It has been suggested to me on Twitter (by someone I know IRL) that Biden’s bungling of the Afghanistan withdrawal came about because he ignored what the the intelligence community was telling him.

In June, intelligence was suggesting Afghanistan could fall in six months after withdrawal. Or maybe not, said Joint Chiefs Chair Mark Milley.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/afghan-government-could-fall-within-six-months-of-us-military-withdrawal-new-intelligence-assessment-says/2021/06/24/42375b14-d52c-11eb-baed-4abcfa380a17_story.html

Aug. 10: OK, maybe 90 days. Worst case: Within a month.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/08/10/afghanistan-intelligence-assessment/

And until the moment it happened, the Afghanistan government’s sudden flight from the country was … not expected.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/28/taliban-takeover-kabul/

Is Biden totally exonerated? Not really. The irony here is that this is one of several areas in which he is startlingly similar to Trump.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/30/trump-voters-should-be-loving-joe-biden/

But with less bullshit. And less malice.