Who would give $85 billion in modern weapons to our enemies? Helicopters, armored humvees, rocket launchers, rifles, pistols, ammunition, night vision goggles – whatever they needed, we supplied because of Biden’s precipitous withdrawal. And if the Taliban had weapons excess to their needs, they could sell some to other terrorist groups or Iran.

As the old saying goes, we punish a private who loses a rifle more severely than a general who loses a war. But it gets worse. Things were going reasonably well in Afghanistan. Not one American was killed in action in over a year. The government seemed fairly stable, though this proved to be an illusion. The Afghan army cooperated with American troops, though sudden reversals of loyalty did occur, sometimes with violent results.

Was it time to leave? Perhaps. But leave precipitously? Abandon the secure Bagram Airfield, leaving the single-runway Kabul Airport in the middle of a city of 4 million? Abandon thousands of Afghan interpreters and guides, and many Americans as well? Leave behind $85 billion in modern arms, making the Taliban the best-armed terrorist group on earth?

Who would do that? 1) A dangerous fool. 2) A dangerous madman. 3) Someone so beholden to China, or Ukraine, or other possible sources of blackmail that he had no choice.

Is there a fourth possibility? I can’t think of one. Can you?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58356045