People keep saying that rapid Taliban victory over a collapsing Afghanistan state after America withdrew its direct support from Afghanistan proves that two decades of building up the Afghanistan state and security forces were futile. That is ridiculous.
I guarantee that if America had withdrawn all its troops from Europe in 1986 that the Soviets would have rolled to the Rhine River in short order. The Soviets would have conquered West Germany and everything east of that river, while shattering the remnants of NATO.
And America and our allies would not have seen the 1989 Warsaw Pact collapse and 1991 collapse of the USSR itself.
Instead of America (falsely) proclaiming the "end of history" in victory, the Soviets would have proclaimed the inevitable advance of history to world socialism.
If you think that assessment of NATO weakness without America is an exaggeration, remember that European NATO states required heavy American support just to defeat a revolution-wracked Libya in 2011. And it took half a year!
Would a NATO collapse in 1986 have meant American efforts to bolster NATO from 1949 to 1985 were futile? That rebuilding a West German army after 1955 was a pointless waste?
Of course not! It would have proven that after structuring NATO to rely on American power, that removing American power from the alliance crippled the alliance ability to defend itself.
It would have proven our leaders were drooling morons to walk away from allies and, by inviting defeat by an implacable enemy, waste the resources spent for decades, doom friends to tyranny, and harm our future security and freedom.
Stop trying to justify stupidity. The Biden administration screwed the pooch.
Don't forget and don't forgive.
