New Delhi: Former US Defence Secretary Bob Gates famously wrote that President Joe Biden has been on the wrong side of every major foreign-policy issue in his long career, and the world is getting another example as Bidens hell-bent, ill-planned withdrawal from Afghanistan is turning into a strategic defeat and moral debacle, The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board said.
The Taliban’s march to Kabul continues with the fall of more provincial capitals each day. The last count was 12 capitals, including Ghazni on the road between the major cities of Kandahar and Kabul.
The Afghan government is trying to mount a counter-attack, and President Ashraf Ghani has sacked another army chief.
But the Taliban now controls at least eight entire provinces, according to the Long War Journal, and its reach includes areas in the north that the insurgents didn’t control when it ruled the country before 9/11.
The city of Herat also fell on Thursday, and Kandahar on Friday.
Many Afghan troops are fighting bravely, but they lack the air support that has been their main military advantage.
“Biden blundered in withdrawing all US air power from the country, including private contractors who assist the Afghan air force in maintaining helicopters and planes. The contractors are now literally having to assist via Zoom calls, while the US military flies too few sorties from the Persian Gulf region to slow the Taliban,” The Wall Street Journal said.
“The White House has failed to understand what’s happening, with leaks saying the Administration is surprised by the Taliban assault. Surprised? The military warned Biden and so did US intelligence.”
The Taliban began this offensive on May 1, two weeks after Biden announced his withdrawal, aiming for the symbolic date of September 11.
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