U.S President Donald Trump launched a scathing critique of American military strategy in Afghanistan, claiming the war was fought “as if we didn’t want to win” and branding the 2021 withdrawal “the saddest and most catastrophic moment” in U.S history. Speaking at the Investing in America summit held at the White House, Trump accused successive U.S. administrations of pursuing a misguided approach in the two-decade-long conflict. “We fought like we didn’t want to win,” he said, arguing that stronger leadership could have produced a vastly different outcome.
While not naming the Biden administration outright in his opening remarks, Trump repeatedly drew connections between the current administration and what he termed a legacy of “incompetence and failure.” He said, “Nobody can defeat us if we have the right leadership. But when incompetent people are in charge, like those who oversaw the Afghanistan war, disaster follows.”
Trump singled out President Joe Biden and senior military officials for the chaotic U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021. “It was a disaster caused by bad generals like Milley and others,” he said, alleging that military leadership lacked both competence and strategic vision.
Reflecting on his own tenure, Trump asserted that he had removed many of the “bad generals” and replaced them with what he described as more effective military leaders. “Now is the time to celebrate what we are doing,” he added, claiming his leadership helped improve military readiness.
Despite repeated criticisms of Biden’s handling of Afghanistan, Trump has yet to outline a detailed or consistent policy for future U.S. engagement in the region. His public addresses have largely centred on faulting his successors rather than offering a comprehensive road map for the country’s role moving forward.
Trump’s remarks are likely to intensify the ongoing political debate over America’s longest war and its troubled conclusion an issue that continues to reverberate across both domestic and international forums.
