The End: Officially, America’s Military Is Out of Afghanistan

Andrew Donaldson

Born and raised in West Virginia, Andrew has since lived and traveled around the world several times over. Though frequently writing about politics out of a sense of duty and love of country, most of the time he would prefer discussions on history, culture, occasionally nerding on aviation, and his amateur foodie tendencies. He can usually be found misspelling/misusing words on Twitter @four4thefire and his food writing website Yonder and Home. Andrew is the host of Heard Tell podcast. Subscribe to Andrew's Heard Tell SubStack for free here:

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14 Responses

  1. Saul Degraw says:

    The total cost of Afghanistan as misadventure was 2.313 trillion dollars: https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1432447508094013442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1432447508094013442%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefaultf%3Dlawyersgunsmoneyblog-comt_i%3D11999820https3A2F2Fwww.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com2F3Fp3D119998t_u%3Dhttps3A2F2Fwww.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com2F20212F082Fthe-right-thing-2t_e%3DThe20right20thingt_d%3DThe20right20thing20-20Lawyers2C20Guns202620Moneyt_t%3DThe20right20things_o%3Ddescversion%3D53c39e0ce65e4eb0af505908f71410f5

    Biden did the right thing by withdrawing. I do not think there was a mystical and better plan that could have made withdrawal better. The whole Afghani government was a house of cards built on a bed of sand and destined to collapse. Yet the Blob can never be wrong according to the Blob. How dare you question it ask the Blob.Report

    • Damon in reply to Saul Degraw says:

      The chart clearly states that it excludes “future cost of veterans care”, which will be significant. OBL won, we spent over 2 trillion to punish him and his rag tag group and we’re leaving Afghanistan no much different than when we went in. Some people got rich, many others have to deal with war trauma. That money could have been better spent.Report

    • Kazzy in reply to Saul Degraw says:

      “I do not think there was a mystical and better plan that could have made withdrawal better.”

      I’ll push back here, slightly. I find it kind of hard to believe that they couldn’t have had a better exit strategy. Not a perfect one… not one that prevented the (re)rise of the Taliban or the emergence of ISIS-K or guaranteed zero loss of life. But it does seem like they could have started evacuations earlier and while we had a larger presence to facilitate that more effectively and efficiently.

      Whether that is Biden’s error or his military leadership’s error is beyond my ability to assess. Ultimately, Biden is the top dog of the military but I couldn’t blame him for taking the advice of those below him.

      If no one up and down the leadership foresaw what ultimately happened, that’s a pretty big indictment of the institution. But as my friend who served from 2005 until fairly recently always said, “Today’s leaders are fighting yesterday’s wars.” I suppose the question is whether Afghanistan was today’s wars, yesterday’s war, or what.Report

      • Jaybird in reply to Kazzy says:

        These sweeping statements always strike me as a defense against Biden more than a defense against what was done.

        Are you saying Biden made a mistake? I say: No.

        Personally, I think that the exit indicates a *HUGE* intelligence failure and am suspicious that the timeline operated under the assumption that Biden would cave instead of staying the course.

        So by the time it came time to leave, the lies of the intelligence people hit the brick wall of reality at full speed and the military’s “wait, he was serious?” kicked in right around the same time and it became a perfect storm of screwed-uppedness.

        BUT THIS ISN’T A CRITICISM OF BIDEN. BIDEN IS INNOCENT.Report

        • Jaybird in reply to Jaybird says:

          (Also look for “Biden didn’t make a mistake, Trump did” if you are suspicious if this is about Teams instead of whether we live in the timeline with the best of all possible evacuations.)Report

      • Philip H in reply to Kazzy says:

        I find it kind of hard to believe that they couldn’t have had a better exit strategy. Not a perfect one… not one that prevented the (re)rise of the Taliban or the emergence of ISIS-K or guaranteed zero loss of life. But it does seem like they could have started evacuations earlier and while we had a larger presence to facilitate that more effectively and efficiently.

        The Afghan government asked us not to because they (rightly) saw that as a public statement of loss of confidence. And Biden plused up the military presence prior to the pull out. Trump left him with 2500 and he ramped to 6000.

        If no one up and down the leadership foresaw what ultimately happened, that’s a pretty big indictment of the institution.

        There’s plenty of reporting that the mid level career folks forsaw this and put it in their briefings to higher command. Higher command is responsible for the choices they made regarding which responses they gave weight to and which they didn’t.

        But as my friend who served from 2005 until fairly recently always said, “Today’s leaders are fighting yesterday’s wars.”

        Your friend is right. Many of us pointed this out at the beginning of the Afghan war. No one wanted to listen.Report

        • Kazzy in reply to Philip H says:

          Re: point #1

          In that case, a decision seems to have been made to prioritize the Afghan government’s wish.

          Maybe things would have gone worse if we signaled that so early. But an early public statement of loss is probably better than losing and being/acting surprised by it.Report

  2. Michael Cain says:

    Over/under on the first US air strike?Report

  3. North says:

    I shall put on my callous hat and make an estimate.

    Cost of withdrawal. 13 American servicemembers killed in a suicide bombing by non-Taliban militants.
    Assorted Afghan nationals killed vast numbers of Afghan nationals abandoned to the tender mercies of the Taliban.

    Afghanistan: 50% odds it’d out of the media narrative by October 1st.
    90% odds it’s a non-issue by the New Year.

    Political impact: If he could have finagled escaping without losing any soldiers Biden may have gotten a mild lift. Now? Probably zero impact in the long run.

    Historically? I think History will look kindly on Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.Report

  4. Slade the Leveller says:

    Thanks be to God. Let’s keep it that way.Report

  5. Chris says:

    And only 20 years too late.Report