The Roman Empire fell, in part, when the government began paying tribute to the invaders rather than defending their borders and allies. President Biden has hastily (and dangerously) withdrawn from Afghanistan, leaving tribute to the Taliban in his wake. Billions in military equipment, including sophisticated aircraft, drones and firearms, were left as spoils to the enemy. A sound withdrawal plan by the prior administration that could have avoided this was discarded.

Moreover, we left standing military bases to be used against us should the Taliban choose to make hostages from remaining American citizens. Worse, Biden was publicly condemned by our allies for implementing this plan. The CCP is telling our allies to choose China over the U.S. as we have demonstrated our global weaknesses.

We don’t know how this will end, but the troubling conclusion is even more difficult to accept. While there continues to be a question as to Biden’s competence, one must assume that our intelligence experts are either equally incompetent or, even more disturbing, this was intentional.

When Rome was finally sacked, patriotism had been replaced with individuality rather than the common good, and Rome’s collapse followed shortly thereafter. The repercussions of this are disturbing. President Obama’s withdrawal of troops from Iraq resulted in the rise of ISIS. Who knows what terrorist organization will be created from this debacle, as our enemies now have the location and finest equipment to plan their attack.

Richard Lafferty

Butler

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