Mick Hartley

The eulogies for the wonderful presidency of Joe Biden pour in: no mention of the catastrophe of the Afghanistan withdrawal, never mind the continuing of the disastrous Obama Iran-appeasement policies, or his complete capture by gender ideology. OK, he's been generally good on Ukraine, which is no small matter. Meanwhile Kamala Harris, widely acknowledged as one of the most lacklustre and incompetent vice-presidents in American history, is now lauded as the fabulous and dynamic new great hope to slay the monster Trump.

William Hague in the Times doesn't eulogise Biden, and he does mention Afghanistan:

Early in his presidency he pulled out the last US forces from Afghanistan, predictably leading to a total collapse and the return of the Taliban. Millions of people, particularly women and girls, have been plunged into social and political darkness and the credibility of the West has suffered a devastating blow. We may never know how much Vladimir Putin was emboldened by the spectacle of the US abandoning its central foreign policy effort of the previous 20 years, but the invasion of Ukraine was soon to follow….

Ukraine has been steadfastly supported by Biden but always with great caution on how US-supplied weapons can be used. The main request of President Zelensky on recent visits to Britain and America has been to be allowed to use missiles against targets deeper inside Russia. It is time to grant that request.

The grim outlook for Ukraine, particularly if Trump were to be elected, is that it could be another Afghanistan. Brave people have been supported in fighting for their freedom but that support evaporates when they are no longer fresh in our minds or prominent in our news media. We help them survive a war but not quite long enough or decisively enough to actually win it.

If that continues to be the pattern, it will not only be Russia but also China, Iran and North Korea that will take heart: the lesson will be that the West can always be outlasted, it will always lose interest, a new president with different priorities will always come along.

It was always a fallacy on the part of Biden that Afghanistan could be abandoned to focus more on the strategic threat from China. It is an even greater fallacy on the part of JD Vance, Trump’s new running mate, that Ukraine doesn’t matter because, again, the real problem is Beijing. The failure to follow through on supporting allies, giving them the tools to protect themselves, will only make it more likely that Kim Jong-un lashes out, or Xi Jinping makes a move on Taiwan, or a supreme leader in Tehran makes the final dash to possess the bomb.

Letting Ukraine fire western arms at airfields and other military sites in Russia, not just in the border region near Kharkiv, would make a serious difference to the war and place Ukraine in a stronger position for any peace negotiations to come. Yet the White House is reluctant; Germany — whose Taurus missiles could be especially effective — opposed; and Britain, despite an apparently positive announcement after Keir Starmer met Zelensky, unclear. There is a humanitarian case, as huge Russian bombs are hitting children’s hospitals and power plants; a military case, as one side is fighting with one hand tied behind its back; and a strategic case, as the collapse of Ukraine would be a catastrophe for the free world.

Biden can make a crucial difference. It’s too late to save Afghanistan but he still has the time and the power to help Ukraine save itself.

I don't see it happening, unfortunately, but it's definitely a case worth making.