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The Special Plan the Taliban Has for September 11th

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The Taliban reportedly plans to have an inauguration ceremony for its new interim government this Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that brought down the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

Those attacks killed nearly 3,000 Americans and inflicted a traumatic wound on the nation’s psyche.

Back then, the U.S. response was impressive and decisive.

After the Taliban refused to turn over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of Sept. 11, Americans invaded the country.

U.S. Special Forces teamed up with Afghan Northern Alliance fighters and dealt the first devastating blows to the outlaw regime.

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A broader U.S.-led coalition, which included NATO allies, toppled the Taliban within two months.

Now, 20 years later, the Taliban is back in charge and stronger militarily thanks to the tens of billions in U.S. equipment the Biden administration left in country.

Former U.S. State Department adviser and Afghan native Arash Yaqin couldn’t help but note the sad irony of the Taliban officially re-instituting its interim government on the 9/11 anniversary.

“Speaking about the symbolism of the War on Terror, the Taliban are planning to have their interim government inauguration ceremony on Saturday, September 11th, on the 20th anniversary of 9/11,” he tweeted Tuesday.

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Heritage Foundation president Kay Cole James pointed out the trifecta that the Taliban has achieved thanks to President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal.

They have more territorial control than they did on Sept. 11, 2001, and they are better armed, she wrote in a piece for The Washington Times.

“And worse yet, now the Taliban will have hundreds of American hostages that it didn’t have in 2001. Hostages President Biden abandoned. Hostages the Taliban will use to barter for more money and weapons to use to commit more terrorist attacks,” James added.

Do you approve of Joe Biden's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal?

Biden’s decision-making regarding the Afghanistan pull-out was par for the course. It was former Obama Defense Secretary Robert Gates who famously wrote in 2014 that Biden “has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”

In an NPR interview that same year, Gates listed as examples Biden’s vote against an aid package for South Vietnam, his belief that Iranians’ human rights would improve following the deposing of the Shah in the 1970s, and his opposition to Reagan’s defense buildup in the 1980s, the first Gulf War in the 1990s and the surge of U.S. troops into Afghanistan in 2009.

“So on a number of these major issues, I just frankly, over a long period of time, felt that he had been wrong,” Gates summarized.

Add to that list Biden’s opposition to the raid that killed bin Laden.

The problem now is he is no longer just a senator or vice president; he’s the commander in chief.

Biden had actually picked this Sept. 11 as the date he wanted all U.S. forces out of Afghanistan. Well, the military followed orders, and he got his symbolic “end” to the Afghan War.

But what a Pyrrhic victory it is with the Taliban back in control and, at least for the moment, stronger than ever before.

CORRECTION, Sept. 8, 2021: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect date for Gates’ comments on Biden.

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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