Thursday, August 19, 2021

The Withdrawal from Afghanistan

There are a couple of things I've been wondering: 1) How many of the people condemning Biden for the withdrawal from Afghanistan were demanding a withdrawal right up until the time it happened; and 2) How many of them offered a plan -- any sort of plan -- for how things could've gone better?

The ancient Greeks realized that situations occur in which someone must make a choice, and whatever they choose, the result will be very bad.  The person has to choose between one very bad thing and another. They referred to these situations as tragic. 

In this one respect, the ancient Greeks, thousands of years ago, were much more insightful than most people today. 

I'm horrified by what's happening in Afghanistan, of course I am. However, I also wanted the US occupation of the country to end. And I have never been able to offer any helpful plan by which the withdrawal could have gone smoothly and peacefully. And so that's why I haven't been denouncing the way Biden has handled the withdrawal.

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