It has been two years since President Biden’s disastrous retreat from Afghanistan, which I feel was recklessly staged purely for political theater.
Biden irresponsibly risked the lives of thousands of American citizens and Afghan allies to complete his retreat by the symbolic date of Sept. 11, 2021. He surrendered Bagram Air Base to the enemy at the onset of his rapid retreat, eliminating the possibility of a safe and orderly withdrawal. Instead, he relied on the Taliban for security at the chaotic evacuation scene at the Kabul airport. This resulted in the needless deaths of 13 American troops with scores more horribly wounded, over 170 Afghan civilians killed, and countless others wounded in a subsequent suicide bombing attack.
Biden also abandoned thousands of American citizens and former allies behind enemy lines in his hasty retreat, while leaving behind billions of dollars worth of military equipment and weapons systems for the enemy to use or sell on the black market. To date, nobody in the administration or military leadership has been held accountable or lost their job for the incompetence of this operation, with the exception of Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller — a combat veteran with an exemplary 17-year military record who risked everything to ask for accountability. This ultimately cost him his job.
We all owe Scheller a debt of gratitude for being the one military officer, that I’m aware of, with the courage to publicly ask for accountability for this national tragedy.
Ed Davis
Greensburg