The Biden administration’s reckless withdrawal strategy from Afghanistan is an embarrassment, both at home and to our allies, in my opinion.

Most Americans polled wanted our troops out of Afghanistan, but they also wanted it done right. We should have gotten our fellow Americans and the military equipment out before pulling the troops, not the reverse. As the Aug. 31 deadline passed, many Americans were left behind.

At an ABC News interview recently, President Biden said he would leave U.S. troops in Afghanistan until all Americans, who wanted to leave, had been evacuated. Meanwhile, 13 U.S. military service people and many Afghans were killed by a suicide bomber. This didn’t have to happen.

At his press briefings, President Biden gave a generalized “I take full responsibility” comment, while assigning specific blame for the mess on his predecessor. I believe none of the three previous presidents would have carried out an exit strategy as careless as this.

Rather than accept responsibility as commander in chief, Biden cowered and blamed. To me, that’s not the actions of a leader. After the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, President Kennedy took full responsibility of the events, even though it was planned a year earlier during the Eisenhower administration.

Our government abandoned our citizens in a dangerous land and betrayed some of our closest allies in the process by not consulting with them about our quick departure.

Our leaders at the Pentagon and State Department should be held accountable for this. We can only hope.

Kevin Landry
Lewiston

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