Conservatives should understand why Afghanistan collapsed so quickly


There's a cliche in media coverage that when something bad happens under a Democrat, conservatives "pounce." The chaos unfolding in Afghanistan is more serious than most such stories, but conservatives are undoubtedly seizing on — another variation of this theme — the military and humanitarian catastrophe now in progress to amplify their critique of President Biden as a weak, ineffectual commander-in-chief ahead of the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Criticism of Biden's execution of the American withdrawal is well deserved, but conservatives should also be best situated to understand why the Afghanistan project was bound to fail and its easily toppled government was built on sand. The ill-fated regime in Kabul was as dependent as any welfare recipient, living off foreign money, arms and supplies while the U.S. and its allies performed their core function of providing basic security for them. Dependents suddenly made to stand on their own fail frequently, as any astute reader of Thomas Sowell or Charles Murray could predict.
Then there is the fact that bureaucrats, who make up as much of the Pentagon as the DMV, will always in the face of failure plead for more taxpayer money and time. These officials knew they were failing for quite some time and lied to the public about it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Finally, culture matters. A stable, centralized government in Afghanistan was always going to be a heavy lift if imposed in a manner consistent with our values. And many people in Afghanistan do not share our values, especially on women's rights. A military occupation intended to change might not have succeeded in 100 years, much less 20.
Conservatives, or at least the politicians they have supported, haven't always applied these insights to Afghanistan or foreign policy more generally. Former President George W. Bush, who claimed in 2006 that the "days of the Taliban are over," essentially believed in instant freedom, just add American troops. For all Biden's blame-shifting and buck-passing, his own speech was more realistic about the limits of what was achievable in Afghanistan than anything Bush — the president who turned a mission for 9/11 retribution into a nation-building exercise — has uttered in the past two decades.
None of this makes the heart-wrenching images out of the Kabul airport easier to take. But it could prevent a future Republican administration from recreating those images elsewhere.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'
The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
Why 'faceless bots' are interviewing job hunters
In The Spotlight Artificial intelligence is taking over a crucial part of recruitment
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?
An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Does depopulation threaten humanity?
Talking Points Falling birth rates could create a 'smaller, sadder, poorer future'
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymandering
TALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
The Supreme Court and Congress have Planned Parenthood in their crosshairs
Talking Points Trump's budget bill and the court's ruling threaten abortion access
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Is Trump's military parade 'just a parade'?
Talking Point Critics see an 'echo of authoritarianism'
-
Is Trump's LA troop deployment about order or authoritarianism?
Talking Points President: 'We're going to have troops everywhere.'