General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhen your Trump loving friends and relatives complain about Biden's handling of Afghanistan
Tell them "if Trump had a better plan for leaving Afghanistan he should have shared it"!
Point out that it is America that is getting out of Afghanistan, not Biden or Trump. It is our nation as a whole that is doing this, not a particular president. This is a case where we should demand cooperation between administrations, not politics.
Since Trump set the date, essentially obligating the next administration, he should have cooperated fully with that next administration.
Furthermore, Trump should have been working overtime to set up any visas for the translators and other folks that helped us in our 20 year war. Instead of waiting to the last minute to decide how to get people out it should have all been in place by May 1st of 2021, that being the date Trump set for the withdrawal.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Fresh_Start
(11,330 posts)GOP fantasizes that Trump would have done Afghanistan withdrawal differently. I'm pretty sure that is true.
First, he would have made sure that Russia captured US bases and assets like he did in Syria: now Putin has to work with the Taliban instead of seizing the US assets directly.
Second, he would have had a second helicopter fleeing with money for his own family like he fleeced his own supporters and charities.
Third he wouldn't have bothered to rescue US allies. We know because he left those tens of thousands of Syrians and Kurds that supported us in Syria without support.
Fourth, if Trump were still in power after SURRENDERING Afghanistan to the Taliban like he did with HIS PEACE TREATY, his administration would still be blocking VISAs for the US allies in Afghanistan like his administration did for the entire time he was in office.
In the 11 months after Trump signed his Peace agreement with the Taliban, his administration blocked/delays Visas to our Afghanis allies to the extent that there were almost 20,000 Visa applications in backlog.
In the 11 months after Trump signed his Peace agreement with the Taliban, his administration established no process to swiftly remove our allies from Afghanistan
Ohioboy
(3,238 posts)Hope you don't mind. It's just such a good, factual, response.
Fresh_Start
(11,330 posts)nt
Response to Ohioboy (Reply #4)
Fresh_Start This message was self-deleted by its author.
Great response.
This should go viral.
thucythucy
(8,037 posts)I would just add as a short form:
And how many Afghan allies did Trump manage to evacuate in the eleven months after he agreed to sell them out to the Taliban?
Quick answer: not a single one.
usaf-vet
(6,161 posts)Our allies in Afghanistan have no more value to him. It's no wonder he never arranged to get them out.
Your second point was probably why he LOL negotiate the withdrawal only with the Taliban he had to get his quid pro $$$$$$$$$.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)Who were basically the worst of the worst, and the fact he negotiated only with Taliban without including the Afghan government.
These are also damning.
Ohioboy
(3,238 posts)Lovie777
(12,215 posts)putting them at risk.
Bev54
(10,037 posts)any Afgans in their withdrawal. Simple as that.
doublethink
(6,818 posts)Trump had no plan for Healthcare here at home.
Trump had no plan for the coronavirus vaccine distribution.
Trump had no plan for the tanking economy on his watch and no plan for the pandemic.
Trump had no plan to release his tax returns.
Trump had no plan for leaving Afghanistan.
Trump was and is a serial liar on all of the above and so much more.
Trump Golfed.
Traildogbob
(8,670 posts)All that would have gotten done. But we stole the election and this is where we are.
totodeinhere
(13,056 posts)President Biden has already reversed a lot of Trump's policies by rescinding many of Trump's executive orders. And he announced his intention to rejoin climate accords that Trump scrapped and he is trying to undo Trump's rejection of the Iran nuclear accord. He could have gone back on Trump's agreement with the Taliban also if he had wanted to. But he did not.
So why are you saying that Biden was obligated to follow Trump's agreement with the Taliban? He was not.
I agree that Trump should have already started working on visas and the like for our Afghan friends. Trump will always have blood on his hands due to his lack of action on preparing for this day. But President Biden was not obligated to follow through on Trump's agreement with the Taliban.
Walleye
(30,935 posts)Biden could tear up a lot of trumpsexecutive orders but international agreements that have already been put into motion are not usually gone back on by the United States.Especially with a bare minimum of 2500 troops left behind.
totodeinhere
(13,056 posts)Biden has already undone a lot of the foreign policy damage carried out by Trump. He could go back on this as well. And yes we were down to 2,500 troops but almost overnight President Biden brought our troop count up to 6,000 or more to help facilitate our evacuation. So he can very easily change troop numbers.
Walleye
(30,935 posts)totodeinhere
(13,056 posts)so that we don't repeat them next time.
Ohioboy
(3,238 posts)Sure, Biden may not have been obligated to Trump's deal technically, but how many troops would he have had to send in to do it differently?
Trump's deal literally strengthened the Taliban. Not only did it give them cred in the region, which they used to broker surrenders, but Trump's deal also drew down American troops and added to the Taliban's numbers by letting 5000 of their fighters out of jail. More Taliban fighters with less American troops, plus the whole country knowing that Trump had sided with the Taliban over the Afghan government left Biden with little choice but to get out while the Taliban were still working with some sort of agreement to allow us to leave. Otherwise he would have had to send in more troops to even begin to try and do it differently.
The Taliban had from February 2020 until late January 2021 to strengthen themselves under Trump, all they had to do was not go after any Americans and they were keeping their part of the deal.
The ones who are complaining now about Biden not getting out correctly would be complaining that he put more troops back in.
Fullduplexxx
(7,840 posts)RAB910
(3,484 posts)Trump negotiated the surrender deal
Trump released the Taliban leader from jail
Those are 3 killer points
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,938 posts)4. You are not a cow or a horse, but you are a sheep if you take Ivermectin.
5. tRump lost, certified by ALL the RepubliQon states.
IronLionZion
(45,380 posts)Things don't have to be real if you imagine it. Didn't Trump retake office already according to several Qonservatives?
Mad_Machine76
(24,391 posts)"Your guy released 5000 Taliban prisoners, including the now-Taliban President of Afghanistan" and let them chew on that for awhile.
pwb
(11,245 posts)win or lose he had no plan, just words and lies.