Pushing the exit date past August 31, 2021, is MISSION CREEP. It also shows indecisiveness. It is a political ploy to project the image of uncertainty to this administration. There is no easy way to leave Afghanistan.
August 23, 2021
President Biden (click here) is considering pushing back his Aug. 31 deadline for the U.S. troop withdrawal, but the Taliban said that this would not be welcome. Violent clashes continued at Kabul’s airport....
If the USA pushes it's authority beyond August 31, 2021 the Taliban will begin a war all over again.
Afghanistan has a footprint that is 6 percent of that of the USA. A good amount of that footprint of Afghanistan can be traveled by mule or caravans on very bad and torturous roads. The USA announced July 8, 2021 it would be leaving the country.
...Our military mission in Afghanistan (click here) will conclude on August 31st. The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way, prioritizing the safety of our troops as they depart....
July 8th was nearly two months of travel to be ready to leave the country. Afghanistan just isn't that big a country that anyone is still somewhere among the people to not be prepared to evacuate out.
Shopkeepers in Kabul are stating their businesses are suffering from a decrease in business since the Taliban have taken over. People of Kabul are stating they don't know if they will receive their paychecks since the Taliban rolled into town. These people have existing businesses and have banks with a currency that will be more disrupted if the USA extends it's presence in Afghanistan.
There is no doubt Afghanistan's business and quality of life have been disrupted by the Taliban coupe on the existing government. But, there is little to be done now to reverse that without the people standing up for themselves. When they do they are assaulted by Taliban militia to end the demonstrations. If the USA commits to mission creep to stay past August 31, 2021, there will be MORE disruption and not less.
It is in the best interest of the people to leave and let the dust settle due to the coupe of the existing government. No one needs more dead and more economic disruption. The people of Afghanistan had two decades, a generation, to put their lives in order that allows democracy to flourish. Instead, they allowed the Haqqani Network to be a part of the GDP and Pakistan to recover the power of the Taliban. For the USA to stay any longer is foolishness. Nothing will change by mission creep by the USA. It will get worse instead of better and the Afghans will be given false hope that everything will return to normal. Normal in the case of Afghanistan includes hideouts for terrorists and a poppy culture that refuses to die. It is time to leave. We should have left as soon as bin Laden was found and killed.
Stick to your guns, Joe. Get out of there. We no longer have a reason to continue. The entire country is corrupt and not just the instilled Western democracy. Corruption is clout in Afghanistan and it needs to end, but there is nothing the USA can do to bring about a better Afghanistan.
