Photo By Omar Sobhani/Reuters
Column By Mike Bibb
After only seven months in office, President Joe Biden has managed to make a mess of nearly everything he’s touched.
Actually, in its own convoluted way, his abysmal record is quite remarkable.
From his very first day on the job, he replaced our southern border’s enforcement policies with his own “open border” schemes. To date, this tactic has resulted in over a million undocumented foreigners inundating certain regions and communities and overwhelming Customs and Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies.
Crime and COVID infections have also risen since these migrants are not screened or tested for disease unless symptoms are apparent. They are then permitted to freely travel about the country, promising to appear at a future immigration court date. Of course, most never do.
Estimates of 30-40% of illegal crossers are never apprehended. No one really knows where these people have gone or how many there actually are.
Joe’s continued reliance on the Centers for Disease Control recommendations in dealing with the COVID pandemic has been a mixed bag of mandates and opinions by health and virology experts.
For nearly two years, we’ve experienced mask-wearing, social distancing, school, church, and business closures, and a society that has grown weary of conflicting information and statistical reports. All the while being assured the development and administration of a vaccine would finally relieve us of all the anxiety.
Instead, the reverse has occurred. With a substantial portion of the population having been vaccinated and new strands of the coronavirus appearing, we’re now being told by the same experts that mask-wearing and social distancing should continue to be practiced because the vaccines are really not a guarantee against COVID infection. The vaccine’s effectiveness seems to dimmish in a few months, requiring an additional booster inoculation.
Doctors and health care officials either don’t know or haven’t admitted, how many additional booster shots will be needed to stay “safe.” Indicating a continuing series of post-COVID vaccinations may be required to comply with national and state government regulations.
Then, there’s the issue of increasing numbers of people becoming infected after they’ve received vaccines. Odd, aren’t the medicines supposed to prevent this? If not, then what’s the point?
Little discussion is given to natural immunity – there’s no money in it.
Joe’s financial acuity is almost non-existent. His spend and tax and spend some more philosophy could be the result of his 50 years as a career politician. Multi-trillion-dollar spending proposals are now common, with little regard for how these boondoggles are going to be paid for.
Not known as a deep thinker, but a “go-along-to-get-along” opportunist, he’s managed to be reelected to Congress numerous times by fabricating tall tales, exaggerating his limited successes, and riding the coattails of other, more successful political figures – including President Barack Obama.
Now Joe’s president and the whole world are finally being exposed to his lack of knowledge, originality, and statesmanship. The man appears to be continually befuddled and often veers off subject when making public appearances and announcements.
Perhaps his greatest botched endeavor (so far) has been the unmitigated disaster of the United States military withdrawal from Afghanistan. From the very beginning of the Kabul airport evacuation operation, mistake after mistake after mistake finally led to the death by suicide bomber and gunfire of 12 Marines, a Navy Corpsman, and more than 150 Afghan citizens. About 18 additional U.S. military personnel were wounded and many more civilians.
This debacle produced the single-day largest causality numbers in ten years. Occasional Taliban rockets were hurled into the airport as limited evacuation flights arrived and departed.
The final day for the United States to be out of Afghanistan was Aug. 31, 2021, although no flights were scheduled after Aug. 30. What happens after that date is anyone’s guess. The 20-year anniversary of 9-11-01 is only 11 days later.
In Washington, Joe didn’t want to talk about the bungled evacuation, turning his back on press reporter’s questions. Maybe he’s finally figured out, or admitted to himself, that under his direction things went south so quickly that no one was able to fully fathom the severity of the situation or why it was permitted to happen?
What commander in their right mind would evacuate the military first – leaving behind mounds of weapons, ammunition, aircraft, and thousands of civilians? Who, could possibly think this was a good idea?
Apparently, Joe Biden did, the 46th President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of all U.S. armed forces. Next, he probably insists the Taliban be acknowledged as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
Typical Washington bass-ackwards diplomacy.
Whatever happened to the “No man/woman left behind” mantra? Guess, Joe’s never heard of it. Or if he has, he’s chosen to ignore the decree, violating a sacred trust between the military and their elected civil boss.
Now, flags across the country are at half-staff as we mourn our losses and try to comprehend the total irrationally of what just happened.
The question becomes what are we, and our Congressional representatives, going to do to make sure something like this never repeats under any circumstances — under any current or future president?
The final days of our presence in Afghanistan will be talked and written about for years, maybe decades. I’m confident the Biden Administration’s mishandling of the affair will be a featured subject in editorial pages, history books, ROTC classes, and military colleges on how not to exit a war zone.
Biden may be bewildered by everything going on around him, but that’s just Joe being Joe. Confusion has been his trademark ever since he thought he could actually whip his fictional nemeses Corn Pop. Sort of a delusionary version of the David versus Goliath clash.
Hope real adversaries, like China or Russia, never challenge Joe’s resolve. If they do, he may be persuaded to surrender California as a token of his peaceful coexistence strategy.
Let’s face it, the Biden-coached starting lineup isn’t up to the job. They’re not the second-string, JV replacements, or even useful blocking dummies. They washed out during training camp, totally incapable of performing basic tasks.
Actually, they’re pathetic beyond belief. No one could be this bad unless they really worked at it!
The opinion expressed in this editorial is that of the author.
