FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 15, 2021
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has reportedly fled Afghanistan amid the Taliban entering Kabul, the last major government stronghold. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement in response:
“The swift collapse of the Afghan government and security forces—even before all U.S. forces exited—is a tragedy for many Afghans and the ultimate rebuke of the U.S. nation-building project there. Its remaining advocates now resort to bad faith arguments attacking the Biden administration’s management of the exit, rather than confront the momentous misjudgment to embark on this 20-year mistake. Although the speed of this collapse is surprising to many, official lies about progress could never really hide that we were building a failed state, not fixing one. For the most part, Afghan forces didn’t fight as U.S. forces left; they switched sides or simply left.
“This outcome was always likely to occur whenever U.S. forces left, whether 10 years ago or 10 years from now. The Biden administration deserves credit for having the guts to stop propping up a house of cards. The sad irony is peace in Afghanistan is now closer thanks to the U.S. exit and defeat of the failed government we wasted so many lives and dollars defending. Now, diplomacy should focus on negotiating the safest possible outcome for those who helped U.S. forces, including resettling them to keep them safe from Taliban reprisals.”
Defense Priorities report: Exiting Afghanistan
Defense Priorities explainer: Scenarios for a post-U.S. Afghanistan
Defense Priorities explainer: Now is the optimal time to exit Afghanistan