[Mike12]

[Negotiator]

And that was *before* Trump arrived.

So ... what ?

Most things blamed on Trump happened before Trump.

Cages for kids, the wall to Mexico, throwing people out of the country, ... all done better and earlier by Obama.

The thing they dont like about Trump is that Trump thinks like them, but Trump too often publically says what he thinks - and what they think. Trump puts an ugly face on their doings. They cant have that.

Also Trump is a very weak president who usually gets nothing done. Because he cant find employees who actually like him and actually work for him. Instead he gets people like John Bolton who clearly oppose Trump.

[Puffer Fish]

I notice that the automatic go-to for addressing over-the-top horrendous things happening in other parts of the world (due to those societies being crap places) is to blame Trump. Try to draw attention away to another topic. It seems ridiculously absurd and almost unbelievable.

It's like the Left has practically conceded that Biden's policy resulted in a whole nation of women being put in burkas and subjected in shocking and unbelievable ways, but hey, that's still better than having Trump, so just a sacrifice worth making.

[MadMonk]

It's like the Left has practically conceded that Biden's policy resulted in a whole nation of women being put in burkas and subjected in shocking and unbelievable ways, but hey, that's still better than having Trump, so just a sacrifice worth making.

Trump started the pullout, set an even earlier final date than Biden and has been highly vocal about ending the occupation dating back to 2011.

Factcheck

The Trump administration in February 2020 negotiated a withdrawal agreement with the Taliban that excluded the Afghan government, freed 5,000 imprisoned Taliban soldiers and set a date certain of May 1, 2021, for the final withdrawal.

And the Trump administration kept to the pact, reducing U.S. troop levels from about 13,000 to 2,500, even though the Taliban continued to attack Afghan government forces and welcomed al-Qaeda terrorists into the Taliban leadership.

ABC

In 2011, he suggested it was a matter of priorities, writing, "When will we stop wasting our money on rebuilding Afghanistan? We must rebuild our country first."

In 2012, he called the conflict a "total disaster" said, "we don't know what we are doing," and later criticized the Afghan forces.

"Afghanistan is a total disaster. We don't know what we are doing. They are, in addition to everything else, robbing us blind," he wrote in March 2012.

Five months later, Trump wrote, "Why are we continuing to train these Afghanis who then shoot our soldiers in the back? Afghanistan is a complete waste. Time to come home!"

"Let’s get out of Afghanistan. Our troops are being killed by the Afghanis we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA," he wrote in January 2013.

Later that year, he appeared dismayed about the prospect of keeping 20,000 troops "there for many more years," adding the next day, "We have wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in Afghanistan."

"Do not allow our very stupid leaders to sign a deal that keeps us in Afghanistan through 2024-with all costs by U.S.A. MAKE AMERICA GREAT!" he wrote on Nov. 21, 2013.

In late 2014, Trump took issue with then-President Obama's decision to keep American soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan for another year. "He is losing two wars simultaneously," Trump wrote.

When asked in a subsequent CNN interview about his calling the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan a mistake Trump said, "I never said that. OK, wouldn't matter, I never said it. Afghanistan is a different kettle. Afghanistan is next to Pakistan, it's an entry in. You have to be careful with the nuclear weapons. It's all about the nuclear weapons. By the way, without the nukes, it's a whole different ballgame," Trump said in the Oct. 20, 2015, interview with CNN.

"We made a mistake going into Iraq. I've never said we made a mistake going into Afghanistan," he said.

The man is a self-serving fraud but he was right that the US had to get out. And it was always going to get ugly.