OP-ED: A dark day for Afghanistan … and Biden
The Kabul bombings could be a harbinger of worse things to come
US President Joe Biden is facing the worst moment of his presidency. At least 90 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack outside Kabul’s main airport, for which IS has claimed responsibility.
He, like presidents before him, must face several uncomfortable questions. Could an attack on American forces, in such perilous circumstances as those in Kabul right now, have been foreseen?
Was Biden careless in his haste to get American troops out of Afghanistan and end his country’s longest war? Was it a failure of judgment to set an August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of troops?
Could more have been done to protect the perimeter of Kabul airport, and prevent suicide bombers approaching American forces who were engaged in a humanitarian exercise to help evacuate US citizens and visa holders?