Shackelford: It was always going to end this way
July 7, 2021 | by Elizabeth Shackelford / The Chicago Tribune via Tribune News Service | Copyright © 2021
The security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, prompting many to second-guess President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw U.S. troops by Sept. 11. This is an understandable emotional reaction, but it isn't supported by facts. More time won't change the outcome. If U.S. troops left Afghanistan five years ago or five years from now, it was always going to end this way.
Since the final withdrawal began, the Taliban has advanced rapidly, already taking control of roughly one-third of the country. While some Afghan military units are losing in battle, many of the units the U.S. military trained and supplied for years are surrendering without a fight, leaving valuable military hardware paid for by U.S. taxpayers in Taliban hands. U.S. intelligence analysts are now saying the Afghan government could collapse within six months of the withdrawal.
To use this as a reason for U.S. troops to stay would be like claiming the fall of Saigon as evidence that America should not have ended its campaign in Vietnam. U.S. troops could have maintained a violent status quo there too, but they couldn't have changed the outcome — not with two more years or 20.
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/times-commentary/story/2021/jul/07/shackelford-us-afghanistan/549986/
