At the conclusion of MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday, NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel reflected on the impact of the Biden administration’s “chaotic withdrawal” from Afghanistan. He warned that “the next Osama bin Laden” may be emboldened by the disastrous surrender and that it represented “the worst capitulation of western values in our lifetimes.”
“The U.S. is withdrawing after 20 years of Afghanistan and it is leaving behind a government of the Taliban....there are many people who are being left behind,” Engel told co-host Willie Geist at the end of the 8:00 a.m. ET hour. The correspondent then warned of the devastating “legacy” that would also be left behind:
But what is the legacy? What is the legacy? There are people that are saying, was it worth? It wasn’t worth anything, we’re in the same place where we started from. Many people I’m speaking to say we are worse off than we were in the beginning because within a few weeks of launching this war, the Taliban were overthrown, Al Qaeda was scattered. Now, the U.S. is leaving after 20 years with the Taliban in power and the United States having been driven out. It is a tremendous legacy.
Engel feared that terrorists would “learn” from the catastrophe that they can defeat the United States:
Go back to Osama bin Laden. Why did Osama bin Laden launch 9/11? What inspired him to do that? He was in Afghanistan, he saw a small group of Islamist fighters were able to push out the Soviet Union, and he thought, why not take on the United States? And right now, a larger group of Islamist fighters pushed out the United States. So are we going to see the next Osama bin Laden learning the lesson of what is happening right now?
After noting how America’s adversaries like Iran and China were filling the power vacuum left by the U.S. exit, Engel somberly observed: “We are coming to the conclusion, with the United States leaving, we’ll wait for an announcement, and leaving a legacy behind that I think some have described it as the worst capitulation of western values in our lifetimes.”
A week earlier, Engel appeared on MSNBC to direly warn of “a very dark period for the United States” as the Taliban dictated the terms of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
The usually friendly liberal media cannot ignore the horrible reality that they are witnessing with their own eyes – that President Biden’s massive failure in Afghanistan has not only done tremendous damage to the reputation of the United States but has endangered Americans.
Here is a full transcript of the August 30 segment:
8:56 AM ET
WILLIE GEIST: We are one day away now from the deadline that President Biden has set for the American withdrawal, after nearly 20 years of war, from Afghanistan. Joining us now, NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel from Doha, Qatar. Richard, good morning. What does it look like on the ground in Kabul around the airport with one day left?
RICHARD ENGEL: Well, maybe less than one day left. Things are wrapping up and I think we’re going to hear in the coming hours. This is a secret part of the mission. I think we’re going to get an update later on that it’s over, either that’s later today or tomorrow. They’re not going to – the Pentagon is not going to tell us, “Oh, there’s one plane left or the last plane is leaving.” I don’t think we’re going to hear an indication until it’s actually wheels up and the troops are out and the troops are safe. But we’re really in the final stage of this right now.
And it has been a chaotic withdrawal. The U.S. is withdrawing after 20 years of Afghanistan and it is leaving behind a government of the Taliban. So it is time to look at the success that the U.S. was able to get out over 100,000 people but – an enormous logistical challenge – there are many people who are being left behind.
But what is the legacy? What is the legacy? There are people that are saying, was it worth? It wasn’t worth anything, we’re in the same place where we started from. Many people I’m speaking to say we are worse off than we were in the beginning because within a few weeks of launching this war, the Taliban were overthrown, Al Qaeda was scattered. Now, the U.S. is leaving after 20 years with the Taliban in power and the United States having been driven out. It is a tremendous legacy.
Go back to Osama bin Laden. Why did Osama bin Laden launch 9/11? What inspired him to do that? He was in Afghanistan, he saw a small group of Islamist fighters were able to push out the Soviet Union, and he thought, why not take on the United States? And right now, a larger group of Islamist fighters pushed out the United States. So are we going to see the next Osama bin Laden learning the lesson of what is happening right now?
This is a profound moment, a profound moment of change for the entire, for all of central Asia. There’s a hole in the middle of central Asia. It is being filled right now by the Taliban, but it is drawing in Iran, it is drawing in Pakistan, it is drawing in central Asia. Iran is already moving in, they’re trading oil with the Taliban already, they’re spreading their influence already. China is trying to put more inroads into Afghanistan.
So this is a moment not just to think about what happened over the last couple of days and the chaotic withdrawal and all the airlift and people left behind. Tremendously important, but what has the legacy been of deployment after deployment? At least a trillion, some say $2 trillion spent on this war. The casualties, the people who are going to need to be treated for injuries for the rest of their lives.
It is happening now. We are coming to the conclusion, with the United States leaving, we’ll wait for an announcement, and leaving a legacy behind that I think some have described it as the worst capitulation of western values in our lifetimes. You left behind – I went to Afghanistan and I arrived a couple of weeks ago, it was a republic backed by the United States, backed by the west. Now it is an emerging Islamic emirate trying to find its way.
GEIST: Those last planes could just be hours away from leaving. Richard, we will talk much more with you tomorrow on the official August 31st withdrawal.
