The fiasco in Afghanistan at the moment was avoidable to some great extent. How much so, we'll never know (it's a lot like the Wuhan lab leak theory, in that regard). Several things are pretty obvious. Setting deadlines in the Middle East is deadly. Biden should have learned that when Obama did it in Iraq, only to have to go back and recapture towns like Mosul. Trump set a May 2020 date for exit as his representatives negotiated in Doha with the Taliban and without the Afghan government. And he gave the Taliban the carrot before the stick by pressuring the defanged government to release some 5,000 prisoners back into the fight.

Then along comes "Clueless Joe". According to my daily AF newsletter at that time, personnel at Bagram were surprised by the  immediate order to evacuate the airbase one night. It was done, in order not to "arouse concern among the Afghan troops that we were leaving abruptly" or words to that effect. Actually, that withdrawal action painted a very clear picture for the locals that the US was headed out the door and leaving a very expensive asset behind. And, we now see, at least 5,000 more prisoners were added to the enemy forces. The US left itself very few choices in this retreat. There seemed to be no concerted effort to get citizens and SIV's out safely before the surrender of fortified Bagram and its two runways. It boggles the mind that Biden did that and questions about it now elicit the reply, "there will be time for Monday morning quarterbacking later. Now's not the time." Pentagon Spokesman Kirby's real reply seems to be, "Please, please don't ask me that again. I don't have an answer."

 Comments of NYT's readers seem to indicate that many Democrats are appalled at the results in the past two weeks and that was even before yesterday. Now many are demanding to know why this retreat was done in this way even though they are thrilled to be leaving Afghanistan and the "endless war". Like Trump, Clueless Joe was expecting to become an historic figure by ending the war. That didn't happen for either and, in Joe's case, the worst may be yet to come. God help us all.