I'm Willing To Change My Mind...

Spin it if you like, but President Biden said all these things out loud on July 8 of this year. https://t.co/bG71L3otGz pic.twitter.com/MKBNRk1Pln

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) August 15, 2021

...but right now, outside of Donald Trump, who gives a shit?

With host Jonathan Capehart pointing out that the former president made attempts to negotiate with the Taliban and excluded the government of Afghanistan in the process, Rhodes claimed that what is happening now could likely have been avoided if the ex-president hadn't undercut the existing government.

After saying the U.S. failed to prepare Afghanistan for the anticipated departure, including President Barack Obama's administration under which he served, he added, "Donald Trump clearly was in this huge rush to both claim responsibility for withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan and also weirdly, to have some kind of peace deal with the Taliban."

"You'll even remember he was talking about inviting them [the Taliban] to Camp David for a big ceremony around the 9/11 anniversary. That is a thing that actually happened," he added. "And the reality is that efforts at diplomacy over the years were always predicated under successive administrations on the Afghan government being in the lead in any negotiation with the Taliban."

"You don't negotiate your own exit with the adversary of the government you're supporting," he elaborated. "What the Trump administration did, they cut a deal with the Taliban that excluded the Afghan government -- effectively demoralizing them and making them feel like we were leaving them holding the bag entirely. That was the one opportunity to try and have a diplomatic resolution that could have mitigated some of the damage."

"Afghanistan: After Trump's 'rotten' deal, what incentive is there for Taliban to negotiate? | World News | Sky News" https://t.co/pTwCbWreaw

— Calicool63 (@cfld0531) August 15, 2021

"UK Defense Secretary: International Community Will Likely 'Pay' for Trump Deal With Taliban" https://t.co/fGXhJEflVp

— Calicool63 (@cfld0531) August 15, 2021

As a part of the 2020 Doha deal, Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo made an agreement with the Taliban to lift sanctions against the group and have 5,000 Taliban prisoners released in exchange for a 3-month cease-fire. Those prisoners now control Afghanistan.https://t.co/LbpsKKwewd

— Travis Akers (@travisakers) August 15, 2021

And today, former SOS Pompeo blamed it on Biden's concern for CRT.

Me, I blame the Afghan army, which apparently was so corrupt and mismanaged soldiers were left without munitions, weapons, or food.  I kinda wanta know why the Taliban is so much better equipped, organized, and managed.  Somebody's doing something wrong, and it doesn't all come down to what Joe Biden said in July.