As Afghanistan fell, I was fly fishing on the Yellowstone River. Distracted from the swirl of currents and the prospects of feeding trout, I asked the guide about Afghanistan’s fall. He said he had been too busy working to really know what was going on. I suspect the majority of Americans have been similarly pre-occupied. Yet, pollsters are often the soothsayers in our world of representative government. Representative of what?
The following day as images of the fall streamed over TV and video devices, my wife and I went to breakfast in the lodge in Montana where we are staying. The hostess welcomed us and pointed to a TV screen mounted on a wall saying, “we don’t air political channels.” There was a recurring report with wind-blown images of a tropical storm lashing the panhandle of Florida.
Turning to news sources on the iPad, I updated the overnight news on Rocky Mountain time. There were heartbreaking images from Kabul and one especially wrenching image of President Biden at Camp David in what looked like a room furnished to accommodate cabinet meetings. He was alone and watching a screen of images and listening to audio feeds from advisors. The weather forecaster had it better; he was able to see real time conditions and forecasts synthesized by proven software.
I thought: either the President’s stubbornly held views or his policy advisors opinions have certainly not served him well. But here he is again, captured by insular thought. Beyond the obvious failure to foresee was the image of an isolated President, still on vacation, struggling to understand both what went wrong and the consequences for his presidency.
Infrequently do Presidents leave themselves so vulnerable to the riptides of current events. But here is our President, our Commander-in-Chief, sounding and looking like he is unequal to the job.
Our President. Yes, regardless of preference, he is our President. The challenge he faces is to restore trust in his judgment. Being against our presence in Afghanistan is at least arguably the right stance. Being out-of-touch is overwhelmingly the wrong condition and image.
Sadly I conclude this brief reflection to return to the stream where the final tip of the fly line — the leader— is far more predictable.
Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.
Stephen Schaare says
Thank you Mr. Sikes, Was it Ben Franklin who claimed “you get the government you deserve”?
Boy, was he right. The tragedy of Afghanistan, the debacle of our southern border, etc. And so forth.
In his prime, Biden was of ordinary intellect.I am about to listen to him now. Maybe when you hire a cabinet and leaders ;based on race and gender, you do not get the best.
Howard Freedlander says
Al Sikes’ observations are a bit skewed. He opines that President Biden may be perceived as “unequal to the job” by virtue of sitting alone in a conference room at Camp David while communicating by video with his staff. His conclusion seems contradicted by the president’s belief that the Afghan War needed to end, and so did the deaths of American troops. Optics aside, Mr. Biden may be more than equal to the job.
Stephen Schaare says
Mr. Freedlander, You avoided the issue entirely, as Did Joe Biden this afternoon with his insistence that we could no longer stay in this primitive hellhole. This is widely known.
The horror is this chaotic withdrawal,apparently without any plan. The issue is the certain torture and death of the Afghans that helped us these last twenty years. The issue is that this once great nation, victorious over the Nazis and Imperial Japan, lacks the leadership and knowledge of history and of human nature to command anything.
He gave his little talk, then returned to vacation.
I heard both CNN and MSNBC criticize Biden and his empty head. You know things are really bad when this happens.
So, if you would address the matter of this botched withdrawal, I believe the world will be a better place.
Alan Boisvert says
Stephen, I totally agree about he botched withdrawal. I am a lifelong Democrat and Biden supporter. I support a withdrawal from Afghanistan. However, what I’ve seen, read, heard and have been able to understand the past 2 days has so angered me that I wrote President Biden an email today. Saying that unless he takes dramatic efforts to get all the Afgans who helped us out of Afghanistan, I can no longer support you. The irony is they’ve had months to get the Afgan translators and others out and have been dragging their feet with BS process/paperwork that no one has be able to rationally explain. President Biden’s television speech today reminded me of one trumps useless speeches, he said nothing to address the real problem(botched withdrawal). He just repeatded the same old.
Howard Freedlander says
I don’t disagree, Stephen, with the chaotic withdrawal, a scene similar to the horrific fleeing from Viet Nam. What I find bothersome is the reflexive piling on of Joe Biden, who was gutsy enough to leave a country to its machinations.
Stephen Schaare says
Thank you Howard, I believe it is well past time that Biden sees some “reflexive piling on”. Donald Trump got it 24/7/365. This withdrawal, is without question, Biden’s doing. As I heard on MSNBC, of all places, “Biden owns this one.”
Biden aside, this is the level of our intel? The Generals? We would never, ever see such mayhem with Generals Grant, Eisenhower, Patton,Bradley,Powell and Schwarzkopf.
We need to see some resignations at some very high levels.
Alan Boisvert says
Howard,
A piling on is well deserved:
https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/watch/afghan-war-vet-i-will-never-forgive-my-country-for-this-we-must-save-the-people-who-saved-me-118815813529?cid=eml_mda_20210817&user_email=3b1b0c94357d2b0fa5a518b5bf31f8425bc9d250ddc156a47a69229c4ed4de3e
Roberta Maguire says
Biden is the fourth president to fail at conquering the Taliban. Perhaps you should realize that the challenge is too great or impossible.
Sacrifice more lives? Dollars?
Patrick Firth says
President Biden inherited an extraordinarily difficult situation with troop levels of about 2,500 Americans on the ground – the lowest in our 20 years – as pre-determined by President Trump’s plan for the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Up against the May 1st withdraw deadline of ceasefire agreement President Trump and the Taliban made, we had to either withdraw our troops or massively ramp up deployment and resume combat. We also trained and equipped an army of 300,000 Afghan soldiers. You couldn’t ask for a more literal demonstration of Ben Franklin’s quote, “it’s a Republic – if you can keep it.” The political leadership fled the country and the military collapsed completely. As President Biden said, “We gave them every chance to determine their own future.” I am glad the President is providing additional forces to better facilitate the evacuation activities during this refugee crisis. The story of Afghanistan is long and heartbreaking. It is incredibly painful to think of what their country may turn into under Taliban control, but there was never going to be a perfect, or possibly even good, way to end our involvement there. We should work with other nations to protect and process all refugees fleeing Afghanistan and assess if it is even possible to safely continue the good and important development work, such as through USAID, that has been devoted to the region over the years.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Oh please. What do we want? To protect women and children who will lead dismal lives under the Taliban. Yes, we have
spent billions on the former nation of war-loads, to no avail. Yes, better infrastructure and putting the 21st century in sight for
the nation. So, do we withdraw now or next year. Or the year after that. Or occupy forever. The collapse of the Afghan government to the
Taliban, for me, indicates that is what the Afghans want.It is sickening but what else, other than billions more of occupation,
can we do? Try and encourage war loads to fight? They have no desire to, apparently. The Russians left the nation in a mess. We left it with possibilities. Let the people decide what they want. It is time for another way to fight right extremist as the Taliban, and
let’s let the world in on the solution.
Paul Callahan says
Deirdre, I find it quite ironic how you will gladly vilify our county leaders for making a decision that “might” offend the feelings of some citizens but then you openly defend and stand beside the decision of our President that will cause the brutalization, murder and rape of tens of thousands of innocents.
Deirdre LaMotte says
What do YOU think we should do in a foreign civil war
we have been involved in for 20 years??
We provide vital humanitarian aid around the world and will continue to do so. This
was the toughest choice anyone could make.
Since May was the deadline, a decision had to be made. Yes, I’d love to evacuate every woman and child and nuke the Taliban. But, that is why I’m not President.
Neil Clark says
As I have watch the debacle of the exodus from Afganistan I see the hauntingly very evident similarities to Vietnam. Like Vietnam, our military and politicians tried to sugar coat a failed mission. We tried to change a centuries old tribal society into a centralized nation that was doomed to fail. We never really had a good idea of why we were there, other than to seek out and destroy the perpetrators of 9/11. President Biden made the hard call. He did what three former presidents did not have the guts to do. That is, cut bait. More time would not have mattered. As to the people there who helped us, we should have saved them over the last six months, not just a last minute rescue mission, which may not work. But, remember, the Taliban was there before we were and was a horrible society that oppressed women. We changed that for twenty years, but we can not stay there forever. It was up to Afganistan to decide their fate. Sadly, they have. President Biden did what we needed done. Stop the waste of American men and women and get out. I think that the test of history will reward him for stopping the insanity, much like the end of Vietnam. Perhaps, with the failure of the British in the late 1800’s, the Russians in the seventies and now us,the world will let Afganistan be Afganistan.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Very well put.
Bob Parker says
Mr. Schaare,
Maybe you were too busy figuring out how to criticize Pres. Biden to hear him state thay the buck stops with him, that he accepted responsibility for the current disarray in the exit from Afghanistan, and his reaffirmation of his decision to leave Afghanistan. None of these sentiments ever passed the lips of trump. Yes, this should have been anticipated and planned for, and no, it would not have gone any smoother if trump had been allowed to push forward with his plan to leave in May
Biden along with involved cabinet Secretaries and military leaders deserve criticism. However, the fact that these officials reflect the racial and gender diversity of America is NOT to blame. In my humble opinion, raising this issue in this context is not pertinent and does nothing to further thoughtful or productive discussion on where the United States gov’t failed those who helped us in Afghanistan and how we can minimize the resultant harm
Deirdre LaMotte says
Agree. And it was with typical pompous manner, Trump’s Sec State flew to the Middle East and proudly announced a withdraw deal with the Taliban for May 2021. Talk about a hot potato landing in Biden’s lap; of course, he has been in favor of withdrawal for years. But not only that, the previous administration wanted to invite Taliban leaders to Camp David for an “accord”. Now we getting all these crocodile tears from Pompeo himself.
Honestly, I cannot imagine making this decision. But I feel confident that if the Taliban wants to play on the world stage, they had better play by modern rules. Who knows what will happen. I do hope thousands are evacuated before 8/31. And Fox “news”? “Invasion of the immigrants!” How predictable.
Alan Boisvert says
Mr. Parker,
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, phrased anyway acceptable by the Talbot Spy editor. I find criticizing another’s opinion does nothing to “further thoughtful or productive discussion on” the issue. I prefer to hear opinions from all sides to help me form a more perfect assessment of the issue.
Richard Marks says
One could and should question the slow pace in extricating any and all Afghan citizens that supported our efforts. How much is attributed to our lumbering bureaucratic process? How much stems from the more stringent immigration policies in place after 9/11 and further obstacles initiated by the last administration? It would be fairly easy to envision some of the same voices criticizing Biden for moving too slowly also being the first in line screaming when one of the persons granted a visa to come here turns out to have a radical bent. Regardless, there was ample time to prepare and meet our responsibility to protect those people who made real sacrifices and placed their families in danger in hopes our presence would bring about positive changes and freedoms. As we have witnessed too often, it would seem the situation was poorly evaluated, but one could easily make the case that the flawed analysis existed for twenty years.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Yes, valid point. I would think, however, the panic by civilians would have started then, as well. Ending this at any time would be messy. Between 5,000 to 9,000 people are being evacuated daily.