China and our other global enemies were watching as our government foolishly set a date rather than terms for our total withdrawal from Afghanistan, empowering the enemy we had been fighting for twenty years. They took note of the tens of billions of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded sensitive military equipment recklessly handed over to the enemy, some of which equipment China likely now possesses. They saw how we handcuffed ourselves in a position of weakness that led to the abandonment of our own citizens and the allies who had selflessly fought alongside us. On top of it all, they watched gleefully as we vacated the single most strategic military installation in the world—Bagram Air Base.
Situated tactically between our enemies in Iraq, Iran, China, Pakistan, and Russia, Bagram Air Base used to be controlled by the United States and our global allies. It kept America and the world out of major wars by acting as both a deterrent to hostility and a stabilizer for a volatile region. We worked together, in an international effort, at Bagram as a hub to support and advise the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP) in what used to be their fight against the Taliban and terrorism at large. That is, until it was abandoned to our enemies.
When our military withdrew from the country, we did not coordinate with our allies to maintain control of this strategic military position, nor did we consult with the legitimate Afghan government we spent twenty years putting in place. Instead, our White House negotiated with and ultimately surrendered Bagram to Taliban terrorists and their global allies—our enemies. These are the same enemies who carefully watched our disastrous withdrawal and who have since been empowered by what they saw. Almost immediately, China took advantage of the Afghanistan withdrawal disaster and subsequent Taliban takeover to portray America as a “weak and unreliable power.” They said that Taiwan would suffer the same Afghanistan “fate” of abandonment by a weak America should China choose to invade.
Just six months later, Russia invaded Ukraine after seeing how the United States had mishandled a basic military withdrawal. Putin saw America as weak, just like China does, and we were no longer a deterrent to hostility. Putin felt empowered to be able to take this violent action, and our president proved him right when he seemingly dismissed a “minor incursion” into Ukraine by Russia as not overly concerning. When Putin moved troops to the border of Ukraine President Biden ordered all US troops to withdraw and closed our embassy and consulate, leading our allies to do the same. This gave Putin a green light to move into Ukraine and slaughter tens of thousands of innocent civilians, using chemical weapons and using war crime after war crime without effective international intervention leading the US into a proxy war with Russia through over 111 billion dollars in taxpayer dollars with no oversight or control.
Since this invasion, China has carefully observed how the White House has handled the Russian invasion. They are keeping careful track of the tens of billions of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded aid we’ve sent to Ukraine, secretly hoping we’ll continue to drain our financial and military stockpiles in a proxy war with Russia, making ourselves less capable of defending against an attack by China. They know exactly what American military equipment is being sent to a foreign nation. And after the Afghanistan withdrawal, they know we’d be willing to abandon it all, because we did once before. They see how we keep drawing and then crossing meaningless “red lines” when either foreign entities demand aid or enemies call our bluffs. They see our military and foreign policy weakness.
Unfortunately, China hasn’t only been watching the Afghanistan disaster or the Russian proxy war. They’ve also watched our government’s perpetual mishandling of the disaster at our southern border. They’re witnessing the millions of illegal migrants, including known terrorists, flooding into our country with no regard for our federal laws, while our leading politicians prioritize equity agendas over national security.
They’ve taken note of the perpetually mishandled supply chain and transportation crises that weaken our economy, drive up consumer costs, and disrupt American industry. They likely also noticed our government prioritizing various equity and climate agendas over these crises. I can only imagine how glad they are that our own government has helped to cripple our country, making us an even weaker nation.
Actions still speak louder than words, and our enemies have been watching the United States government mishandle one disaster after another, slowly weakening our own country and credibility. Meanwhile, they are quietly strengthening themselves. When China decides to strike, whether against us or other targets like Taiwan, they will do so with confidence in America’s weakness, as that’s what we’ve shown over the last few years.
