Skip to main content

New top story from Time: President Biden Made the Right Choice to Withdraw from Afghanistan

https://ift.tt/3eDDERj

President Biden made a commendable decision to end the war in Afghanistan.

It wasn’t an easy decision. But it was the kind of decision that leaders make when subordinates don’t agree, and those choices are often the “least bad” option.

And it was an overdue decision to those of us who fought the war.

As the Commanding Officer of SEAL Team TWO in 2012, I ran all special operations in southeastern Afghanistan, on one of several tours in the country. “Nations are really good at starting wars and really bad at ending them,” I told a reporter at the time who embedded with us in a remote, restive Afghan village. “There will always be a political settlement needed.”

For 215 days of our 300-day deployment at least one unit was engaged in direct, daily combat with the Taliban, and I approved air-to-ground strikes over 1,100 times. We, like every unit, improved security and governance as the U.S. invested heavily in Afghan military forces and civilian institutions. We, like every unit, then rotated out of the country.

Nine years later, with no clear political settlement, in making the decision to withdraw President Biden avoided several mistakes that enabled the previous decades of stalemate.

Most notably, President Biden made the decision in opposition to the uniformed leadership’s recommendation to maintain a small presence in Afghanistan, as widely reported. That advice is predictable and understandable. There is a systemic and unconscious bias where wartime leaders are more revered than peacetime leaders, optionality is overvalued, and it is difficult to exit from long held positions. But finally after two decades of dedication from our nation’s uniformed leadership, we begin a path to exit with a far more capable Afghan military and with minimized transnational threats from the region. This is not a loss.

Second, the cost-benefit analysis of maintaining the status quo in Afghanistan neglected to consider opportunity cost. Said differently, the value of simplifying our national security deployment footprint and enabling recovery and readiness for what we can’t see next is a difficult value to assess and easily overlooked. Not ironically, President Eisenhower prioritized resting and refitting our troops because General Eisenhower saw first-hand the true and full cost of prolonged combat. Transformation must equal simplification, agility, and ever-growing power. President Biden just echoed Eisenhower’s wise choice.

Third, the wrong metrics can distract logic. Keeping 2,500 troops in Afghanistan sounds small and easy. It’s not. The right metric would assess the total cost of those 2,500 troops. Dedicated intelligence assets, logistics, and staff bandwidth consumed across CENTCOM, the Joint Staff, and service providers are multiples of those 2,500 and have their own opportunity cost. The financial cost of contractors, supplies, and aid could be used to strengthen other parts of the military around the world to prepare for more likely security threats than a resurgent Taliban.

The fourth challenge—something military leaders especially struggle with—is the impossibility of applying the principle of sunk costs to human life. We all know theoretically that “sunk costs are sunk,” but when those costs are friends and teammates, it isn’t easy to walk away. There’s no way ever to quantify the loss of over 2,200 American servicemen and women, 3,800 American contractors, and 100,000 Afghans over two decades. The stoic philosophers like Epictetus and Aurelius taught to detach without being vacuous but that isn’t always the easiest advice to follow. Like all SEALs and service members of my era, I’ve buried far too many friends. We best honor them by making a stoic and intelligent choice today, not by sacrificing and investing more in a mission no longer central to our national security.

In 20 years, we’ve learned many painful lessons. We’ve learned that the Afghan government and military will never begin to counterbalance the Taliban if a significant international presence remains. We’ve learned that the Taliban is not a transnational threat. We’ve identified the real and pressing transnational threats, like al Qaeda and ISIS, that too easily populate numerous other regions and safe havens, which our military rightly continues to pursue. We can’t cover all the ground where extremists may inhabit. We have to deal with extremists where and when they amass.

In 2021, after taking the best military and civilian advice into account, President Biden made the difficult but net-best decision that this battle is no longer in Afghanistan. It’s also reassuring to see trust, communication, and clarity engender respect and a one-team approach to national unity.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Breaking News LIVE: Top Headlines This Hour https://ift.tt/30mZeTB

The total number of global coronavirus cases has surpassed 35 million, including more than 1,066,000 fatalities. More than 27,629,990 patients are reported to have recovered. Follow this breaking news blog for live updates on the coronavirus pandemic as it continues to pose a challenge for health workers and scientists who are in a race against time to produce a vaccine/medicine. 

Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett as next justice of Supreme Court https://ift.tt/36gC99f

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Saturday, capping a dramatic reshaping of the federal judiciary that will resonate for a generation and that he hopes will provide a needed boost to his reelection effort.

FOX NEWS: Miniskirt named 'most iconic fashion statement of all time' in British survey

Miniskirt named 'most iconic fashion statement of all time' in British survey It’s official: Nobody remembers your sweet Members Only jacket from 1983. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/2yTg1Dn

4th Street Transit Lane Offers Muni a Path Forward

4th Street Transit Lane Offers Muni a Path Forward By Bonnie Jean von Krogh A new transit lane was installed last week   on 4th Street in SoMA as part of the previously approved 4th Street Transit Improvement Project . As the first transit lane put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, this change will help protect Muni passengers as congestion returns to city streets. Transit lanes allow buses to complete trips in less time and turn around back into service more quickly. That means with our limited resources, we can provide more Muni service with the same number of buses, reducing crowding and maintaining better physical distancing onboard. The benefits that transit lanes provide – saving time and avoiding congestion – have become critically important during COVID-19 to protect the health of Muni passengers. Physical distancing requirements mean that Muni’s passenger capacity is cut in a third from pre-COVID levels. When buses ...

FOX NEWS: Woman who had to cancel birthday trip because of coronavirus recreates entire vacation at home in viral video

Woman who had to cancel birthday trip because of coronavirus recreates entire vacation at home in viral video There will be no crying for this birthday. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/2Xwfa4W

Sushant Singh Rajput Death Case LIVE Updates: Actor's sister Shweta Singh Kirti hits back at Rhea Chakraborty https://ift.tt/3hEjyXe

Rhea Chakraborty's deleted WhatsApp chat has put the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in action. The team began their investigation on Thursday and reached Goa in search of Gaurav Arya, who was in contact with Sushant Singh Rajput's girlfriend Rhea in connection to buying and selling drugs. The move came after NCB filed an FIR against the actress and two others. On the other hand, Rhea Chakraborty's claims that Sushant's family didn't love him and he hadn't met his father in five years received a sharp reply from Sushant's sister Shweta Singh Kirti.

New top story from Time: What to Watch For In Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s First Presidential Debate

https://ift.tt/3kSr0zp Four years ago, Donald Trump prepared to debate his general-election opponent for the first time. Down in the polls to an experienced, traditional pol, he had been reduced to spreading weird rumors and casting doubt on the legitimacy of the vote, even as questions swirled about his personal finances. Now Trump is the incumbent president, and the conditions could not be more different as he prepares for his first debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday: a nation wracked by disease, disorder and disasters; an election neither candidate is treating like a foregone conclusion. And yet the similarities to 2016 are striking, from new questions about Trump’s taxes to another open Supreme Court seat . The main similarity, of course, is Trump—a singular political figure who has intensely polarized the nation. The debate, scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, is especially momentous because voters ha...

New top story from Time: Swimmer Killed in Apparent Shark Attack Off Maine Coast

https://ift.tt/30QB2IN HARPSWELL, Maine — A woman was killed in an apparent shark attack off the coast of Maine on Monday, a rare occurrence that has only been recorded once before in the state by an unprovoked shark. Maine Marine Patrol said a witness saw the woman swimming off the shore of Bailey Island when she was injured in what appeared to be a shark attack. Two kayakers helped the person get to shore, and an ambulance provided further assistance, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, Marine Patrol said. The name of the woman was not available on Monday. There has only been one recorded unprovoked shark attack in Maine, New England shark expert James Sulikowski told the Portland Press Herald. Sulikowski, who researches for Arizona State University, said it’s possible the shark mistook the person for food. The state Marine Patrol is urging swimmers and boaters to use caution near Bailey Island and to avoid swimming near schooling fish or seals.

New top story from Time: ‘We’re Nowhere Close to the Deal’. Coronavirus Aid Package Talks Break Down as Trump Rejects Help for Cities

https://ift.tt/3098lHW WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed Democratic demands for aid to cash-strapped cities in a new coronavirus relief package and lashed out at Republican allies as talks stalemated over assistance for millions of Americans. Another lawmaker tested positive for the virus. Republicans, beset by delays and infighting, signaled a willingness to swiftly approve a modest package to revamp a $600 weekly unemployment benefit that’s running out. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., roundly rejected that approach as meager, all but forcing Republicans back to the negotiating table. Without action, the aid expires Friday. “We’re nowhere close to the deal,” said White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. He said they’re “miles apart.” Stark differences remain between the $3 trillion proposal from Democrats and $1 trillion counter from Republicans, a standoff that is testing Trump and Congress ahead of the November election and putting...

Geary Boulevard Improvement Project Update

Geary Boulevard Improvement Project Update By Amy Fowler Geary Boulevard is a critical east-west arterial and one of the busiest bus corridors in North America, connecting downtown San Francisco to the Richmond District. The SFMTA has been busy working on the second phase of planned improvements on Geary, called the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project , to improve Muni’s 38 Geary bus service and address traffic safety between 34th Avenue and Stanyan Street.  The project is building on the success of the Geary Rapid Project , which was recently completed on time and on budget and has already shown promising travel time savings on the eastern half of the Geary corridor.    Last fall, we asked neighbors in the Richmond about their priorities for transit, safety and driving issues on Geary via pop-up events on the corridor and a Virtual Open House. Thanks to input from over 600 community members , the SFMTA has used this feedback to draft the detailed, block-by-bloc...