Trump’s Afghanistan plan foiled by Harris-Biden weakness

It is unfortunate how often lying and politics are intertwined. However, fabricating stories to hide accountability for the tragic deaths of 13 courageous Americans in Afghanistan is both despicable and disrespectful to their memory. 

Kamala Harris is distorting reality and deceiving the American public to divert blame from her administration’s failed Afghanistan policy, which resulted in death, chaos, and the transfer of billions of dollars worth of US military equipment to the Taliban. 

Their shortcomings in Afghanistan led to a loss of American credibility globally and directly resulted in Iran’s attack on our ally Israel and Russia’s invasion of our ally Ukraine in Europe.

Just four years ago, the world was undeniably a safer place. 

There was no Russian invasion of Ukraine. Iran did not have the capability to supply weapons to Russia for killing innocent Ukrainians. Hamas, under Iran’s guidance, had not committed atrocities against Israelis and Americans. China was not threatening Taiwan and Philippine vessels were not being rammed. 

Furthermore, there had been no American casualties in Afghanistan for over a year, as our military continued a responsible and strategic withdrawal. 

The foreign policy failures of the Biden-Harris administration are staggering, with Harris opting for blame-shifting, deflection, and outright falsehoods to further her own career. 

Americans deserve honesty. They deserve the truth.

Let’s set the record straight. President Trump was the first to prioritize bringing our military personnel home.

However, he understood the necessity of executing this in a responsible manner that ensured the safety of our military, preserved the gains made at great American expense (especially for women and girls), and prevented Afghanistan from becoming a base for attacks against America or its interests. 

While our objective was to repatriate all American soldiers, the realities on the ground and the advice of our military and intelligence agencies did not support relinquishing Bagram Air Base and withdrawing the last uniformed personnel from Afghanistan. 

This stance was upheld until less than a year later, when Biden and Harris chose to pull out our military within days. 

They were aware of the consequences. The subsequent catastrophe was entirely foreseeable.

In the final year of the Trump administration, conditions in Afghanistan were improving and the Taliban was under control — they understood that compliance with our withdrawal conditions was mandatory to avoid severe repercussions. 

The plan devised by the Trump administration — and passed on to the incoming administration — was effective. 

However, this plan did not bind the subsequent administration to a set timeline or specific date for full withdrawal, as Harris alleges. 

The claim made by the Harris campaign that we left them without any plans for a structured departure is unfounded.

The detailed plan we left behind was based on conditions and mandated that all parties, including the Afghan government and the Taliban, adhere to the terms of a robust agreement that would ensure a stable Afghanistan where human rights, specifically those of women, were respected.

Biden and Harris disregarded this plan, prioritizing fulfilling a campaign promise over the safety of the Afghan populace and our own. They hastily exited despite objections from senior military officials. 

Our plan also involved a formal simultaneous agreement with the Afghan government. The assertion by the Harris campaign that we struck a deal with the Taliban without consulting the Afghan government is false.

Harris’ campaign also alleges that we granted the Taliban permission to target Americans if we did not withdraw. This claim is baseless. 

In our negotiations with the Taliban, the Trump administration successfully established a deterrent framework that safeguarded Americans. 

We set clear boundaries, and the Taliban recognized that they were engaging with an administration that would enforce those boundaries.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are accountable for the fatal assaults on US forces during the withdrawal. 

They projected vulnerability and attracted aggression by announcing a fixed date and removing military personnel before chaos and Taliban control ensued in Afghanistan.

Lastly, the contention by the Harris campaign that the agreements made by the Trump administration in the region constrained their actions is entirely nonsensical.

Given that our plan was based on conditions, she and Biden could have established a withdrawal timeline in accordance with those conditions and carried out a systematic drawdown.

Instead, they locked the US into a pre-determined withdrawal date by publicly declaring it in April 2021. 

Ironically, America would have been better off if Biden and Harris had adhered to the precautions we took to ensure American safety, from our southern border to the Middle East. 

For Harris to claim that their actions were constrained in Afghanistan contradicts their actions in other conflict zones.

Biden and Harris’ decision to depart in a manner that endangered our soldiers was not about honoring our agreements: they failed to comply with our agreement. 

This was a political choice made by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, individuals who lack the knowledge to ensure the safety of our soldiers or sustain US deterrence.

It was a disastrous and heartbreaking blunder — exacerbated by their attempts to downplay it and act as if it never occurred.

This “surrender” did not happen when the Trump administration signed an agreement outlining the conditions for a well-organized withdrawal of our forces.

The surrender occurred when the decision was made to leave prematurely — when Harris was “the last person in the room.”

This November, Americans should reflect on what might happen if Kamala Harris is elected as our commander-in-chief and truly is the last decision-maker when numerous American lives are at stake.

Mike Pompeo served as US secretary of state from 2018 to 2021.