Undeserved criticism

See update for August 30, 2021, at end of post.


I’m in the early middle of moving, so I’m going to try to keep this brief.

Yes, Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has been awful.[1] There are specific reasons this happened.[2] And yes, the future certainly appears bleak and terrifying in Afghanistan.[3] (I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the potential for Afghan resistance to Taliban rule;[4] I know it exists but I cannot foresee its future.)

In our evaluation of Biden, it is important to distinguish between deserved and undeserved criticism. Warmongers who would keep us in Afghanistan indefinitely certainly fall into the latter category.[5] Biden’s earlier support for the war certainly falls into the former.

We must remember that this war was a mistake. From the beginning.[6] However we dress up the rationalizations for this war, it was a war for vengeance.

My books are all packed now so even if I remembered where I learned about asymmetric conflict, even if I had that source in my library, I would not be able to cite it properly. And my apologies are due to the author whom I read on this type of conflict probably decades ago.

But fundamentally, Afghanistan is a classic example of asymmetric conflict, in which a technologically advanced and presumptively militarily superior colonizer combats a relentless and determined indigenous opposition. Inevitably, the colonizer has difficulty distinguishing between nonviolent civilians and violent combatants, resulting in outrages. Think drone attacks on wedding parties. Think night raids. Think the ugliness of war in general, especially when combatants cannot readily be distinguished from noncombatants. Think a lot of stuff that fails to come to my mind at the moment.

Eventually the war becomes unsustainable as the colonizer endures too much bad publicity and the resistance only grows in outrage. This ends in humiliation.

It happened to Britain in many places, but India comes to mind. It happened to France in Algeria. It happened to the U.S. in Vietnam. It’s happening to the U.S. in Afghanistan. It has happened in many other places at many other times. In the end, I think it will happen to Israel in Palestine. It is the rule rather than the exception. It should not even remotely be a surprise.

Biden is biting the bullet by withdrawing. He suffers criticism for it,[7] often criticism that lacks a viable alternative.[8] For all the suffering that is now occurring,[9] this is legitimately a hard thing to do.

That doesn’t even remotely make it the wrong thing to do.


Update, August 30, 2021: I have lightly edited this post, mostly to improve flow and understanding. However, I did add the Vietnam example—in hindsight, ludicrously obvious. None of this changes the argument.

  1. [1]Associated Press, “The Latest: Pentagon asks airlines for help moving evacuees,” August 22, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-kabul-evacuation-3e03946e8f84540927761d0b83efd769; Anne Gearan, “Biden blames others for swift collapse in Afghanistan, defends his decision to withdraw troops,” Washington Post, August 16, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-afghanistan-speech/2021/08/16/1bdff5e6-feaf-11eb-ba7e-2cf966e88e93_story.html; Susannah George and Bryan Pietsch, “Taliban enters Kabul, leaving Afghan government on brink of collapse,” Washington Post, August 15, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/15/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-embassy-jalalabad/; Susannah George et al., “Afghan government collapses as Taliban sweeps in, U.S. sends more troops to aid chaotic withdrawal,” Washington Post, August 15, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/15/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-embassy-jalalabad/; Sayed Ziarmal Hashemi et al., “U.S. presses on with evacuations despite fears of more attacks,” Los Angeles Times, August 27, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-08-27/evacuations-resume-after-kabul-airport-attack-bombings; Greg Jaffe, “From hubris to humiliation: America’s warrior class contends with the abject failure of its Afghanistan project,” Washington Post, August 14, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-hubris-afghanistan-humiliation/2021/08/14/47fb025a-fc67-11eb-9c0e-97e29906a970_story.html; Ellen Knickmeyer, Robert Burns, and Matthew Lee, “Biden to address chaotic Kabul evacuation amid criticism,” Associated Press, August 20, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-kabul-taliban-d036db0b190acba68087f3d46ffae146; Kevin Liptak, “Biden decides to keep August 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan as evacuations accelerate,” CNN, August 24, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/24/politics/joe-biden-g7-afghanistan/index.html; Ezzatullah Mehrdad, Dan Lamothe, and Kareem Fahim, “Chaos persists at Kabul airport, imperiling Afghanistan evacuation effort,” Washington Post, August 19, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/airport-kabul-taliban-state-department-karzai/2021/08/19/5de79f4a-0105-11ec-87e0-7e07bd9ce270_story.html; Rachel Pannett, Ellen Francis, and Adam Taylor, “Taliban doubles down on Aug. 31 deadline, says Afghans no longer allowed to reach Kabul airport,” Washington Post, August 24, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/24/afghanistan-kabul-taliban-live-updates/; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “U.S. Airlift From Kabul Gains Speed As Afghans Defy Taliban In Several Cities,” August 19, 2021, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-blocking-airport-independence-day/31418029.html; Ahmad Seir, Rahim Faiez, and Jon Gambrell, “Taliban seize Jalalabad, cut off Afghan capital from east,” Washington Post, August 15, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/taliban-seize-jalalabad-cut-off-afghan-capital-from-east/2021/08/14/131e00aa-fd75-11eb-911c-524bc8b68f17_story.html; Ahmad Seir et al., “Taliban fighters enter Kabul, await a ‘peaceful transfer’ of power,” Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-08-15/taliban-fighters-enter-kabul-then-pledge-not-to-take-afghan-capital-by-force; Barbara Starr et al., “ISIS terror threat forces US military to establish alternate routes to Kabul airport,” CNN, August 21, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/21/politics/kabul-airport-terror-warning/index.html; Times of Israel, “Afghan government set to hand over power to Taliban in stunning collapse,” August 15, 2021, https://www.timesofisrael.com/afghan-government-expected-to-hand-over-power-to-taliban-in-stunning-collapse/; Yaroslav Trofimov, “Afghanistan’s Taliban Seize Jalalabad as Panic Grips Kabul,” Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistans-taliban-seize-jalalabad-as-panic-grips-kabul-11629005282; Yaroslav Trofimov, Nancy A. Youssef, and Sune Engel Rasmussen, “Kabul Airport Attack Kills 13 U.S. Service Members, at Least 90 Afghans,” Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistan-kabul-airport-explosion-11629976397
  2. [2]Susannah George, “Afghanistan’s military collapse: Illicit deals and mass desertions,” Washington Post, August 15, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/15/afghanistan-military-collapse-taliban/; Danielle Pletka et al., “What Went Wrong in Afghanistan?” Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-went-wrong-in-afghanistan-11629472600; Heather Cox Richardson, “August 16, 2021,” Letters from an American, August 16, 2021, https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-16-2021; Alia Shoaib, “Why the US-trained Afghan National Army have been defeated with ease by the Taliban,” Business Insider, August 14, 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/afghan-forces-havent-been-able-to-hold-off-the-taliban-2021-8; Fareed Zakaria, “We lost the war in Afghanistan long ago,” Washington Post, August 16, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/16/we-lost-war-afghanistan-long-ago/
  3. [3]British Broadcasting Corporation, “Afghanistan: Taliban ‘tortured and massacred’ men from Hazara minority,” August 20, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58277463; Larisa Brown et al., “Planes leaving half empty after Taliban set up ring of steel,” Times, August 19, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/planes-leaving-half-empty-after-taliban-set-up-ring-of-steel-6rdvp2wdb; Naomi Conrad, Masood Saifullah, and Birgitta Schülke-Gill, “In Kabul, terrified Afghans wait for the call to safety,” Deutschewelle, August 18, 2021, https://www.dw.com/en/in-kabul-terrified-afghans-wait-for-the-call-to-safety/a-58894365; Ben Doherty, Warren Murray, and agencies, “Afghanistan: reports emerge of Taliban beating Afghans seeking to flee Kabul,” Guardian, August 18, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/18/afghanistan-reports-emerge-of-taliban-beating-afghans-seeking-to-flee-kabul;
    Charlie Faulkner and Ben Farmer, “Desperate Afghans plunge to deaths from departing US planes as Kabul airport overrun,” Telegraph, August 16, 2021, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/08/16/kabul-airport-chaos-thousands-overrun-tarmac-desperate-bid-escape/; Susannah George, “The treacherous journey into Kabul airport to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan,” Washington Post, August 20, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/20/kabul-airport-journalists-evacuation/; Christina Goldbaum and Najim Rahim, “A Week Into Taliban Rule, One City’s Glimpse of What the Future May Hold,” New York Times, August 15, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-kunduz.html; Guardian, “‘There are no women in the streets’ – the day life changed in Kabul,” August 16, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/16/there-are-no-women-kabul-street-stayed-home-fear-beaten-taliban-fighters; Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge, “UN rights boss says she has credible reports of Taliban executions,” Reuters, August 24, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/un-rights-boss-says-has-credible-reports-taliban-executions-2021-08-24/; Monique Rivalland and Georgina Roberts, “How Afghanistan’s ambitious young women feel now,” Times, August 19, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-afghanistans-ambitious-young-women-feel-now-k7t6swgtk; Joyce Sohyun Lee et al., “With the Taliban now in control, here’s what Afghans are seeing in Kabul,” Washington Post, August 18, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/videos-afghanistan-kabul-taliban-arrival/; Yaroslav Trofimov, Dion Nissenbaum, and Margherita Stancati, “‘Saigon on Steroids’: The Desperate Rush to Flee Afghanistan,” Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/saigon-on-steroids-the-desperate-rush-to-flee-afghanistan-11629071999; Phillip Walter Wellman, “US Woman Under Taliban’s Watch Won’t Leave Kabul Without Her Staff and Hundreds of Rescue Animals,” Military.com, August 25, 2021, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/08/25/us-woman-under-talibans-watch-wont-leave-kabul-without-her-staff-and-hundreds-of-rescue-animals.html; Graeme Wood, “What Comes Next in Afghanistan,” Atlantic, August 27, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/08/kabul-airport-bombing-afghanistan/619906/; Tom Yun, “What is ISIS-K? A look at the Afghan-based terrorist group that threatens both Taliban and U.S. forces,” CTV News, August 26, 2021, https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/what-is-isis-k-a-look-at-the-afghan-based-terrorist-group-that-threatens-both-taliban-and-u-s-forces-1.5562085
  4. [4]Steve Hendrix et al., “Taliban sends hundreds of fighters to final province beyond its control,” Washington Post, August 23, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/taliban-resistance-panjshir-massoud/2021/08/23/8741bf9c-0411-11ec-b3c4-c462b1edcfc8_story.html; Ahmad Massoud, “The mujahideen resistance to the Taliban begins now. But we need help,” Washington Post, August 18, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/18/mujahideen-resistance-taliban-ahmad-massoud/; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “U.S. Airlift From Kabul Gains Speed As Afghans Defy Taliban In Several Cities,” August 19, 2021, https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-blocking-airport-independence-day/31418029.html
  5. [5]Sarah Lazare, “We Can’t Let the Generals Who Lied About the Afghanistan War Define Its Legacy,” In These Times, August 16, 2021, https://inthesetimes.com/article/afghanistan-war-trump-biden-petraeus-bolton; Eric Levitz, “The Media Is Helping Hawks Win the War Over Biden’s Withdrawal,” New York, August 19, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/08/how-the-media-botched-bidens-afghanistan-withdrawal.html; David Leonhardt to The Morning list, “A better Afghan policy,” New York Times, August 25, 2021, https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210825&instance_id=38743&nl=the-morning&productCode=NN&regi_id=97793637&segment_id=67145&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F51d8629f-6851-5663-99e7-7a33a08aa7eb&user_id=087ade925ce15f15a24824418c4789ce; David Roberts, [Twitter thread], Thread Reader App, August 22, 2021, https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1429538957742592012.html; Tim Shipman, “Tony Blair attacks Joe Biden’s ‘imbecilic’ Afghanistan retreat as Kabul chaos deepens,” Times, August 22, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tony-blair-attacks-joe-bidens-imbecilic-afghanistan-retreat-as-kabul-chaos-deepens-jw782ghxr; Emily Stewart, “The history of US intervention in Afghanistan, from the Cold War to 9/11,” Vox, August 21, 2021, https://www.vox.com/world/22634008/us-troops-afghanistan-cold-war-bush-bin-laden
  6. [6]David Benfell, “George W. Bush’s Global War on Terror ends in defeat,” Not Housebroken, July 2, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/02/george-w-bushs-global-war-on-terror-ends-in-defeat/; David Benfell, “Why do ‘they’ hate us?” Not Housebroken, August 15, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/08/15/why-do-they-hate-us/; George Monbiot, “Bloodhounds,” August 27, 2021, https://www.monbiot.com/2021/08/27/bloodhounds/
  7. [7]Sarah Lazare, “We Can’t Let the Generals Who Lied About the Afghanistan War Define Its Legacy,” In These Times, August 16, 2021, https://inthesetimes.com/article/afghanistan-war-trump-biden-petraeus-bolton; Eric Levitz, “The Media Is Helping Hawks Win the War Over Biden’s Withdrawal,” New York, August 19, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/08/how-the-media-botched-bidens-afghanistan-withdrawal.html; David Leonhardt to The Morning list, “A better Afghan policy,” New York Times, August 25, 2021, https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210825&instance_id=38743&nl=the-morning&productCode=NN&regi_id=97793637&segment_id=67145&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F51d8629f-6851-5663-99e7-7a33a08aa7eb&user_id=087ade925ce15f15a24824418c4789ce; David Roberts, [Twitter thread], Thread Reader App, August 22, 2021, https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1429538957742592012.html; Tim Shipman, “Tony Blair attacks Joe Biden’s ‘imbecilic’ Afghanistan retreat as Kabul chaos deepens,” Times, August 22, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tony-blair-attacks-joe-bidens-imbecilic-afghanistan-retreat-as-kabul-chaos-deepens-jw782ghxr; Emily Stewart, “The history of US intervention in Afghanistan, from the Cold War to 9/11,” Vox, August 21, 2021, https://www.vox.com/world/22634008/us-troops-afghanistan-cold-war-bush-bin-laden
  8. [8]David Leonhardt to The Morning list, “A better Afghan policy,” New York Times, August 25, 2021, https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210825&instance_id=38743&nl=the-morning&productCode=NN&regi_id=97793637&segment_id=67145&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F51d8629f-6851-5663-99e7-7a33a08aa7eb&user_id=087ade925ce15f15a24824418c4789ce; David Roberts, [Twitter thread], Thread Reader App, August 22, 2021, https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1429538957742592012.html
  9. [9]British Broadcasting Corporation, “Afghanistan: Taliban ‘tortured and massacred’ men from Hazara minority,” August 20, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58277463; Larisa Brown et al., “Planes leaving half empty after Taliban set up ring of steel,” Times, August 19, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/planes-leaving-half-empty-after-taliban-set-up-ring-of-steel-6rdvp2wdb; Naomi Conrad, Masood Saifullah, and Birgitta Schülke-Gill, “In Kabul, terrified Afghans wait for the call to safety,” Deutschewelle, August 18, 2021, https://www.dw.com/en/in-kabul-terrified-afghans-wait-for-the-call-to-safety/a-58894365; Ben Doherty, Warren Murray, and agencies, “Afghanistan: reports emerge of Taliban beating Afghans seeking to flee Kabul,” Guardian, August 18, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/18/afghanistan-reports-emerge-of-taliban-beating-afghans-seeking-to-flee-kabul;
    Charlie Faulkner and Ben Farmer, “Desperate Afghans plunge to deaths from departing US planes as Kabul airport overrun,” Telegraph, August 16, 2021, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/08/16/kabul-airport-chaos-thousands-overrun-tarmac-desperate-bid-escape/; Susannah George, “The treacherous journey into Kabul airport to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan,” Washington Post, August 20, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/20/kabul-airport-journalists-evacuation/; Christina Goldbaum and Najim Rahim, “A Week Into Taliban Rule, One City’s Glimpse of What the Future May Hold,” New York Times, August 15, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-kunduz.html; Guardian, “‘There are no women in the streets’ – the day life changed in Kabul,” August 16, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/16/there-are-no-women-kabul-street-stayed-home-fear-beaten-taliban-fighters; Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge, “UN rights boss says she has credible reports of Taliban executions,” Reuters, August 24, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/un-rights-boss-says-has-credible-reports-taliban-executions-2021-08-24/; Monique Rivalland and Georgina Roberts, “How Afghanistan’s ambitious young women feel now,” Times, August 19, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-afghanistans-ambitious-young-women-feel-now-k7t6swgtk; Joyce Sohyun Lee et al., “With the Taliban now in control, here’s what Afghans are seeing in Kabul,” Washington Post, August 18, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/videos-afghanistan-kabul-taliban-arrival/; Yaroslav Trofimov, Dion Nissenbaum, and Margherita Stancati, “‘Saigon on Steroids’: The Desperate Rush to Flee Afghanistan,” Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/saigon-on-steroids-the-desperate-rush-to-flee-afghanistan-11629071999; Phillip Walter Wellman, “US Woman Under Taliban’s Watch Won’t Leave Kabul Without Her Staff and Hundreds of Rescue Animals,” Military.com, August 25, 2021, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/08/25/us-woman-under-talibans-watch-wont-leave-kabul-without-her-staff-and-hundreds-of-rescue-animals.html; Graeme Wood, “What Comes Next in Afghanistan,” Atlantic, August 27, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/08/kabul-airport-bombing-afghanistan/619906/; Tom Yun, “What is ISIS-K? A look at the Afghan-based terrorist group that threatens both Taliban and U.S. forces,” CTV News, August 26, 2021, https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/what-is-isis-k-a-look-at-the-afghan-based-terrorist-group-that-threatens-both-taliban-and-u-s-forces-1.5562085

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