The right move

Despite critics’ attacks, President Biden did the right thing in directing the U.S. military to successfully extract more than 120,000 Americans, Afghans and other allies to end America’s longest war.

After the departure of the last C-17 cargo plane from Kabul, Biden said, “I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not going to extend a forever exit.’” It was certain that the final departure from two decades of war would be difficult, with inevitable violence, no matter when it was conducted.

Former President Trump had set the stage for this event by his “peace deal“ with the Taliban and his drawdown of American troops, with the final withdrawal scheduled in May. As a prominent foreign policy scholar points out, “Biden deserves praise, not scorn, for taking a calculated risk to extract the United States from a failing effort in a misguided mission.”

Biden, whose son Beau served in the military in Iraq, pointed out that the less than one percent of Americans who are in uniform must carry the burden of defending this nation against threats throughout the world, and said “to those asking for a third decade of war in Afghanistan, I ask, what is the vital national interest?”

As a veteran who risked his life for our country, I agree with Biden and don’t believe that the safety and security of America is enhanced by continuing to deploy thousands of American troops and spending billions of dollars in Afghanistan.

Jim Ramsey

Sandpoint