The Afghan debacle is a major setback for any notion of U.S. leadership of the world of liberal democracies.

Even though the Biden-Harris Administration frequently touts their allied-friendly strategy in foreign policy, the “blitzkrieg withdrawal” from Afghanistan is more than a road bump.

It is a strategic moment of great significance in U.S. global leadership.

The Obama Administration focused its attention on the “good war” versus any focus on “great power competition.”

The rise of the multi-polar authoritarian world was certainly aided by this lack of focus and accelerated by the “blitzkrieg withdrawal.”

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has released a significant report on this event.

The mainstream press will consider it to be partisan, but the stark reality is that the “blitzkrieg withdrawal” happened and its consequences are stark.

There is nothing partisan about reality.

As The Wall Street Journal noted today in an editorial:

“More broadly, the Afghan withdrawal marked the end of credible American deterrence during the Biden Presidency.

“You can draw a straight line from the withdrawal to Vladimir Putin’s decision to roll into Ukraine, or why the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen aren’t afraid to fire missiles at commercial ships in the Red Sea.”

The House Report noted:

“As a result of faltering U.S. standing, America’s partners and allies in the Middle East and Central Asia are increasingly turning to Russia and China as alternative security suppliers.

“Since 2021, the region has also moved toward normalizing relations with U.S. adversaries like the Ayatollah in Iran and Bashar al-Assad in Syria, both of whom are working alongside Russia with an overt goal of diminishing American presence in the region and beyond. The United States withdrawal from Afghanistan strengthened the ambitions of America’s adversaries of claiming newfound geopolitical clout in contested regions around the globe.”

It is certainly fair to argue that there was a clear path from the “Blitzkrieg withdrawal” to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But there is even a clear path with regard to policies towards the Russians, a pathway which I focused on in my report on pathways to invasion.

Actions have consequences: even for Inside the Beltway.

Timeline to Russian Invasion of Ukraine