9/11 and Afghanistan

"One year ago, we had the SNAFU to end all SNAFUs. Those who served, know what I am talking about. Those who didn't, don't. Enough said." 

Today is our first anniversary. The anniversary of our greatest military retreat. The one that Biden, Blinken and Austin orchestrated in Kabul. Here is the irony. Originally, Slo Joe wanted the pull out date to be September 11th. Many (including me), thought that would be a bad idea. But - if he had kept that date, and planned a normal withdrawal of troops, allies, and equipment, history would look much different today.

Even some on the Left have a hard time explaining what happened a year ago today. Was it a "cluster"? Yes, and more so. It reminded me of that old military saying, "Failure to plan is planning to fail". And fail we did. At the cost of 13 service people killed, and scores of others wounded. 

The State Department has now confessed to getting over 100 Americans out of Kabul in the past year. Not bad, considering they promised us that all Americans were out prior to the retreat. But thousands of "friendlies" remain. Billions of dollars of our equipment remain. And the pain in the hearts of the families of the 13 dead service people - remains.

Was the retreat from Afghanistan the worst thing which happened since Joe Biden took office? Maybe - but it is in the top 10 for sure. Just think what Ukraine could have done with the billions of dollars worth of equipment we left for the enemy in Kabul. Was there any classified information with also fell into Taliban hands? Probably. But we will never know. There might have been none (unlikely), or maybe more than what was taken out of Mar-a-Lago. 

Forgive me if I don't celebrate this one year anniversary. As a former military man, I hang my head in shame. There are some rare times in which I am ashamed of how our military behaves. This was one of them. Not the troops - the generals and civilian handlers. 

One year ago, we had the SNAFU to end all SNAFUs. Those who served, know what I am talking about. Those who didn't, don't. Enough said.