Condi Rice calls Biden’s claim Afghans won’t fight Taliban ‘unfair’ — then argues to continue the war
An architect of the Afghanistan war doesn't want Americans to leave.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice argued that President Joe Biden's characterization of the Afghan fighters is "unfair."
"No — they didn't choose the Taliban," she wrote. "They fought and died alongside us, helping us degrade al-Qaeda. Working with the Afghans and our allies, we gained time to build a counterterrorism presence around the world and a counterterrorism apparatus at home that has kept us safe. In the end, the Afghans couldn't hold the country without our airpower and our support. It is not surprising that Afghan security forces lost the will to fight, when the Taliban warned that the United States was deserting them and that those who resisted would see their families killed."
She went on to say that the Afghan people tried to create a modern society and build a fledgling democracy with elected leaders.
"It was a government that never managed to tame corruption and the drug trade," she said. "In this, Afghanistan had plenty of company across the globe."
A 2019 Washington Post report detailed the rampant corruption in Afghanistan, calling it a "cesspool of fraud." There were stories of travelers carrying suitcases stuffed with $1 million in cash. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow did a 2010 investigation into the corruption in Afghanistan and the massive mansions built by those being handed the money.
The AP wrote last week that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's "style of rule was often characterized as cantankerous and arrogant, rarely heeding the advice of his government and often publicly berating those who challenged him."
He fled the palace with cars, cash, helicopters and his life, Reuters reported.
"Twenty years was not enough to complete a journey from the 7th-century rule of the Taliban and a 30-year civil war to a stable government," argued Rice. "Twenty years may also not have been enough to consolidate our gains against terrorism and assure our own safety. We — and they — need more time."
John Bolton effectively agreed, telling CNN that Biden has "given up because we've lost patience. That's a sad commentary about the current administration, but it's not a defeat for the United States."
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