sailors, but at least we had the decency to worry about deficits. Look how far we’ve come! Happily, now we realize we can spend money with reckless abandon. There’s no need to worry at all. A trillion here, a trillion there; who’s counting? It’s great that we learned that we can buy whatever we want without every worrying whether the piper will ever want to be paid. Let the good times roll!
20 years ago we had the disgusting habit of referring to native Spanish speakers as Latinas and Latinos. We’ve made tremendous progress since then. Now we know we should use the far superior term “LatinX” and that we should use that phraseology whether Latinos and Latinas like it or not. Claire if you don’t count that as progress, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.
20 years ago, we suffered under the delusion that crime was bad and that we needed to strengthen the police to fight it. Thank goodness we’ve learned that it’s the police who are the enemy, not the criminals. We’ve defunded the police and elected prosecutors who realize that we need to learn to love murder and mayhem. You have to admit, that’s real progress.
20 years ago the United States had a border with Mexico, it was porous, but it was still a border. We’re much wiser now. We’ve learned that borders are racist and we’re enlightened enough to realize we should throw open the border to anyone who wants to live here. Same in Europe, Claire. Europeans are now enlightened enough to welcome anyone from the Middle East or South Asia who aspires to a better life. The more, the merrier. Aren’t we so much better for it?
And speaking of the Europeans, 20 years ago, they were deluded enough to actually think spending money on defense was important. Thank goodness they’ve learned that hot air is a fantastic substitute for missiles, bombs and planes. What’s the great news? Hot air is free.
20 years ago an Iranian nuclear weapons was little more than an Ayotollah’s wet dream. Now we’re on the verge of a far better era when an Iranian nuclear weapon will further the American interest in off-shore balancing. What’s not to like?
I could go on and on, Claire but you get the idea. America isn’t getting older, it’s getting better. Shed your pessimism and get with the program!