letter to the editor
Afghanistan Withdrawal ‘rushed, poorly planned’
I am a JROTC Cadet and I am writing to share my opinions on the Afghanistan Withdrawal. I think that the withdrawal was rushed and poorly planned. One major flaw was giving up Bagram Airbase, restricting withdrawals to Kabul Airport. This eliminated an important withdrawal base, air support, intelligence and adequate troops.
It also allowed the Taliban to take over many provinces and finally the capital, Kabul. Our military lost control over the security of the city. Tragically, 13 U.S. Troops would be killed by a suicide bomber, including Gibbs graduate, Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss.
Secondly, there should not have been a fixed deadline. This set the stage for leaving $85 billion of equipment and weapons behind for the Taliban. It also created a narrow window for withdrawing people.
During the withdrawal through Kabul Airport, the U.S. was prevented from getting as many people out who helped the U.S. government, including some U.S. citizens.
We went to Afghanistan to eliminate the terrorist groups that were shielded there, including the Taliban. The U.S. had been training Afghan forces so we could eventually leave. Our hasty withdrawal caused a collapse of what we put in place.
Because of this, many surrounding nations and the U.S. will be more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. We also can no longer support innocent Afghan people who are at risk of being killed and tortured. Negative consequences are likely because of the poorly planned and executed withdrawal.
Cameron Dudzik
