Progressives breathe sigh of relief after Afghan withdrawal | TheHill – The Hill
Progressives are breathing a sigh of relief over the end of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, praising President BidenJoe BidenHouse panel advances 8B defense bill Democrats defeat GOP effort to declare 'lost confidence' in Biden after Afghanistan withdrawal House committee moves to block private funds for National Guard deployments MORE's commitment to halting the forever war even as the chaotic withdrawal from Kabul comes under heavy criticism.
After the White House declared the war over on Monday and Biden defended his decisions Tuesday, liberal lawmakers, strategists and movement-aligned activists offered words of support for what they considered to be a tough but moral decision.
The messaging from progressive thought leaders and organizations has been consistently critical of the War on Terror' and the war in Afghanistan more specifically, said Adam Weinstein, a research fellow at Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft who helped organize a coalition of groups around anti-war efforts.
With regard to America's involvement in longstanding battles, Weinstein sees two only options.
You can either continue them to try to avoid the aftermath, and in doing so you incrementally make things worse and worse, or you can end them and you will have to deal with the aftermath, but you break the cycle, he said. What President Biden did was he made the decision to break the cycle.
I think we all expected the can to be kicked down the road. If you look at history, that was the bet to make, Weinstein added. The reason for that is precisely what were seeing right now: There was going to be a political backlash.
While anti-Afghan invasion sentiment was scarce in Washington in 2001 when then-President George W. Bush unseated the Taliban, progressives became more fervent throughout the Bush years and subsequent administrations in their calls for a withdrawal, urging both former Presidents Obama and Trump to put a stop to what many perceived to be a misguided mission by the United States that had run its course.
On Tuesday, in an impassioned defense of his decision, Biden made clear he was sympathetic to that view.
Leaving August the 31st is not due to an arbitrary deadline. It was designed to save American lives, the president said from the State Dining Room late in the afternoon. I was not going to extend this forever war. And I was not extending a forever exit."
The speech was intended to give Americans a sober look at Biden's international agenda, one that puts a premium on stopping overseas combateven when politically inconvenient.
Afghanistan is known as the graveyard of empires for a reason, said Cullen Tiernan, a Marine Corps veteran and former campaign aide to former Rep. Tulsi GabbardTulsi GabbardProgressives breathe sigh of relief after Afghan withdrawal Hillicon Valley: US has made progress on cyber but more needed, report says | Democrat urges changes for 'problematic' crypto language in infrastructure bill | Facebook may be forced to unwind Giphy acquisition YouTube rival Rumble strikes deals with Tulsi Gabbard, Glenn Greenwald MORE (D-Hawaii), who ran on a presidential platform of ending foreign wars.
We have been there for 20 years, investing our lives, treasure and future into a corrupt Afghan government that clearly did not have the confidence or support of the Afghan people, Tiernan added.
After operations erupted into a disorderly scene in Kabul over the past two weeks, many expressed renewed frustration that the United States was involved in Afghanistan to begin with. That sentiment was bolstered by images and news reports of evacuation delays and the tragic killing of 13 American troops by ISIS militants.
Among progressives, many view the entire war as a wasteful act.
"Ending wars is good actually, tweeted Rep. Ilhan OmarIlhan OmarProgressives breathe sigh of relief after Afghan withdrawal Ominous warnings from Afghanistan's last men standing Photos of the Week: Afghanistan evacuees, Paralympics and the French fire MORE (D-Minn.), a crusader against a hawkish approach to military intervention.
We never should have begun America's longest war in the first place a war of endless suffering and needless death, added Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.). A top priority right now must be raising the refugee cap and assisting as many Afghans as possible with resettlement. My office stands ready to help.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezOcasio-Cortez calls on Senate to reject Rahm Emanuel as Japan ambassador Progressives breathe sigh of relief after Afghan withdrawal On The Money Companies consider making unvaccinated workers pay MORE (D-N.Y.) hosted a town hall on Friday after the fatal bombing at the Kabul airport. Earlier in the week, she and Rep. Barbara LeeBarbara Jean LeeProgressives breathe sigh of relief after Afghan withdrawal Overnight Defense & National Security America's longest war ends Juan Williams: Biden is right on Afghanistan MORE (D-Calif) the only member of Congress to vote against the Bush-era war act sent a joint letter to Biden asking him to allow more individuals into the country through the Refugee Admissions Program.
While the decision to withdraw early into Bidens administration was applauded by the left, there is also a sizable contingent speaking out about the way the exit was handled.
Trump and other Republicans strongly condemned the presidents end-game strategy and sought to portray him as incapable of skillfully handling a tough military decision other presidents didnt want to touch. Multiple GOP senators and the Republican National Committee called for his resignation. Sen. Ben SasseBen SasseRomney blasts Biden over those left in Afghanistan: 'Bring them home' Progressives breathe sigh of relief after Afghan withdrawal Biden: 'No deadline' for Americans still in Afghanistan who want to leave MORE (R-Neb.) said Biden was displaying cowardice and incompetence.
And Bidens approval rating took a hit. In a Morning Consult survey released on Monday, 49 percent of voters polled said they disapprove of the presidents job performance.
Still, some progressives discount critiques of ill preparation as disingenuous, claiming things were never going to be easy towards the very end. Biden appeared to agree with that assessment in his remarks.
I take responsibility for the decision, he reiterated, a line hes used in previous national addresses. Now some say we should have started mass evacuations sooner and couldn't this have been done in a more orderly manner? I respectfully disagree.
Theres also talk among Democrats and Republicans about the optics of praising the effort that has left somewhere between 100 and 200 Americans still in the country, according to the latest estimate by Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenAlmost 24,000 Afghans have entered US since Kabul airlift began Advocates 'demoralized' as 100K allies remain stranded in Afghanistan Rice, McMaster call for help removing orphans from Afghanistan: report MORE. Biden also tried to assuage those concerns.
The bottom line: 90 percent of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave, he said during his nearly 30-minute remarks. And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out.
The focus on evacuating more people from Kabul is likely to escalate as the federal government juggles several top priorities heading into September. The degree to which Democrats will be united around a refugee strategy remains to be seen, some said.
So far, the party has sustained differences in opinion over policy versus process during the withdrawal stages, with progressives stressing the importance of the former and moderates taking issue with the latter.
The Democratic Party needs to be valuing both positions equally at the same time, said Emily Amick, a lawyer and former senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerProgressives launch campaign to exclude gas from Congress's clean electricity program The major emitter that's missing from climate negotiations Polluters would help foot the bill for conservation under Democratic spending proposal MORE (D-N.Y.) I dont think the party can choose one or the other. They have to choose both.
Go here to read the rest:
Progressives breathe sigh of relief after Afghan withdrawal | TheHill - The Hill
- NYC progressives want to beat Adams and Cuomo. Can they set aside their differences? - Gothamist - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Josue Sierra: When progressives turn their backs on women - Broad + Liberty - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Why progressives failed the test of Oct 7 with Joshua Leifer - The Times of Israel - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Maybe progressives shouldn't have supported a larger, more extensive federal government for 100 years - The Daily Review - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Rich Lowry: Maybe progressives shouldnt have supported a larger, more extensive federal government for 100 years - Lewiston Sun Journal - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Rich Lowry: Maybe progressives shouldn't have supported a larger, more extensive federal government for 100 years - The Joplin Globe - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Kellyanne Conway rips progressives over Tesla protests: 'Trump derangement syndrome has reached stage five' - Fox Business - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- A Cohesive Message from Progressives - The New Yorker - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- The Left Has Turned White Progressives Into Hood Rats - AM 870 The ANSWER - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Progressives Are Pissed. This Group Wants Them to Run for Office - Rolling Stone - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- AOC and other NY progressives call for Mahmoud Khalils release in letter to DHS - City & State New York - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- Progressives are not demanding any special rights for anyone | Letters - Yahoo - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- Californias Gavin Newsom opposes trans athletes in womens sports, splitting with progressives - MyMotherLode.com - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Progressives Gather In Concord to Protest, Well, Just About Everything - NH Journal - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Newsom deviates from progressives on womens sports issue - WORLD News Group - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- California's Gavin Newsom opposes trans athletes in women's sports, splitting with progressives - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- GV progressives organize against Trump - Green Valley News - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- OPINION: Labor, progressives, and the politics of the West Side - 48 Hills - March 5th, 2025 [March 5th, 2025]
- Adriana E. Ramrez: Progressives should admit that Donald Trump might do something right - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - March 3rd, 2025 [March 3rd, 2025]
- Decades of pandering to progressives have left both BP and Unilever at a loss - The Telegraph - March 3rd, 2025 [March 3rd, 2025]
- Progressives tap a rising star to deliver their response to Trump - POLITICO - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Two Santa Ana progressives make bids for the 68th Assembly District - Los Angeles Times - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- The great rethink and the opportunity for progressives - Nation.Cymru - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Progressives Say They Want Clean Energy. They Held Up This Hydro Project for Years. - POLITICO - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Meet the 'old-school Democrat' defying warped progressives to make his Southern city boom now Trump's back - Daily Mail - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Progressives go silent on court-packing with Trump in office - Washington Examiner - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Can progressives and moderates bridge the growing divide in the Democratic Party? - College of Social Sciences and Humanities - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Progressives say they are prepared to take charge over any ministry in Latvia - bnn-news.com - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Can progressives and moderates bridge the growing divide in the Democratic Party? - Northeastern University - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- FTC Push for State Media Shows Progressives Need to Spend on Local Media - Daily Kos - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- For progressives, humanitarian values apply to everyone, except the Jews - JNS.org - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- Cowardly Kathy Hochul caves to progressives on punishing Eric Adams (and his voters) - New York Post - February 25th, 2025 [February 25th, 2025]
- How Progressives Broke the Government - The Atlantic - February 18th, 2025 [February 18th, 2025]
- Its too late for progressives to be careful what they wish for - Danville Commercial News - February 18th, 2025 [February 18th, 2025]
- Progressives Flood Senator Schumers Peekskill Office -Demand A Fight Against Trump & Musk - Yonkers Times - February 18th, 2025 [February 18th, 2025]
- Trump's Ideas Aren't Crazy, They've Just Shaken Progressives - Newsmax - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- How Progressives Froze the American Dream - MSN - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- Opinion: George Will: Its too late for progressives to be careful what they wish for - Longmont Times-Call - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- How Progressives Froze the American Dream - The Atlantic - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- Opinion | Its too late for progressives to be careful what they wish for - The Washington Post - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- Progressives Sickening Embrace of the PFLP - Commentary Magazine - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- Progressives demanding NYC fight ICE are at war with reality - New York Post - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- Higher taxes on millionaires and a $20 minimum wage: What else are RI progressives proposing? - The Providence Journal - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- Musk cuts waste and progressives melt down. He must be on the right track. I Opinion - USA TODAY - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- How U.S. progressives broke the administrative state, according to Marc J. Dunkelman - NPR - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- Progressives should cheer Trumps FBI purge The bureau bullied antiwar radicals like my father - UnHerd - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- Progressives let hatred of Trump push them over the edge. It's truly sad to see. | Opinion - USA TODAY - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- Progressives demanding NYC fight ICE are at war with reality - MSN - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- ASU progressives worry about tech oligopoly in Trumps second term - The College Fix - February 12th, 2025 [February 12th, 2025]
- "Solidarity is the antidote to fascism": Progressives organize Treasury protest over Musk takeover - Yahoo! Voices - February 5th, 2025 [February 5th, 2025]
- "There is no common ground with fascists": Progressives rip Klobuchar's call for bipartisanship - Salon - February 5th, 2025 [February 5th, 2025]
- Opinion | Progressives Wont Help the Working Class by Abandoning Marginalized Groups - Common Dreams - February 5th, 2025 [February 5th, 2025]
- "Solidarity is the antidote to fascism": Progressives organize Treasury protest over Musk takeover - Salon - February 5th, 2025 [February 5th, 2025]
- Opinion - A kicked DOGE hollers: Progressives telling response to an agency cutting spending - AOL - February 5th, 2025 [February 5th, 2025]
- Chicago alderman accuses Mayor Johnson only listening to 'hyper-White liberal progressives' on immigration - Fox8tv - February 5th, 2025 [February 5th, 2025]
- Trump and Musks Agenda Is a True Threat to Aviation Safety, Progressives Warn - Truthout - February 1st, 2025 [February 1st, 2025]
- Jonathan Scott: How progressives lost rural Canadaand what they should do now - The Hub - February 1st, 2025 [February 1st, 2025]
- New York magazine shows progressives are losing the culture war - UnHerd - January 30th, 2025 [January 30th, 2025]
- New Unity and Progressives give up and decide to support Kazks to lead Bank of Latvia - bnn-news.com - January 30th, 2025 [January 30th, 2025]
- Opinion | Our Democracy Is in Peril, But Progressives Are Poised to Lead Its Revival - Common Dreams - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Progressives Are Done With Eric Adams. Can They Elect One of Their Own? - The New York Times - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Progressives' meltdown over Trump's first actions show exactly why he won | Opinion - USA TODAY - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Andrew Perez: My fellow progressives youve been lied to about Israel - National Post - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Memo to Big-City Progressives: Get Back to Basics - Governing - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Californias Wildfires and the Battle Between Populists and Progressives - Australian Institute of International Affairs - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Streeting heckled as he urges progressives to fight the populist right - The Independent - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Trumps political resurrection sends three warnings to Hollywood, media, progressives - Washington Times - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Streeting heckled as he urges progressives to fight the populist right - Evening Standard - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Streeting heckled as he urges progressives to fight the populist right - AOL UK - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Streeting heckled as he urges progressives to fight the populist right - MSN - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Trump inauguration: is this the end for progressives in America? - Channel 4 News - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Progressives Hate Jimmy Carters Best Accomplishments - National Review - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Jaime Watt: Advice to progressives: Public rage is real and the politics of joy is dead - Toronto Star - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Why progressives should talk to their enemies Jesse Jackson understood the power of persuasion - UnHerd - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Five reasons for progressives to take hope and stay engaged in 2025 - NC Newsline - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- 5 reasons for progressives to be hopeful, engaged in 2025 - Restoration NewsMedia - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Progressives like Greg Casar remain politically out of touch, reader says - San Antonio Express-News - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Progressives Hate Jimmy Carters Best Accomplishments - AMAC Official Website - Join and Explore the Benefits - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Bill Maher's foul-mouthed rant at progressives who shun conservative loved ones over the holidays - Daily Mail - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Is the Seattle City Council 'toxic' for progressives. Newly elected Alexis Mercedes Rinck is about to find out - KUOW News and Information - December 16th, 2024 [December 16th, 2024]