COULD HAPPEN: The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan proves to be a brilliant move of risk management, as the country holds together and American forces need not be rushed back.
First, to lay a foundation, check out Ross Douthat’s absolutely crackerjack essential read on how Joe Biden is pursuing much of the Trump agenda (with different packaging and with some key differences, to be sure).
Then add in the best of the Washington Post’s big package of pieces on Mr. Biden’s expected Wednesday announcement on the pullback, which puts it in the context of the administration’s overall foreign policy.
Then know that the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal editorial boards are arm-in-arm as part of the Establishment’s forever-war-boosting chorus.
Is this one the Post?
Mr. Biden has chosen the easy way out of Afghanistan, but the consequences are likely to be ugly.
Or is this one the Post?
The White House announced Tuesday that President Biden plans to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11. The symbolic but arbitrary date shows the decision is driven less by facts on the ground than a political desire that is also a strategic gamble. History suggests U.S. interests will suffer.
Impossible to tell!
Obviously the withdrawal involves a big bet, but two of our finest national security writers lean into the facts on the ground in theater and the facts at home to expose the thinking behind Mr. Biden’s gambit.
Here’s the well-wired David Ignatius, who reminds those of you who might forget that a lot of U.S. assets will remain as a hedge:
Read the rest here
