A TALE OF TWO AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWALS:

President Joe Biden announced this week that he was pulling all remaining American troops out of Afghanistan by September 11 — and the media rushed to frame the decision positively. They are technically correct — it makes zero sense to continue to put American lives at risk and spend taxpayer dollars on a decades-long ‘war’ with no foreseeable end nor desire to ‘win’. But as you can guess, when former president Donald Trump announced he would withdraw troops from Afghanistan just last year, the media hysterically warned that he was emboldening the Taliban and making America less safe.

‘Trump administration to cut troop levels in Afghanistan despite Pentagon warnings,’ the Washington Post reported.

‘The Trump administration says it will pull thousands of troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan by Jan. 15 and aims to have the remaining forces out by Spring 2021 — a drawdown that has military leaders worried,’ NPR wrote.

‘Pres. Trump said “it is time” for all US service members to exit Afghanistan, undermining his administration’s agreement with the Taliban,’ ABC News said.

The public affairs consultant Drew Holden has compiled a full Twitter thread of headlines like these, alongside the current much friendlier headlines about Biden’s announcement.

The symmetry of the GWOT ending as it began, with the same 180 degree pivots from the DNC and its media wing is something to behold: