The honeymoon is over. There is no doubt that Biden really missed the mark with his withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. public is pretty evenly divided over leaving a small, but effective military force in Afghanistan indefinitely, vs. a total evacuation. After all, we have had much larger troop deployment in Japan, Germany, and South Korea, for many years.
It is possible the administration saw the Taliban gaining strength and felt that it was only a matter of time before the U.S. would have to add to troop strength there. Trump set the wheels in motion with his deal to be out by May 2021. Biden felt the right course of action was to follow up on that deal and remove all troops.
While there is disagreement on maintaining a presence there or pulling all troops out, there is no divergence of opinion that the evacuation was mishandled on a variety of levels. First, the closing of the Bagram Airfield, before setting in motion the evacuation of Afghanis who worked with the U.S., was something that will go on to haunt us for many years to come.
Second, the misunderstanding of the speed in which the Taliban could gain control of the country, was an enormous mistake. A large amount of weaponry used by the Afghan army, was left in tact. This includes rifles, Humvees, aircraft and night vision goggles. Whether it was caused by faulty intelligence, bad advice, lack of planning, or just an overestimation of the Afghan army's will to continue the fight, the catalyst is in place to give the Biden administration a large stain to it's legacy, both here and abroad.
Third, the administration lost precious time in mobilizing the evacuation, once it became clear that the Taliban were advancing unimpeded. The chaotic scene in Kabul is unfolding before our eyes.
The Democratic party was already in a close fight to keep control of Congress in 2022. This is the first major blunder by the Biden administration, and one the Republicans will surely try to capitalize on.
Looking ahead to the 2024 Presidential election, the Republicans already have a deeper bench than the Democrats. Haley, Pence, DeSantis, Pompeo, and Trump, have aspirations to be President. None of whom would I like to see as President, but all have the ability to gain some traction.
It was already an uphill fight for the Democrats, made harder by the very unfortunate events in Afghanistan. We can only hope that time and subsequent events will strengthen public opinion of the Democrats leadership qualities, and improve their results at the ballot box.