On May 1, U.S. President Joe Biden made the executive decision to start the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan. The entire process of removing troops from the region was planned to extend through September 11, 2021. This date was chosen because Joe Biden wanted to have the troops withdrawn by the 20th anniversary of the United States going to war with Afghanistan. 

As the last of the troops were being removed, the Taliban, which is a religiously motivated extremest military group, made their effective sweep across all of Afghanistan, gaining control of the whole country within a few days. Once full control was gained, the Taliban seized U.S. military grade weapons, vehicles, ammunition, as well as millions of dollars. This decision to move troops in this manner was a terrible one, which caused the elimination of Afghan citizens’ safety, and the death of 13 American troops. Not to mention that now the Taliban can endanger more lives now than ever under President Biden’s executive decision.

One could say our presence in Afghanistan was a waste of 83 billion U.S taxpayer dollars. Since 2001, the United States has put about 144 billion dollars into all of Afghanistan, 83 billion being military and security related. Of course saying it was a waste could be an exaggeration, but it is very disappointing to see that the money the citizens provided meant so little to the Biden administration. We were willing to not only lose billions in taxpayer dollars, but also arm all of the Taliban at once. Considering the Biden administration has proposed a six trillion dollar budget, which is the biggest since WWll, they clearly show no regard when it comes to collecting hard earned tax dollars by United States citizens.

As important as money and military dominance are in this ongoing situation, we face moral issues regarding this decision as well. Afghanistan citizens were left to be at the mercy of the Taliban once we left the region. With no U.S military presence, the Taliban have raided homes, raped women and children, and killed men who tried to stop them. All the while the embarrassment of an Afghan army stood by and watched. The Afghan army is made up of Afghan citizens, but, they commonly do not have the will to fight, or they are corrupt. I am all for staying out of wars that are not our own, but when simply keeping a small rotation of deployed troops within the region to maintain peace is all it takes to prevent this atrocity from occurring, I believe it is more than worth it. 

The situation that is unfolding within Afghanistan is something that the Biden administration should not be proud of. The executive decisions made by President Biden led to the reign of terror of the Talibian, who have regained full control over the entire region. Our administration should highly consider redeploying troops to the region, stopping Taliban control from spreading further. Instead of leaving Americans for dead and U.S. tax funded resources for the Taliban to abuse, we need to take charge as a world power.

Picture Credit: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/afghanistan-flag