Mississippi Falls to the Taliban!

The government of Mississippi fell to the Taliban today. After three hours touring the state, the holy warriors boarded flights back to Kabul.

"Our presence was not needed," Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar told reporters at Gulfport-Biloxi Airport. "Strict adherence to the will of God, the subjugation of women, and illiteracy have already been achieved."

The Mullah conceded that he underestimated progress in this area of the United States.

"The success of Governor Tate Reeves and his Republican counterparts has exceeded that of tribal elders in Marjah [a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan]," he said, waving a small Confederate flag.

Baradar did express annoyance that he could not receive medical attention for his trick knee.

"The hospitals were full, and even the Pep Boys parking lot was jammed with people on ventilators," he said. "And no real doctors or nurses. I saw Manny, Moe, and Jack hooking up the patient IVs."

Yes. It Is Time to Leave Afghanistan

Thoughts on Afghanistan:

1. As much as I loathe the Taliban, the US has spent $83 billion over 20 years to train Afghanis to resist them. The effort failed. There is no evidence that billions more would change anything. Just as the corrupt governments in Saigon could not win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese, the ineffective parade of leaders in Kabul could not bring unity and stability to their nation.

2. That $83 billion could have been spent improving America’s healthcare system and public schools and lifting the economic burden from the working and middle classes.

3. There is no appreciable will among the American public for endless wars.

4. The bravery of our troops who fought and died in Afghanistan is unquestioned. They did their duty. As with Vietnam, our government’s policy failed – not the troops.

5. As Liz Cheney pointed out this morning, “the calamity unfolding in Afghanistan began with the Trump administration negotiating with terrorists and pretending they were partners for peace.” I say the calamity began decades ago with President Bush’s invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11. Most of the perpetrators that day were Saudis, not the Taliban. And from the beginning, Bush had no end game or plan for withdrawal.

6. To be sure, it was President Biden’s decision (correct, in my opinion) to pull American troops from this hopeless cause. He will suffer the political fallout. Republicans are quick to claim he "has blood on his hands,” without mentioning the blood on Bush’s or their hands for designing and funding this quagmire.

7. At least President Biden is helping to extract and resettle those Afghanis who worked with our military. Trump turned his back on the Kurds and threw them to the wolves.