Rubin: Biden needs to get real on Afghanistan exit - The Columbian

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Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the The Philadelphia Inquirer. Email trubin@phillynews.com Photo

The voice of my Afghan friend phoning from Herat was trembling.

“The security situation is getting really worse,” she said. “We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, or what will happen one hour from now. People are confused, scared, uncertain where to go.”

Earlier that day, the Taliban had nearly taken over a provincial capital in neighboring Badghis province, two hours away. Rumors were flying that high-level Afghan forces might surrender districts in Herat province to the Talibs. As someone who runs shelters for battered women in both provinces (a concept anathema to the Taliban), she is under severe threat, as are the women and staff in those shelters.

“Pray for us all,” she implored before she hung up, “particularly for human rights activists.”

Such is the bleak situation for Afghan women, for thousands of Afghan translators who helped the U.S. military, and, indeed, for the entire country. The Taliban is advancing with shocking speed as the U.S. military withdrawal nears completion.

But President Joe Biden still isn’t responding with the urgency the crisis demands. In a televised address, Biden insisted that a Taliban takeover was “not inevitable.” But events are moving so fast in Afghanistan that they appear to be outrunning whatever plans the administration has (or hasn’t) made for after our military exit.

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Rubin: Biden needs to get real on Afghanistan exit - The Columbian
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