OPINION:
Contemporary ethos says the key to a genuine existence is to “speak your truth,” as if personal perception trumps objective reality. Masterminds of the U.S. foreign policy have, in recent days, depicted in detail their “truth” about the U.S. pull-out from Afghanistan. To common-sense Americans, though, the TV images of chaos and violence bear little resemblance to official descriptions of laudable success. No candy-coating can disguise the fact that President Biden and his advisers have presided over one of the most disgraceful military embarrassments in U.S. history.
In a televised White House speech last week, Mr. Biden defended the U.S. exit from its 20-year Afghan war as “an extraordinary success.” Summarizing his argument, he concluded: “I give you my word: With all of my heart, I believe this is the right decision, a wise decision, and the best decision for America.”
It is hard to fathom that the president was referring to the jarring events that resulted in the abandonment of hundreds of Americans and thousands of their loyal Afghan allies behind enemy lines and the bequeathal of tens of billions of dollars worth of advanced U.S. weaponry to Taliban terrorists.
The idea that human beings ought to be free to fashion with their own brand of truth isn’t new. Still, media fashionista Oprah Winfrey pinned it to pop culture when, during her 2018 Golden Globes speech, she stressed the importance of “speaking your truth” in the context of the burgeoning “#MeToo” movement. Having the courage of one’s convictions is admirable but reimagining the truth in an objectively false fashion is despicable.
Marching to the beat of his commander in chief, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has added his own cringe-worthy Afghanistan musings: “One thing I’m certain of — for any soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine and their family — your service mattered, and it was not in vain,” he said.
Veterans of the U.S. global war on terror may be forgiven for showing disdain for the general’s attempt to sweeten a humiliating retreat. Even before the abrupt pull-out, veterans were committing suicide at a rate four times that of their combat deaths. For soldiers everywhere, defeat in war is soul-crushing; for American warriors, the Biden defilement of their battlefield ethic — “leave no one behind” — is unforgivable. Unforgivable.
Americans are rightfully appalled by the military withdrawal operation that left 13 U.S. troops dead when security at the international airport in Kabul was left in the hands of the Taliban. Unsurprisingly, the Rasmussen presidential tracking poll last week found Mr. Biden’s 42 percent approval rate had been buried by his 56 percent disapproval. Worse, 52 percent of respondents said the president should resign over the botched pull-out.
America is built upon reason, not rainbows. Mr. Biden et al. may delude themselves with their cloying Afghan narrative, but truth be told, Americans aren’t fooled.
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