Afghanistan chaos unleashes fury in Washington

The image of Joe Biden hanging from a black file, head down, sorry and on the verge of tears in front of reporters in an attempt to explain the deaths of 13 US soldiers in Afghanistan, was exactly the photo the White House wanted to avoid when the president decided to withdraw the troops from this country after 20 years of war.

Biden, who faced the press with tears in his eyes on Thursday after the suicide bombing at Kabul airport, is now seeking to go on the offensive with the attack early Saturday morning on a position of the jihadist group ISIS-K , in a province in southern Afghanistan.

He wants to replace this gloomy image by that of a president in action, who keeps his promise to “hunt down” those responsible and “make them pay” for the deaths of the Americans and the 170 other Afghans who collaborated with them. .

But Biden’s drama today is not limited to revenge or safely evacuating his troops from the disaster in Afghanistan before the August 31 withdrawal deadline.

Battle in Washington

The president now supports another battle front which threatens him more closely than the crisis in the Asian country: several republicans They demand his resignation and talk about impeachment and even Democrats attack it with “friendly fire” with criticism for relying on the Taliban to defend Kabul airport, which ended up being the site of the worst attack by US troops in a decade.

Although the United States often unites in the face of national tragedies, the deep rift that exists in Washington grows with Afghanistan.

From the Republican ranks come the most virulent critics. “Joe Biden has blood on his hands,” Republican House No. 3 Elise Stefanik wrote on Twitter.

“The president must resign,” claimed Republican Senator Josh Hawley, accusing him of being responsible for “the dismal failure in Afghanistan”.

Another colleague, Marsha Blackburn, has bluntly called on all senior officials in the Biden administration to resign.

Without actually calling for his resignation, Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Biden’s actions “exude weakness, incompetence.” .

Accused?

Some Republicans have different ideas: from impeachment in Congress to impeachment via the 25th Constitutional Amendment, which establishes that the vice-president can assume the powers in the event of the incapacity of the president in office.

“I think Biden should be indicted and it’s the most shameful thing a Commander-in-Chief has done in modern times,” ultra-conservative Senator Lindsey Graham said.

It is almost impossible at this time for a political trial to prosper. since Democrats control both houses and a large majority is needed to activate it.

However, those calls against the president could mobilize Republican voters in the run-up to the crucial midterm legislative elections in November 2022, when the opposition hopes to regain a majority.

Biden’s popularity has already dropped by around 3 points since August 1, under the effect of the Afghan crisis, but also by the epidemic of covid-19 in the United States caused by the Delta variant, according to RealClearPolitics.

“Friend of fire”

Afghanistan has also woken up critics in the Democratic ranks themselves. The loudest voice came from Sen. Robert Menendez, chairman of the Upper House’s Foreign Relations Committee, who called an emergency session of Congress to address the crisis in Afghanistan and called on lawmakers to interrupt their vacation d ‘summer.

“While waiting for more details on what happened, one thing is clear: we cannot trust the Taliban for the safety of the Americans,” he said in a statement.

More subtly, the leader of the Democratic deputies, Nancy Pelosi, asked lawmakers to avoid visiting this country and said she was “very concerned” by the security and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Ahmet Kuru, professor of political science at San Diego State University and author of “Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment,” said Bugle that “Republicans will try to take advantage of this moment; they will especially use American losses during the withdrawal process. However, the main problem for them is that this disastrous invasion was decided and ordered by a Republican president: George W. Bush ”.

Matthew Beckmann, professor of political science at the University of California, also pointed out Bugle this point: “The reality is that there is no elegant way to lose a war. As we take a more historical perspective, I suspect that the legacy of failures in Afghanistan will fall on George W. Bush. and then Barack Obama much more than Donald Trump or Joe Biden. “

The expert believes that the president can overcome these turbulences which reveal it today. He added, “Americans (and lawmakers) would obviously prefer things to go well, but ultimately most citizens and members of Congress will leave as soon as the American soldiers return home.”

Everyone agrees that Afghanistan will be a stain on Biden’s legacy. The image of the airport disaster and that of an overwhelmed and helpless president will not be easy to forget. The challenge now is not to add a severe political cost.

Washington, correspondent

CB