The buck stops with Biden -- but Trump's role in Afghanistan debacle is a doozy

The collapse of the Afghan government and the blindingly fast recapture of the country by the Taliban is a calamity for the Afghan people. This is what needs to remain at the forefront, above any other consideration of what is occurring.

Instead, the laying of blame and the squirming away from responsibility has quickly begun. It has swelled in tandem with the tide of the Taliban's rout of Kabul and the rush of desperate, anguished Afghans trying to flee their darkening future.

There's no question that much of the fault lies with President Joe Biden. He made the final decision to withdraw. He chose to abide by a disastrous agreement crafted under the previous administration; moved the troops out with obviously poor planning for contingencies, and is the president under whose watch the two-decade war ended in a humiliating rush for exits for the US and NATO, as the previous regime took control.