Fair question. I really don't know what Trump's team had in mind but there were some gaps in this withdrawl and certainly can't say he would have done better but these things were done wrong.So what begins? I asked a serious question and you’re trying to turn this into a political debate. This isn’t Biden versus Trump, this is a legitimate question of how we should have managed this withdrawal. I even said I might have missed something with regards to Trump’s withdrawal plan because I didn’t see anything specifically outlined that indicated a managed withdrawal. I’m honestly asking to be educated here.
- No secured basing for possible return.
- No military partnership with Afghan military (we could have left some trainers and such).
- No, or limited, intelligence gathering capacity at the embassy.
- Sudden and unexpected removal of all eyes-on air power.
At the end of WWII we simply didn't leave Europe because we were afraid of communism. At the end of the Korean War we didn't leave Korea becuase we were worried about communism. At the end of the Vietnam War we maintained a robust regional presence because we were worried about communism. The entire Middle East thing is different. We have been at war there (in one form or another) since about 1980 - pretty much non-stop. I know we like to chop it up into little pieces and call them "operations" but in truth the fighting there has consumed generations of military experience. Our mistakes in Afghanistan are unique because for the first time we have shut the door as we departed - now the only way back in is to kick it open again.