answers\u003C/a>, and the facts of the Afghanistan debacle, highlight what happens when our leaders opt instead for fast, messy solutions to complex challenges.\u003C/p>First, let’s be clear about the facts. President Trump was the first person who wanted our military servicemembers to come home. Still, he knew we had to do it in a responsible way that ensured our military stayed safe and that Afghanistan couldn’t once more be used as a base of operations against America or her interests. While our goal from the beginning was to bring every American servicemember home, the facts on the ground, as well as the recommendations from our military and intelligence services, did not support abandoning Bagram airbase and taking the last American soldiers out of the country.\u003C/p>
Still, good progress was being made during the final year of the Trump Administration. Conditions were improving, and the Taliban was in check – indeed, they knew they had to abide by our conditions for withdrawal. Otherwise, there would have been swift and harsh consequences. The plan the Trump Administration produced – and left for the incoming Administration – was working. Crucially, though, our plan did not lock the next Administration into a timetable or date certain for total withdrawal, as Secretary Blinken has continued to claim. Indeed, just the opposite is true. Biden and Harris could have done what we did when the Taliban violated the deal: Use Afghan power, supported by America, to impose massive costs on them.\u003C/p>
All of these facts were still true less than a year later when President Biden and Vice President Harris decided to withdraw our military in a matter of days. They chose a quick solution. They didn’t do the hard work to build deterrence and keep our soldiers safe. The resulting rush for the exit, during which 13 American soldiers were killed, was a disaster that should never\u003C/strong> have happened. This is what Secretary Blinken – and the rest of the Biden Administration – should acknowledge. Instead, they’ve consistently blamed the Trump Administration, even though we actually did the hard work to keep Americans safe.\u003C/p>Look at many of the Biden Administration’s policy failures, and you see a similar story. It made the decision not to enforce our sanctions on Iran, instead choosing to quickly enter negotiations with an Iranian regime that was actively trying to kill Americans. This empowered Iran and its terrorist proxies, who ultimately plunged the region into war on October 7.\u003C/p>
President Biden also failed to reinforce our message to Europe about the need to deter Vladimir Putin. Instead, it spent its first year in office parading around European capitals, boasting about defeating President Trump, rather than doing the hard work of building a model of deterrence that would prevent an attack on Ukraine. Then, when Putin did invade, the Biden Administration failed to work with our allies to build a sanctions regime capable of crushing Russia’s economy – instead, it just signed more communiques and authored more press releases condemning Putin’s invasion. These reactive half-measures weren’t part of any broader strategy, either; the Biden Administration didn’t have one.\u003C/p>
Those of us who were fortunate enough to serve our country in the first Trump Administration were practitioners of change nobody thought possible precisely because from the beginning, we set long-term objectives that fit into a strategy built on American strength and deterrence. For instance, upon assuming office, our Administration faced a Middle East on the brink of being dominated by an empowered Iran, yet over the months and years we managed to both forestall war and forge the Abraham Accords – historic peace agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors. We didn’t resort to quick solutions in Afghanistan. Instead, we invested time and energy in building out solutions that kept Americans safe while delivering on our promises. President Trump closed the border on day one of his first Administration with Executive orders – but those of us on his team also spent the next four years managing every facet of America’s relationship with Mexico so that those Executive orders and the President’s vision could be actualized.\u003C/p>
President Trump is assuming office amid an even more dangerous and unstable world than we faced in his first term – yet everything is in place for him to succeed once more. To do so, the President’s team should heed some valuable lessons from the past eight years: Embrace the long game, work incredibly hard and smart, and always put America first.\u003C/p>
Support the work of the ACLJ\u003C/em>\u003C/strong>\u003C/a> as we continue to bring you expert analysis and legal action on the issues that matter most.\u003C/em>\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>","contentType":"Article","published":1734125538216,"authorData":{"valid":true,"active":true,"authorHTMLStr":"Mike Pompeo, Senior Counsel for Global Affairs\u003C/a>"}},{"_id":"67576777021d89c6ca595100"},{"_id":"67532be5021d89c6ca5950d2"},{"_id":"6740eeeb7a18c70c1d37d7eb"},{"_id":"673fad427a18c70c1d37d7c4"},{"_id":"673bb769413e54d76527d27d"},{"_id":"671bba00540c712b6da730f1"},{"_id":"67129c7709cacf65465420ad"},{"_id":"670963048cef450ea51109f6"},{"_id":"66f702a3b5f0ed8645b03084"},{"_id":"66ad1a54fb5d15c142bfa7ac"},{"_id":"65f06cb142b92ac2f891278c"},{"_id":"65c6980c4d5b0ff685e8aaf4"},{"_id":"65bc194fe20e131fecf838b5"},{"_id":"6532cc6854526eaa56244cda"},{"_id":"6520562031212c62ad4a68b3"},{"_id":"650ddb12b3be0663e838895b"},{"_id":"64fb725ba4f76945fd97e069"},{"_id":"64baa3e85b2d3585275929d6"},{"_id":"64b5a7cf6830d26899cc4820"}],"image":"Biden_speaking.jpg","imageFormats":"avif,webp,jpg"}},{"f":1}],["s0-1-0-1-33-3-35-4",1,{"component":"footer","skeleton":{}},{"f":1}],["s0-1-0-1-33-3-35-9",1,{"component":"copyright","skeleton":{}},{"f":1}],["s0-1-0-1-36",9,{},{"f":1}],["s0-1-0-1-37",10,{},{"f":1}]],"t":["LCsrrdtX","3mMKUmfk","inzZQU93","DugddDsi","BMJycigL","8q6nvVYz","63EA9fto","Pfqe6oCH","964ZbEos","iT3NbGAD","PN8Kw/gu"]},"$$":[{"l":["g","featuredRadio","relatedContent","id"],"r":["g","featuredRadio","relatedContent","_id"]},{"l":["w",1,2,"skeleton","renderBody"],"r":{"type":"NOOP"}},{"l":["w",7,2,"loadingIndicator","renderBody"],"r":{"type":"NOOP"}},{"l":["w",9,2,"skeleton","renderBody"],"r":{"type":"NOOP"}},{"l":["w",10,2,"skeleton","renderBody"],"r":{"type":"NOOP"}}]})
