Allies Slam Biden

Biden Not Only Botched The Withdrawal From Afghanistan, He Alienated America’s Allies In The Process

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AS THE CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN MOUNTED, BIDEN IGNORED FOREIGN LEADERS

• On the campaign trail, Biden promised to “renew” our alliances.
• However, as Kabul fell to the Taliban, Biden left America’s partners in the dark, continuing his vacation rather than keeping allies informed of developments happening on the ground in Afghanistan.
• Biden ignored U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s calls on the deteriorating situation for nearly 36 hours.
  • National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed this last Tuesday, saying Biden had “not yet spoken with any other world leaders.”
  • The U.K. Parliament united to hold Biden in contempt for his botched withdrawal.
• The only other foreign leader Biden spoke to in the first 72 hours after the fall of Kabul is Germany’s Angela Merkel. 
  • In the same period, Johnson was able to speak to seven other international leaders – Merkel, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Mario Draghi, Pakistan’s Imran Khan, Australia’s Scott Morrison, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the UN’s Antonio Guterres.
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even resorted to calling failed politician Hillary Clinton to discuss the withdrawal.

U.K. LEADERS SLAMMED BIDEN’S HANDLING OF AFGHANISTAN, SAYING IT TARNISHES OUR RELATIONSHIP

• U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson: “Nobody wants Afghanistan, once again, to be a breeding ground for terror . . . It’s fair to say the U.S. decision to pull out has accelerated things.”
• Former U.K. Prime Minister Teresa May suggested the U.K. should have worked with an “alternative alliance” in Afghanistan and said a “reassessment” of NATO was needed in light of Biden’s botched withdrawal.
• Former British Cabinet Member Rory Stewart: Biden “hasn’t just humiliated America’s Afghan allies … He’s humiliated his Western allies.”
• MP and Chairman of the U.K. Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee Tom Tugendhat: “To see [Biden] call into question the courage of men I fought with, to claim that they ran, is shameful.”
  • Tugendhat: “Afghanistan is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez. We need to think again about how we handle friends, who matters and how we defend our interests.”
• MP and Afghan War veteran Dan Jarvis said Biden’s comments on the withdrawal were “distasteful and dishonoring.”
• MP Chris Bryant called Biden’s comments about Afghan soldiers, “some of the most shameful comments ever from an American president.”

EUROPEAN LEADERS BLAMED BIDEN AND SAID THE OUTCOME WAS DISASTROUS

• German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the images from the Kabul airport were “shameful for the political West.”
  • Christian Democratic Union Leader Armin Laschet: “It is the biggest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding, and we're standing before an epochal change.”
  • Chairman of the German Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee Norbert Röttgen: “This does fundamental damage to the political and moral credibility of the West.”
  • Bavarian Governor Markus Soeder: “The United States of America bear the main responsibility for the current situation.”
• Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell criticized Biden and called the fall of Kabul “a catastrophe” and “nightmare.”
• Czech President Milos Zeman: “By withdrawing from Afghanistan, the Americans have lost their status of global leader.”

BIDEN HAS DAMAGED AMERICA’S CREDIBILITY, WITH OUR ALLIES AND ENEMIES NOW QUESTIONING OUR COMMITMENTS

• In the wake of Biden’s botched withdrawal, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen suggested Taiwan could not rely on the U.S. anymore, saying Taiwan’s “only option is to grow stronger and become more united.”
  • Tsai: “It is not our option to do nothing and only rely on others for protection.”
  • Chinese propaganda outlets seized on the fall of Afghanistan as a sign that the U.S. would not defend Taiwan if attacked.
• Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said Biden had “accept[ed] a historic failure” and suggested it showed the U.S. is not actually committed to Israel’s security.
  • Nasrallah: “Those watching most closely and drawing conclusions from this are the Israelis.”