As an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran, I would like to thank President Joe Biden for the hard decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. The longest war our country has fought is finally over. I understand that this decision didn’t come lightly, especially knowing that the Taliban would retake the country. Having been in Afghanistan twice for two years, I believe that we did all that we could to train the Afghan National Army and provide a safe haven from the Taliban. But it’s time to come home.
The United States military and their family members are exhausted and worn out from this endless war. I have asked this time and time again: Why stay in a country that does not want to defend itself? Twenty years should have been plenty of time to train an army to fight terrorists. When I traveled with my chaplain to different Afghan army bases where he met with imams, I saw the training that took place. In this effort to prepare the Afghan military to be on their own, close to 3,000 American soldiers have died, and many more have returned with wounds and physical or mental injuries that have affected their families. Soldiers who are not even old enough to buy a beer have died from this war — and for a country that does not want to defend itself. The war has cost our country trillions of dollars that could have been put into programs and infrastructure here in the United States.
I would also like to call out mainstream media (MSM) outlets — CNN as well as Fox News — on their reporting which seems like a push for the war to continue. It’s time to end the lies, end the propaganda. I am proud of my president for taking responsibility for any mistakes that happened during this withdrawal, but stop. Yes, the president gave the order to pull out, but the execution of the withdrawal comes from the military leaders. They are the boots on the ground and have the experience and training that should have led to a much more efficient withdrawal. It’s wrong that the media and conservatives continue to politicize the tragedy. Joe Biden did all that he can with the limited power that he has, and everyone knows that leaving Afghanistan was like ripping off a Band-Aid and revealing the scars and imperfections underneath.
I expected more from MSM, but only see the repeated right-wing propaganda that the U.S. military, under Biden’s watch, left weapons and equipment in the hands of the Taliban (without necessarily mentioning that they were rendered useless). CNN and Fox News focus on that instead of the Biden’s administration’s evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Americans — the largest airlift in U.S. history.
I am proud of my president, and he continues to have this veteran’s support.
