Should there still be any doubt, the past few weeks have put into terrible focus a problem many would prefer to ignore: The incompetence of America’s current political and foreign policy leadership is putting our nation in great danger—and it may soon be much, much worse.

The problem with a catastrophe such as the Afghanistan collapse—aside from, of course, the catastrophe itself—is that it invites others to take advantage of our blindingly obvious stupidity.  Right now Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, and every other enemy of the United States is preparing to make their move, certain that our President will be irrational in his response, irresponsible in his execution, and irresolute in his purpose.  

One schoolyard lesson that the well-trained defeatists now in charge of our nation’s security seem to have missed is this: Weakness only encourages bullies to strike harder.  Given the humiliating abandonment of our mission in Afghanistan, why should another enemy believe we will step up to defend our allies and interests around the world with a commitment that extends beyond wagging our finger or passing a strongly worded resolution?  A powerful military is useless without the will to use it, and the Biden administration has announced—in the most spectacular manner possible—that they are willing to cut and run when the going gets tough.

As much as Joe Biden and his team want to blame the Afghan armed forces for not adequately defending their nation against Taliban aggression, the fact of the matter is that our sad surrender—sneaking, for example, out of our air base base at Bagram without informing the incoming Afghan commander that we were gone—helped to destroy the morale of the Afghan army and sapped their will to fight.  

Imagine, if you can, how the American soldiers landing at Omaha Beach would have fought if they saw the armed forces of the nations around them turning tail and sailing away without a word.  How would that have affected the fighting spirits of those heading for the bloody French beachheads in 1944?  Why should we have expected the Afghan fighters who were defending their nation from the Taliban to react any differently?

And what of the thousands of American civilians now trapped in Afghanistan and subject to abuse and humiliation at the hands of the Taliban?  To have abandoned the Afghan people is shameful; to have abandoned our own citizens is unforgivable.  No excuse or explanation can possibly justify leaving Americans trapped in a war zone without a plan for either their protection or evacuation.  Rest assured that our enemies around the globe see this ultimate betrayal as further proof that America will walk away from even the most basic commitments regarding the safety of our country and people.

There are those who argue that our military involvement in Afghanistan was doomed from the start, and it is certainly true that trying to turn a tribal society into a cohesive country is extraordinarily difficult.  A thoughtful discussion regarding our many adventures in nation building is long overdue.  However, this issue is entirely separate from the imbecilic manner in which we retreated from Afghanistan and left the field open for a regime that will be, at best, a totalitarian human rights nightmare—and, at worst, a stomping ground for terrorists of all types.

More stern and dangerous tests are ahead for Joe Biden and his team of losers.  If there is not—very soon—a replacement and reorganization of his foreign policy and national security staff, we can expect that the next crisis will make the debacle in Afghanistan look like the good old days for the Bidenistas and our basement-dwelling Commander-in-Chief.