Alec Hogg: US blunder hands Afghanistan to Taliban

When 9/11 triggered the American-led invasion of Afghanistan, it was justified because the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban, which controlled 90% of the country, refused to hand over Twin Towers-plotter Osama Bin Laden. Over the weekend, weeks short of the invasion's 20th anniversary on October 7, the Taliban completed its victory by taking the capital of Kabul, just one week after starting its lightning offensive.

US president Joe Biden is being universally blamed for his country's astonishing humiliation which American commentators say only ranks behind Vietnam. He is accused of having blundered with an ill-conceived, overly hasty and consequently calamitous withdrawal that's turned into a rout of the US and its Western aligned allies.

The Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal describes "Biden's Afghanistan Surrender" and a statement over the weekend absolving himself of blame, as "one of the most shameful in history" by a US Commander-in-Chief. The editorial is currently the WSJ's best read opinion piece – here's the link.

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