Free Republic

On Tuesday afternoon, Joe Biden tried to “turn the page” from a month of chaos and death in Afghanistan and, more broadly, from 20 years of ultimately futile US attempts at occupation and nation-building. He spoke of the “extraordinary success” of the US evacuation mission over the past few weeks, with more than a hundred thousand Americans and Afghans airlifted out under extreme duress. At times he seemed defensive, noting that Americans were warned 19 times to exit Afghanistan before the August US military withdrawal. He accused Afghan leaders, allies on whom the US had depended, of “corruption and malfeasance”....

President Joe Biden will address the nation later today – nearly 24 hours after the final American troops departed Afghanistan in a frantic exit that left hundreds of stranded US citizens in the Taliban-run nation. Soon after the final US transport planes left Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport – marking the end of America’s longest war – Biden issued a written statement saying he would address the nation at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. Biden later pushed back his speech to 2:45 p.m. The president has drawn fierce criticism for the chaotic withdrawal, which resulted in the deaths of 13 US service...