As the Taliban fighters entered Afghanistan’s capital, the United States veteran organizations came out with extreme frustration and anger against the Biden administration for its reckless drawdown from Afghanistan. The US veterans and active military service members have serious reservations not only by the speed with which the Taliban swept through the nation but by the scores of allies, including interpreters, still in the country and now at risk of getting left behind. More than 700,000 US veterans who served in Afghanistan during the 20-year long war are more critical of the Biden administration in the odd way adopted by the US government during evacuation, which apparently earned great embarrassment for the United States at international level. The leaders of dozens of Veteran Organizations are continuously urging that Veterans are upset, angry, triggered and are experiencing an increase in anxiety, depression, and PTSD. It was said that veterans have concern for the scores of interpreters who aided the United States during the war, who are now facing the risk of reprisals from the Taliban. Most Veteran leaders are publicly blaming President Biden for mishandling the drawdown. The matter was further aggravated due to the State Department’s failure in expediting the applications of SIV applicants before the fall of Kabul and recent Department of States admission that the majority of the SIV applications were left behind in Kabul after troops departure from the country. In fact, the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan was highly ill-organized, speedy, and a solitary move of the Biden administration, which is now being criticized by the US military and civil leaders, politicians, intelligentsia as well as by the public. Internationally, the complete negation of United States predictions, intelligence assessment, and handling of situation had projected a distorted image of US civilian and Military leadership. The unilateral withdrawal of US troops has caused credibility issues for the United States at international level and various US allies including Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are seriously considering the day when they may face a similar situation like Afghanistan. On the other hand, the European Community is considering formation of an EU Army to end its dependence on the US military shield. According to reports, US military leadership and NGOs have been urging the Biden administration for months before the seizure of Kabul to start evacuating Afghan allies from the country, but the Biden administration was of the view that such steps would signal lack of faith in the Ghani government.
However, the hasty withdrawal of the troops and unplanned evacuation of Afghan allies has disapproved the claims of the Biden administration having the ability to handle the situation in a better way. According to a survey, presently Biden’s rating has witnessed a low record and is coinciding with the position of former President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.
The Biden administration is facing tremendous criticism from bipartisan lawmakers for its mismanagement during evacuation from Afghanistan. As per estimates about 2 hundred thousand Afghans are still waiting for evacuation in Afghanistan. Although America had pulled out its feet from Afghanistan, the issues and memories relating to its military campaign in Afghanistan would remain alive over the years. According to experts, there should be an independent study about the US achievements during the Afghan war other than the killing of Osama Bin Laden and near a million Afghan refugees during the last two decades.
