Accountability

We're a few days into one of the biggest debacles in American diplomatic and military history.  And yes, I was alive during the fall of Saigon.  What has happened over the course of the last few weeks in Afghanistan and what will happen in the coming weeks is almost inconceivable.  I wrote the baseline story yesterday and you can read it here.  Simply put, the decision to leave was made by civilian authority and so it was incumbent on the U.S. government to execute orders.  This was an operation that should logically have been handled by Dept of State and Dept of Defense with most likely cooperation from various other agencies.  Clearly...clearly they have failed in an epic manner.  Or I should say leadership failed in an epic manner.  As is usually the case the boots on the ground have responded heroically.  We have all seen it unfold on our TV screens over the last few days.  That there was no discernible plan, that we were slow to implement whatever contingency plans were put in place (assuming that there were such plans), that the circumstances on the ground have completely spun out of control is disastrous and unacceptable.  

The operations on the ground will unfold in the coming days.  Given the start, the execution is likely to be uneven, dangerous, filled with uncertainties and result in a fair amount of casualties.  I've seen it reported that there are between 5,000 and 10,000 Americans trapped in Kabul trying to get out and between 20,000 and up to as many as 40,000 Afghans trying to escape what is likely a death sentence if they stay in the country.  Getting to those people will require some heavy lifting.  It will likely be borne by our Special Ops folks and I wish them Godspeed...because they are going to need it.

So as we watch from the sidelines the inevitable question arises about accountability.  Who do we hold accountable for this disaster?  Who will hold themselves accountable?  Who will look in the mirror and decide that the honorable thing to do is to resign?  And if they don't, who will Biden fire?  All good questions but I fear with this crowd the answer will be none of the above.  They will hunker down, claim to be part of the solution and hope for the best.  

I think Biden is responsible for this disaster and should resign.  Of course, he won't.  As we saw in his speech yesterday he doesn't even understand the nature of the disaster.  So his reckoning will come at the ballot box, but everyone knows he won't (can't?) run again.  So he will skate.  Who are the others who should go?  

If I were drawing up a list I'd say the National Security Advisor,  the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the President's principle military advisor), and the Commander of the Central Command.  I've heard others say that the head of each service should resign. But I don't think so.  Those guys are man, train and equip guys.  They don't have execution responsibility.  But the Commander of Central Command is the Unified Commander in charge of Afghanistan.  I also think that the our Ambassador to Afghanistan and the senior military commander on the ground in country should go.  So that's my list.  Harsh?  Maybe.  And there are probably other people in lesser known positions that should be held accountable.  

But this is the list of leaders who should be leading.  They should be accountable.  True leaders lead from the front.  They are the first on the field of battle and the last to leave.  Anything less is unacceptable and results in...well, it results in disaster!