Even in our cynical age, this is a bracing opening to a CBS News report:
The last U.S. troops left Afghanistan on Aug. 30, 2021. Three years later, the Taliban’s return to power has allowed al Qaeda and other terrorist groups to regain a presence in the country, and deprived Afghan women and girls of basic freedoms they were granted during two decades of Western-backed government following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
In a show of force to mark their third year in power, the Taliban held a parade at Bagram Airfield earlier this month…
The Taliban used the parade to show off U.S. and NATO military equipment abandoned by the foreign forces when they left in a chaotic withdrawal.
Taliban fighters also gathered in a diplomatic district of Kabul, outside the now-abandoned U.S. embassy compound, chanting “death to America” as they trampled a U.S. flag that had trailed from the back of a Ford truck previously used by the U.S.-backed police force.
I will remind you that back in September 2021, then–White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted, “We have enormous leverage over the Taliban, including access to the global marketplace.” There are two options. The first is that the Biden administration has enormous leverage over the Taliban and chooses not to use it. The second is that Psaki lied through her teeth to get the administration through a bad news cycle.
I will also remind you that one of the big reasons that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are thriving is because they’re getting their mitts on chunks of roughly $40 million per week that the United Nations is sending to keep the Afghan economy going, and the largest donor to those U.N. efforts is . . . you, the U.S. taxpayer.
Finally, let us recall who pledged to always look out for the women of Afghanistan:
I will bring together our military leaders, national security advisers, and top diplomats to coordinate and implement that withdrawal plan. I fully recognize the importance of diplomacy and development to success in Afghanistan, and I want to ensure that the country is on a path to stability, that we protect the gains that have been made for Afghan women and others, and that it never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists.
Those remarks were given August 21, 2019, by . . . Kamala Harris.