While the wars in Ukraine and Gaza were the dominant foreign policy issues being debated on the presidential campaign trail, Trump often cited another, older war as proof of Biden's foreign policy failures: the US war in Afghanistan.
And since he won the presidency, Trump has given multiple war veterans who served in Afghanistan a place in his cabinet. Mike Waltz is one of them. And in his new role as National Security Advisor, he is already cleaning house, getting rid of generals and officials who played a part in America's blunderous exit from Afghanistan.
And while Afghanistan itself will not feature prominently on Trump's list of foreign policy priorities, the impact of America's longest war remains front and centre in the minds of Waltz, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, and Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, all Afghan war veterans.
Trump repeatedly said that wars in Ukraine and Gaza would have never started if the US had not left Kabul the way it did in August 2021 and that, going forward, America must avoid wars, and if it has to go to war, it should do it quickly without pursuing regime change.
Waltz would agree. He said Biden's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan allowed the Taliban—which hosted America's biggest enemy since WWII, Bin Laden and Al Qaeda—to come back to power. Since the pullout, the UN has reported that more than a dozen terrorist groups are back in Afghanistan, which is quickly becoming a bastion for transnational terror groups.
He also said that by abandoning its strategic base in Kabul —Bagram, one of the largest US bases in Asia—Biden basically left it open for China to snatch up. In fact, the Chinese are already using it commercially, mining Afghan minerals and rare earth resources, which are estimated to be worth billions, if not trillions. Waltz bemoans the fact that Beijing is reaping the spoils of a war that Americans died for.
A quick Amazon search on Afghanistan war books will turn up more than two dozen books just written in the last two years by US soldiers and officers on the betrayal of Afghanistan. Whilst Iraq was always seen as an illegal war, Afghanistan was seen as a good war. Waltz himself penned two books on his experiences in both wars.
From military to advocacy
After his military service, he continued his Afghan advocacy, publicly supporting the National Resistance Front led by Ahmad Massoud, the leading opposition group fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Waltz maintains close relations with Massoud and was on the phone with him as the Panjshir Valley was falling in September 2021.
While many officials moved on from Afghanistan, including those in the Biden administration, veterans led by Waltz have kept pressing for accountability over the chaotic way it pulled out. Waltz grilled army generals, including former joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley, who was responsible for Kabul. For his part, Hegseth stripped Milley of his security detail, and his portraits were taken down from the Pentagon.
Former Navy Seal and popular podcaster Shawn Ryan, who interviewed Hegseth just two days before the election, called the former FOX news anchor's interview with Massoud his "most important interview ever".
Read more: Ahmad Massoud: Ignoring the Taliban threat jeopardises global security
Ryan specialises in security matters and has hosted several high-profile military veterans, including Tulsi Gabbard, who has been very outspoken on the US betrayal of Afghanistan, which she says embodies everything that is wrong with the Pentagon, the CIA, and what some refer to as the Deep State.
Another Trump insider and former counter-terrorism DOD official, Kash Patel, who ran Trump’s Afghan withdrawal plan, wrote a whole book on how to ‘gut’ the defence establishment and fight the 'Deep State' which Trump vowed to take on.
“We will measure our success not only by the battles win but also by the WARS THAT WE END and perhaps most importantly, by THE WARS WE NEVER GET INTO.”
Remember,
Trump is ending sanctions on Iran & Russia.
Everyone who told you Trump will bring us to war with Iran was WRONG. pic.twitter.com/BALaFTt3wD
— ĐⱤØ₲Ø (@KAGdrogo) January 20, 2025
During his inauguration speech, he promised to "end wars" and "not get America into them in the first place." In fact, he was in favour of ending the war in Afghanistan and was the one who started negotiations with the Taliban during his first term, much like he is now calling for talks with Putin and a potential Iran deal. However, he believes this must be done from a position of strength and not in the chaotic way Biden withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
As for Ukraine, Trump looks poised to wind down support for Kyiv, which continues to lose territory to Russia, unless he sees a drastic change on the ground.
More generally, Trump's veteran-filled cabinet will try to avert costly ground invasions and opt for a light footprint with special forces if necessary, as was the case in the early days after 9/11 when less than 200 US special forces backed by air power toppled the Taliban in less than 30 days.
As Waltz assumes his post, his experience in Afghanistan will be weighing on his mind as he advises Trump on the best way to conduct America's foreign policy.
