‘Whether it is true or not,’ this president and his enablers ‘need to project a different picture’: that the Afghanistan retreat was a great success. //

In a bombshell report on Aug. 31, Reuters reported on an audio recording of a July 23 call between Biden and then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. It released a transcript. In the call, Biden stated, “I need not tell you the perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things aren’t going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban.”

Biden then gave Ghani his marching orders: “And there is a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture.” His own words condemn the president: “Whether it is true or not…” As the indispensable Mollie Hemingway noted on Fox News on Sept. 2, “What this phone call shows is that the withdrawal was, like so many other parts of the war, communicated to the American public with lies.” Indeed it was.

But this was even worse. Again, Hemingway: “While the previous president was impeached over a phone call and accused of a quid pro quo, here you actually have a president asking someone to lie on his behalf and conditioning military aid on part of those lies.” //

The abandonment of Americans and allies who fought with us, coupled with the lies about the strategy, is a disaster. It is contrary to the military’s fundamental ethos and everything that this country stands for. It compromises both our national honor and security.

But, “whether it is true or not,” this president and his enablers “need to project a different picture”: that the evacuation and retreat was a great success, that it all went according to plan, and that this administration will continue protect our fellow citizens both in Afghanistan and at home. For shame, Mr. President, for shame.