Progressives' last stand in Afghanistan

Aug. 18—While President Biden tries to blame Donald Trump or even Afghans themselves for the collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban, the real lesson is the failure of progressive policies there. The unmitigated disaster for America's armchair nation-builders is reminiscent of Custer's Last Stand in 1876, when the inept U.S. colonel's entire force was slaughtered by enemy Indian tribes.

Missing in action for days, Biden finally emerged to pretend that the problem is Afghans supposedly not having the will to fight. This was after the Afghan president handpicked by liberals, an American-educated academic with progressive political beliefs, had fled the country in a helicopter.

Just a few weeks ago, the progressive chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, had defended indoctrinating U.S. soldiers in the tenets of critical race theory. He pompously declared to Congress, "I want to understand white rage and I'm white."

Trump was blistering in his criticism of Milley back then, declaring that "General Milley ought to resign, and be replaced with someone who is actually willing to defend our military from the leftist radicals who hate our country and flag."

General George Patton, our finest and toughest field commander of the 20th century, believed in reincarnation. One thing we know for certain: Patton did not return as General Milley.

No doubt disliked by Afghan soldiers as much as he is here, in July Milley misled the public by declaring to reporters that "the Afghan Security Forces have the capacity to sufficiently fight and defend their country." But defend their country for whom: Biden and his ideological twin who quickly abandoned his post and fled?

The departed Afghan president Ashraf Ghani was installed as president by liberals after a disputed election that took months to resolve. Like Biden, President Ghani is an elderly, low-energy man who promoted progressive policies having little connection with reality or what the Afghan people want and believe in.

Like Biden, President Ghani failed to attract genuine support among ordinary Afghans as Trump does so well with many Americans. The equivalent of "woke" ideologies and policies were being pushed on that rugged country, and of course no Afghans would risk their lives to defend what they do not believe in.

Feminist policies were being imposed on Afghans who have a deep-rooted patriarchal culture that is the opposite of what liberals demand. The vast majority of adult Afghan men cannot read or write, yet liberals insisted on building schools to indoctrinate Afghan girls and young women with secular progressive beliefs.

For those old enough to remember the fall of Saigon, as the last U.S. helicopter lifted off the roof of the U.S. embassy, that horror was repeated as Afghans clung to U.S. transport planes while they taxied down the runway. Deaths by people dropping off the departing airplanes trigger painful reminders of victims falling from the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Biden seems to have timed his pullout from Afghanistan, not to minimize deaths and destruction, but to facilitate photo-ops for him on the upcoming 20-year anniversary of 9/11. Instead, on Sept. 11 Americans will need to be on high alert for a potential copycat attack, either here or in European countries that foolishly admitted too many Muslim immigrants from hostile countries.

Trump responded by properly calling for Biden's resignation, before China and other rogue nations exploit his weakness as the Taliban just did. The same European leaders who enjoyed treating Trump with disdain probably now wish he never left the White House, as Europe prepares to be overrun by Afghan refugees.

"Do you miss me yet?" Trump asked last week, and with each passing day we miss him more. In four entire years of Trump's leadership nothing like this catastrophe occurred, and barely six months into the presidency of Biden the wheels are already coming off.

The coming flood of refugees from Afghanistan may be what liberals really want, just as they have tolerated over a million impoverished migrants crossing our southern border. This was another monthly surge in July of illegal aliens pouring in, with record-high levels of COVID among them.

To be clear, Afghanistan is not a defeat for America's brave soldiers and Marines, who served so courageously in Afghanistan under terrible and frightening conditions. In late 2001, merely 3,000 American troops swiftly accomplished what seemed impossible, by seizing control of the country from Al Qaeda for harboring 9/11 terrorists.

But progressives and an effete occupant of the White House have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. This failure was not on the battlefield, but in the misguided ideology of those who attempted to impose political correctness on a country that is the antithesis of it.

John and Andy Schlafly are sons of Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016) and lead the continuing Phyllis Schlafly Eagles organizations with writing and policy work.

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