The beginning of the end of Joe Biden’s presidency arrived in August 2021.

That’s when the president began a catastrophic pullout from Afghanistan that shredded our national credibility and his own reputation. He never really recovered.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee just released an exhaustive 353-page report putting on record the sorry episode from beginning to end. The report’s overarching conclusion is that this was a Joe Biden operation from beginning to end.

He insisted on the withdrawal despite ample warnings from all sides, with the bull-headed stubbornness of someone who is often wrong but never in doubt.

You practically weren’t a diplomatic or military official unless you were warning against the withdrawal. As the report notes, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, the Secretary of State, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Commander of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces all were against it.

At a NATO ministerial meeting in March 2021 attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, NATO representatives strenuously argued against the pull-out. A shaken Blinken relayed the NATO concerns to Biden, saying that they had come at him in “quadraphonic sound.”

It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.

Everyone sensible knew what was going to happen. The chairman of the joint chiefs, Mark Milley, thought a total withdrawal meant “it was only a matter of when, not if, the Afghan government would collapse and the Taliban would take control.” In a July report, CENTCOM concluded that without the contractors who would depart along with U.S. forces, the crucial Afghan Air Force would be at risk of no longer functioning.
Meanwhile, the Taliban was steadily gaining ground as we drew down.

A so-called Dissent Channel cable from alarmed embassy officials urged that we take evacuation planning more seriously, process visa applications from Afghan allies with greater urgency, and do more to secure the safety of those who had helped us.

In short order, it was too late. The Taliban took Kabul, and the airport — the only point of exit we had left — was overrun. A confused final evacuation ensued. We know the tragic consequences, as a devastating attack at Abbey Gate killed 13 service members.

According to the report, we left behind 1,000 Americans, as well as 90% of Afghans eligible for special visas. We abandoned billions of dollars-worth of weapons and $57 million in currency. The Taliban has been tracking down and killing people who worked with us, creating terrorist safe havens, and holding American hostages.

No rational person would want to be associated with any of this, but, at the time, Vice President Kamala Harris boasted about being the last person in the room, and she still describes Biden’s decision as “courageous and right.”

After Dunkirk, a heroic operation, Winston Churchill said, “Wars are not won by evacuations.” President Biden demonstrated how much can be lost during one.

Rich Lowry is editor in chief of National Review