Congressional testimony this week by the top Pentagon officials charged with the Afghanistan pullout made clear that President Joe Biden opted against their recommendation against completely withdrawing U.S. troops. Instead, Biden insisted on a hasty pullout, leading to disastrous results. The advisers didn’t seem proud about their assessment, nor did they try to sugarcoat the Pentagon’s various missteps that blocked a successful end to the 20-year war.
They were bluntly — and refreshingly — honest. America needs a lot more of that.
Washington politicians on both sides of the aisle have grown so fearful of the truth, they seem willing to say or do anything to hide it from the American people. Biden is only the latest in a long succession of U.S. leaders who have lied to protect their legacies and their own fragile egos rather than choose blunt honesty so the nation can learn from its mistakes and avoid repeating them in the future.
