George Conway Delivers His First Pro-Trump Take in Eons: He and Biden Both ‘Deserve Credit’ on Afghanistan
On Monday, George Conway jarringly but unironically offered a “pro” Donald Trump take on the subject of the ongoing and disastrous withdrawal of U.S. forces and personnel from Afghanistan.
In retweeting a video of ex-president Trump just over a month ago taking credit for the process of withdrawal, Conway said that Trump and President Joe Biden “deserve credit, not blame” for the exit.
In the clip, Trump takes full credit, saying that he started an irrevocable process which Biden’s administration was bound to see through. “I started the process, all the troops are coming home, they couldn’t stop the process,” said Trumpo. “21 years is enough. They couldn’t stop the process.”
Both he and Biden deserve credit, not blame. https://t.co/oqk3ri9n4s
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 16, 2021
Conway also tweeted a quote from an article that brought former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama into the circle of blame/credit.
"The reality, as retired Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the former White House czar for Afghanistan during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, admitted, 'We didn’t have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking.'" https://t.co/v6bJgb8cir
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 16, 2021
He shared other quotes and articles supporting the view that this is necessary even if ugly, and inevitable even if difficult.
"'What are we going to do, stay in another 20 years?' said [a] former Army paratrooper [who] lost both his legs when he stepped on a 20-pound IED in Panjwai, part of Kandahar province, in 2011." https://t.co/xRqF3xjsMG
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 16, 2021
He also retweeted a number of tweets on the subject, including from CNN’s John Harwood, and had further replies of his own.
retired Lt Gen Doug Lute, on CNN @NewDay, says today's rout in Afghanistan is years in the making: "we built a house on sand"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 16, 2021
Yes, let's ignore that the war was initially billed as a light-footprint short-term intervention; the British and Soviet experiences; and the fact that bin Laden was found in Pakistan, a few hundred yards away from the Pakistan Military Academy.
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 16, 2021
There is so much handwringing right now about how we should have just done x or should now be doing y in Afghanistan.
All of it is predicated on an egotistic fiction that the US can impose itself on any other country and change its entire foundation and culture.
It can’t.
//
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) August 16, 2021
"US public, having lost the point, had mostly stopped paying attention and wanted out. In national poll last month, 7 in 10 said they approved: 77% of Ds, 73% of Inds, 56% of Rs. In 2020 campaign, both Trump and Biden promised to end “endless” wars; topic was barely discussed"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 16, 2021
The credit that Conway assigns to Trump is his commitment to end all U.S. engagement in Afghanistan, and for starting that process. And to Biden, for seeing it through.
But, in his retweet of analysis from Tom Nichols, it’s clear that the question of execution does still have at least some blame, not just credit, to go around.
