The beginning of the end of Joe Biden’s presidency arrived in August 2021.
That’s when the president began a catastrophic pullout from Afghanistan that shredded our national credibility and his own reputation. He never really recovered.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has just released an exhaustive 353-page report putting on record the sorry episode from beginning to end.
The report’s over-arching conclusion is that this was a Joe Biden operation from beginning to end.
He insisted on the withdrawal despite ample warnings from all sides, with the bull-headed stubbornness of someone who is often wrong but never in doubt.
To paraphrase Lincoln, Biden was the author and the finisher of the debacle in Afghanistan.
No rational person would want to be associated with any of this, but, at the time, Vice President Kamala Harris boasted about being the last person in the room.
Since she was a cipher, it’s doubtful she had much influence, but anyone foolish enough to expect much of her was disappointed.
One Harris aide said she “strongly supported” Biden’s decision, and one top negotiator for the Afghan government hoped she’d have qualms about throwing Afghan women to the wolves.
To no avail. Harris still describes Biden’s decision as “courageous and right.” Of course, it was neither.