The scenes out of Kabul this past week have stunned Americans, even as the Biden administration insisted it had the situation under control. The speed of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has created a desperate rush out of the country, prompting Biden to redeploy 6,500 troops to assist the evacuation. But with Americans running the gauntlet of Taliban checkpoints surrounding the Kabul airport, where thousands of Afghans have gathered in hopes of boarding a plane, many are beginning to call this Biden’s Saigon.
Historian, Lt. Col. Oliver North joined The Cats Roundtable and said Biden’s leadership has lead both Americans and Afghans into “deep, serious trouble.”
“What happened over there was a total failure of preparation for the kinds of things that are now happening right in front of our eyes,” North said.
Biden attempted to shore up doubts about the evacuation on Monday when he spoke to the nation about the events in Afghanistan. Biden admitted that the Taliban takeover had happened much faster than predicted while placing ultimate responsibility for the fall of the country on the Afghan military and government.
But if Biden knew the Kabul government would fall, and that the rise of the Taliban was inevitable, why would he allow the current debacle?
“What transpired between January and what’s now transpiring in conversations with the Taliban?” North asked The Cats Roundtable, adding treating the Taliban as a “legitimate force” only emboldened them.
North was particularly concerned for those Afghan partners who faced retaliation, imprisonment, and death under Taliban rule.
“There are over 150,000 people who have been working with us closely in the Afghan government,” the Lt. Col. explained, adding he worried there was “no capacity for bringing them out.”
North pushed back on Biden’s criticisms of the Afghan military, calling the dismissal of the Afghan military an “incredible insult.”
“Since 2014, ‘til right now, over 66,000 Afghan troops and police officers and security people have been murdered,” North told The Cats Roundtable, adding the first hints of anti-Taliban resistance have begun to arise under the leadership of former Afghan special forces operatives.
As Americans across the country watch the events unfolding in Afghanistan, there have been cries of helplessness, rage, and disappointment. As the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, those feelings have grown accustomed to many. Watching Afghans cling to jet-tires, crowding runways, and harassed by militants seems like an ignoble end. Like many Americans, the North can think of one thing they can do, an act of goodwill that’s in their power to give.
“Pray,” North said. “We need to pray for those guys on the ground. We need to pray for our country, with the kind of leadership we’ve got.”
The Lt. Col said instead of blaming the Afghan military, Biden should think of how his handling of Afghanistan will sow doubt among US allies. “Our credibility is smashed by this,” North feared That’s why I say in many respects this is bad as what happened on the 20th of April, 1975 in Saigon.”
