Plus, Random Observations Monday, August 16, 2021 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer Biden's Afghanistan Scandal I'm sad and beyond angry, and you should be too, watching the scandalous disaster unfolding in Afghanistan. Yes, it is a scandal. It's happening because we have cowards at the highest levels of government. Sadly, too many military leaders are more interested in satisfying the left than they are in being worthy of leading our brave troops into battle. I can't imagine the emotions that millions of veterans, active-duty military, their families and the families of the fallen are feeling today. So, my message is for them. This fiasco is not on your backs. You are patriots who answered the call of our country. You're in the same tradition as the men who fought on Concord Bridge, on the beaches of Normandy, at Pork Chop Hill in Korea and Khe Sanh in Vietnam. To the Gold Star mothers and fathers: Your sons and daughters did not die in vain. Their sacrifice protected this country for 20 years from another 9/11 attack. To the wounded warriors who left an arm or a leg on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq: We know your sacrifice. A grateful nation loves you. You are better than the people who led you into wars they would not let you win. To those who returned home mentally wounded and are overcome with despair, I beg you, do not give in to it. We need you now more than ever. To every American: Reach out to a veteran or military family today. Tell them that nothing can ever cancel the heroism that their sons, daughters and they have displayed. And then pray that we can still rescue our country, this "shining city upon a hill," before it's too late. Afghanistan Collapse When George W. Bush took us into Afghanistan after 9/11, we did the right thing. We crushed Al Qaeda and many of their co-conspirators. But as time passed, we went down a rabbit hole seeking an impossible goal. For nearly 20 years we tried to turn Afghanistan into a functioning democracy. Nation-building became the goal, even though we did not have the moral courage to completely crush the jihadist enemy. Donald Trump ran in 2016 promising to get us out of the Afghanistan quagmire. He recognized the futility of a policy followed under multiple administrations that sacrificed our brave warriors and spent hundreds of billions of dollars, while never unleashing our full military power. It was time to leave Afghanistan, but not like this fiasco. President Trump directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to negotiate a phased withdrawal. He told the Taliban that any attacks on our forces would be met with an overwhelming military response. No U.S. soldier died in Afghanistan over the last 12 months as a result. When Joe Biden took office, he was given a carefully constructed plan put together by Trump, Pence and Pompeo. He either did not know about it or chose not to implement it. Instead, he completely botched it. He couldn't even retreat competently. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who served in the Obama Administration, wrote in his memoir that Joe Biden has "been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." Biden has kept his streak alive. He was massively wrong when he said just a few weeks ago that it was "highly unlikely" that the Taliban would quickly take over Afghanistan. He and the Pentagon leadership were caught completely flat-footed. This fiasco is a colossal defeat for the United States. Massive amounts of U.S. weaponry are falling into the hands of our enemies. Some Afghan security forces are reportedly fleeing to Iran with U.S. equipment. Every U.S. ally from Israel to Taiwan has to wonder about the will of America under a weak, failing president. September 11th Ponder this: Every year for the past 19 years we have marked the disastrous anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Speeches were made. "Never again," everyone said. But in recent years, we couldn't even say the name of the enemy – Radical Islam. Instead, we said the enemy was "terrorism," which is a method of warfare, not an enemy. In just a few weeks, when the 20th anniversary of 9/11 rolls around, the Taliban will have their feet up on the desks in our embassy. Their flag will be on the flag pole that flew the Stars and Stripes for nearly 20 years. There are likely to be Taliban-led celebrations all over Kabul and probably in Tehran, Beijing and Moscow too. The propaganda of our enemies around the world will trumpet the defeat of the United States. Biden owns this. Random Observations The Taliban spokesman is on Twitter while Donald Trump is banned. The chaos in Afghanistan the last couple of days is disturbing, but I am even more disturbed by the chaos at our southern border. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said in a recent congressional hearing that he wanted to learn more about white supremacy. Maybe he should spend more time learning about Islamic supremacy. This administration is built on lies. They lie about the border. They lie about who is defunding the police. They lie about our history. They lie about COVID. They lied about Afghanistan. Sleepy Joe is still at Camp David and hasn't bothered to speak to the American people. While he is licking his ice cream cone, our reputation is taking a licking around the world. Under severe pressure, Biden is now reportedly coming back to Washington, D.C., to address the nation. As evil Islamofascists took one city after another, Biden ran to Camp David and the president of Afghanistan ran to Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan or some other "stan." Biden was afraid of falling polls. The Afghan president was afraid of losing his head. Neither man is an example of honor or leadership. 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