By: Nina Žoher (Nova24tv)
US President Joe Biden’s move to hand over Afghanistan to the extreme Taliban, and with it the freedom of the people, property, military equipment and everything else, has met with criticism around the world. It seems that the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša was right when he announced for Biden before the US elections that he would be the weakest American president in history if elected.
When the world saw how easily the Taliban had taken Afghanistan and how hastily the Americans had evacuated their personnel, and when images of desperate people wanting to leave the country started circling on the Internet, the world began to look at the conduct of the US administration. Among the most critical was undoubtedly former US President Donald Trump, who called on Joe Biden to resign.
Trump pointed out that Biden makes mistakes every time he makes decisions on foreign policy and on many other issues. “Everyone knew he could not stand the pressure. This was even said by Obama’s Secretary of Defence Robert Gates. He ran out of Afghanistan instead of following the plan our Administration left for him – a plan that protected our people and our property, and ensured the Taliban would never dream of taking over our Embassy or providing a base for new attacks against America,” said Trump and recalled that the US gained credibility in deterring threats when Islamic State was defeated. “Now this is gone. The Taliban no longer has fear or respect for America, or America’s power. What a disgrace it will be when the Taliban raises their flag over America’s Embassy in Kabul. This is complete failure through weakness, incompetence, and total strategic incoherence,” Trump added.
Biden is being blamed with poor withdrawal management
After Trump’s harsh response, harsh criticism began to erupt at the expense of the US military’s withdrawal. Estimates have also surfaced that this could contribute to the weakening of the US image in the world. Biden faces criticism that the US military withdrawal was poorly managed. It was possible to see how they hurried with the evacuation of the embassy in Kabul, only a month after Biden calmed down about the fear that the Afghan government could collapse.
Even before the elections, Janša pointed out Biden’s weakness
Everything shows that the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša was right when he announced what kind of president Biden would be. Let’s remember. As the tense presidential campaign, in which the then US President Trump and the Democratic presidential candidate Biden competed, came to an end, the Slovenian Prime Minister expressed his opinion on the candidates without mincing his words. He wrote in the introduction that we respect Biden’s difficult and tragic life story, but that he would become one of the weakest presidents in American history if elected. “The free world needs a strong leader more than ever. Win, Donald Trump,” he added.
Because of his support for Trump, he became a target of extremists
Because Prime Minister Janša dared to express his opinion, which is supposed to be something completely normal in a democratic country, he became a target of left wing extremists. Both domestic and foreign extremists attacked him. One of the domestic extremists pointed out the belief that by supporting Donald Trump, he is actually proving that he is a fan of fascists?! And one of the foreign extremists, for example, insultingly labelled him a Nazi and told him to shut up. Given that even a connoisseur of American politics, Bogomil Ferfila, explained at the time that it was quite common for politicians from related parties to exchange support with each other, it is especially difficult to understand why there was so much bile fusion at the time. Considering that the Slovenian and foreign media reported with extreme restraint during Trump’s presidency and portrayed Trump in a negative light, it is not surprising.
There is no shortage of criticism
Biden has been silent for a long time with an official statement on the conduct in Afghanistan, so it is not surprising that the anxious reactions of Republicans and Democrats have poured in. Democrat House Member Debbie Dingell told MSNBC that the fall of Kabul reminded her of Saigon in 1975. “It seems to me that Saigon fell today; I will not lie.” Republican House Member Liz Cheney told ABC that this will not have consequences for Afghanistan alone. “America’s opponents know they can threaten us, and our allies are wondering this morning if they can count on us for anything,” she said among other things. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned, according to STA, that it is only a matter of time before Al Qaeda will reappear in Afghanistan. “President Biden does not seem to be aware of the terrorist threats posed by the Taliban-led Afghanistan.” Retired US Army General David Petraeus described the collapse of Afghanistan as catastrophic for the US and the rest of the world for Newsweek.
“The chaos in Afghanistan and the surrender of modern weapons for 300,000 men to the Taliban is the biggest defeat for NATO in history so far. As part of the alliance, we are co-responsible for it. Leaving Afghan allies to Taliban terror, however, is a shameful act. All in all, it is a symbol of the end of an era,” said Slovenian Prime Minister Janša, who revealed that he was aware of the arrival of the migrant wave, as he focused on talks on measures to protect the European Union’s external borders against an intensified wave of illegal migration and the need for rapid enlargement of the Schengen area. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has assessed that Afghanistan is going through “bitter hours”. Armin Laschet, head of the CDU, considered the party’s chancellor candidate in the September elections, said the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan represents NATO’s biggest failure since its inception. “Obviously, the international community has not been successful,” he stressed. Interestingly, even China intervened in the criticism. The Global Times, which is considered the central trumpet of the Chinese Communist Party, noted that Afghanistan has exposed the United States as “an unreliable partner which always leaves its partners or allies to satisfy its own interests.”
Since there is no shortage of critics on the US’ account on social networks, it is more than clear that the Slovenian Prime Minister was right when he estimated that Biden in his role as president will not be able to meet the challenges. We can only hope that the consequences will be as minimally devastating as possible for the population living there. Undoubtedly, it will be impossible to escape migrations, which will have consequences for Slovenia and the rest of the world. Given that we have been able to see terrorists infiltrate Europe and other parts of the world in this way in the past migrant wave, it is only a matter of time before Al Qaeda starts committing terrorist acts.