US president to blame for Afghanistan abandonment

Sir, – While assuring Americans “the buck stops with me”, President Biden clearly blames everyone but himself for the foreign policy catastrophe unfolding in Afghanistan.

In a rambling, petulant speech he accused President Obama of starting the debacle by surging US forces to fend off the Taliban; President Trump for negotiating a deal with the Taliban committing US forces to leave this year; and Afghan troops for being unwilling to defend their own country.

But the fact is that since taking charge of the ground war in 2014, the Afghans lost over 50,000 men but fought the Taliban to a military stalemate.

Biden’s decision to withdraw US air support and intelligence information regarding the disposition and strength of the Taliban severely affected Afghan troops and depressed their morale. His closure of seven military bases at the height of the fighting season precipitated their collapse.

The bipartisan Afghan Study Group urged Biden not to adopt an inflexible timetable but to tie the scope and pace of withdrawal to the honoring by the Taliban of their commitments.

His rushed, ill-planned exit strategy, poor military preparation, closure of the Bigram air base, and colossal intelligence failure about the relative strength and weakness of the Taliban and Afghan forces were the primary causes of the shameful, Saigon-like abandonment of Kabul.

Rev Dr John Cameron. Howard Place,

St Andrews.