Biden's Afghanistan Dilemma

All leaders are faced with conflict, but the true greatness and success of a leader comes from how he overcomes such difficulties. Your new leader of the U.S., President Joe Biden, is at a critical point in his leadership as he faces the dilemma in Afghanistan. To my understanding, the President must decide if he will remove all of your nation's troops from the territory, as promised by your previous administration. This issue is complex, and requires important decisions and reflection by your leader, to whom I will give advice if he will so accept it.

Mr. President, first I would like to commend you for exhibiting one of the great traits a leader should have, and that is the ability to "not only pay attention to immediate crises, but to foresee those that will come, and to make every effort to prevent them" (11). I understand that in your hesitance to remove all remaining 2500 troops, you are simply anticipating a future crisis that could affect your nation: the continuation of terrorism and violence within the territory that could be inflicted upon the U.S. Again, I would like to commend your ability to learn from past leaders and scenarios, since it is my understanding that the premature removal of U.S. troops from Iraq led to a rise in violence and the reinstitution of troops once again. However, Mr. President, I do understand the concern regarding your reputation should you choose to lean with the tactical logic you so clearly display.

It is right to want to avoid being hated by your nation, and "I recognize that leaders should want to be thought of as compassionate and not cruel" (51). In keeping your troops overseas even longer in this "Forever War," you may believe you are at risk of seeming cruel and thus at risk of losing support and power. However, it is important to understand that a ruler must have cruelty, or else he will be unable to lead his country successfully. Take Cesare Borgia: he "was thought of as cruel; but this supposed cruelty of his restored order to the Romagna" (51). You may bring peace and protection to your country even if you seem cruel by keeping your tired soldiers in Afghanistan. Further, you may fear that your people will not love you, and may be fearful of you in making such a cruel decision. I must remind you, though, that it is better to be feared than loved, and it is "perfectly possible to be feared and not hated" (52). So long as you do not "seize property or the women of your subjects and citizens" (52), your people will forgive and forget, especially if your decision keeps them safe for the extended future.

Ultimately, President Biden, despite the promise made to remove the troops, you must leave them, as "a wise ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage" (54). In the end, "rulers who have not thought it important to keep their word have achieved great things," and you may be one of them, should you decide to protect your nation from future threats of terrorism by keeping your troops in Afghanistan.

Be headstrong, not cautious.

Machiavelli

Relevant articles consulted for response:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/04/afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-biden-looks-for-exit.html

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/12/28/new-in-2021-us-troop-presence-heading-down-to-2500-in-iraq-and-afghanistan/

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/02/26/at-pivotal-moment-in-afghanistan-war-biden-weighs-a-dilemma-about-future-of-us-troop-involvement/

*Author consulted Niccolo Machiavelli's Prince, chs. 1-18 for this post