The war in Afghanistan is over. We know it's over because Marine General Kenneth McKenzie and Secretary of State Antony Blinken told us it's over Monday afternoon. President Joe Biden said he would tell us so some time Tuesday.
But is it? When someone declares "the war is over," that generally means the beginning of peace, the end to hostilities, and a renewed hope for the future.
After the last C-17 lifted off from Kabul Airport at 3:29 pm ET, McKenzie, who serves as commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said the Taliban had been very "pragmatic and businesslike" during the U.S. evacuation. He added that they "established a firm perimeter outside of the airfield to prevent people from coming on the airfield during departure." He concluded that they were "helpful."
MaKenzie continued to speak glowingly of the terrorists: "I do know this just speaking clearly practically as a professional, they helped us secure the airfield, not perfectly, but they gave it a very good effort, and it was actually significantly helpful to us, particularly here at the end."
Johnny "Joey" Jones, a double amputee Marine veteran who lost both his legs in a 2010 IED explosion while serving in Afghanistan, had something to say about the Taliban militants that took his limbs.
"If you want to know what betrayal is?" he said. "Have a man who commanded you to die/lose limbs fighting the Taliban address the world speaking glowingly about the Taliban."
Betrayal continued to be defined by action — or in some cases inaction.
When ABC News interviewed the president earlier this month, anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed him on the issue of getting every American out before withdrawing all forces — even if it meant remaining there after the August 31 deadline set by the Taliban.
"If there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay to get them all out," Biden promised. Less than two weeks later it turned out to be another betrayal, another lie, another unkept promise.
Washington, D.C.-based journalist Emily Miller has been tweeting updates on the situation in Afghanistan, using information gleaned from sources on the ground there. Early Monday morning she reported something heartbreaking
"We're dealing with Kabul," she reported a source as saying. "There's 7 buses of female American citizens. The CG refused to open the gate. We have a congressman with us and he had the state department reach out. MG Donahue refused. 10 minutes ago the females were taken by the Taliban. They are likely dead now."
Miller gave a hopeful update 19 h ours later.
"Update from special ops leader on just the women on the bus - 'I was told they are safe.' He said State Department involved." Hopeful, yes, but his report was based purely on second-hand information.
Five hours later Miller reported, "I just spoke by phone with an Afghan who worked on a US base in Afghanistan for 17 YEARS. Speaks perfect English. Has all his papers. But he was left behind. He's in hiding. He's lost everything. He loves Americans.
She added, "I'm writing up his story. We have to get him out of there."
Late Monday evening the Department of Defense tweeted, "The last American soldier to leave Afghanistan: Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commanding general of the @82ndABNDiv, @18airbornecorps boards an @usairforce C-17 on August 30th, 2021, ending the U.S. mission in Kabul."
Miller corrected that report: "Missing 'active duty' in this tweet," she observed. "There are many retired military still in Afghanistan to rescue the Americans and Afghan allies @potus left behind."
For those not on Twitter, Miller has been updating rescue activities on her website, and has removed the paywall.
The volunteer retired military are the ones keeping the promise that Biden broke without a thought. They're covering the checks that Biden wrote.
On Fox News Chanel's "The Five" Monday, Geraldo Rivera announced, "The war is over." But is it?
Tell that to "Joey" Jones, who lost both legs to the Taliban — the same Taliban that the U.S. CENTCOM commander praised as being "significantly helpful to us" — the same Taliban to whom Biden bequeathed $80 billion in taxpayer-funded advanced military hardware — making them the owners of the world's biggest military surplus store.
Say "the war is over" to the seven busloads of women with U.S. passports that Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue refused to allow into Kabul airport.
Tell that to every U.S. citizen who sees Afghanistan as a renewed base of operations for a rejuvenated al-Qaida, with the possibility of another 9/11 on the horizon. As Yogi Berra once said, "It's déjà vu all over again."
Say "the war is over" to the families of the Army soldier, Navy corpsman, and 11 Marines who lost their lives last week because the United States refused to retain control of the entire city of Kabul until all troops had withdrawn, even though the Taliban offered it to them.
Is it really all over, or is it just the halftime show, the calm before the storm, the seventh inning stretch?
Or has it just begun.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter, who can often be found honing his skills at the range. Read Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.