Lucas: Biden presidency losing credibility with lies on Afghanistan

It is not President Lyndon Johnson, Walter Cronkite and the Vietnam War.

But it is close.

This time, though, it is President Biden, George Stephanopoulos and the war in Afghanistan.

Back in 1968 widely respected CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite reported that the controversial war in Vietnam, which had so divided the country, was lost, hopelessly “mired in stalemate.”

Coming from Cronkite, a battle-hardened World War II reporter, deemed the most trusted newsman on television, the report shook the foundations of the Johnson administration.

Such was Cronkite’s influence.

Johnson, following the broadcast, reportedly said, ”If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost the war.” Or “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost America.” Or “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.”

There is no proof that Johnson said any of those things, or if he even watched the broadcast.

But that was what was reported. The myth took hold and weeks later Johnson, who had repeatedly lied to the American people about the war, announced that he would not seek re-election. He was a broken man.

Something similar happened when George Stephanopoulos of ABC questioned Biden on Aug. 19 about the war in Afghanistan. Biden lied to the American people about the war just the way Johnson did

Now, Stephanopoulos is no Walter Cronkite. They don’t make Cronkites anymore. Nor do they make network reporters who strive for objectivity, the way Cronkite and his peers did. We live in a different era.

Stephanopoulos was never a reporter, like Cronkite. He was a longtime Democrat political operative before he went into television, like so many other television news celebrities. He worked for Bill and Hillary Clinton when they occupied the White House.

He is the highest-ranking former Democrat operative working as a reporter and commentator on television news.

Democrats who are reported on or are interviewed by Stephanopoulos are practically guaranteed a friendly reception. They are asked softball questions that they can hit out of the park.

That is probably why Biden, who runs away from reporters at every opportunity, agreed to the Stephanopoulos interview. Stephanopoulos is a connected fellow Democrat, so what could go wrong?

In retrospect that interview, in which Biden repeatedly lied about Afghanistan, was the turning point in events that have shaken the already troubled Biden presidency to its core.

Biden’s claims that his generals did not advise him against withdrawing the 2,500 troops, or against sticking to his Aug. 31 withdrawal, turned out to be untrue.

“They wanted you to keep about 2,500 troops,” Stephanopoulos said.

Biden: “No, they didn’t. It was split. That wasn’t true.”

Stephanopoulos: “So no one told you — your military advisers did not tell, you, ‘No, we should just keep 2,500 troops.’”

Biden: “No. No one said that to me that I can recall.”

Biden’s top military commanders contradicted Biden last week in revealing testimony before both House and Senate committees.

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen.  Kenneth McKenzie Jr., head of U.S. Central Command, both testified under oath that they had advised Biden to keep at least 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and to reject an arbitrary timeline for withdrawing from the country.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the third military leader to testify, confirmed that the advice was personally received by Biden. It was advice that Biden rejected, and it led to the humiliating chaotic evacuation at the Kabul Airport.

Thirteen U.S. soldiers lost their lives to a suicide bomber during the evacuation, along with hundreds of Afghans. In addition, 10 Afghans, including seven children, were killed by a U.S. air strike when they were mistaken for terrorists.

This is all on Biden. He, like Johnson before him, told lie after lie about the war, including the lie about not leaving any Americans or Afghan allies behind.

It was all unnecessary. All Biden had to do was follow the advice of people who know more about things than he does

The irony is that Biden’s presidency has come apart not from an attack from the right, but from an interview with Stephanopoulos, a Democrat friendly interviewer who suddenly — and uncharacteristically — drilled Biden like Cronkite would have. And Biden lied.

Biden may not have “lost” Stephanopoulos and the country the way LBJ “lost” Cronkite. But it surely is a turning point in Biden’s downward spiral

If you’ve lost Stephanopoulos, Mr. President, you’re cooked.

Peter Lucas is a veteran Massachusetts political reporter and columnist.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3D9IMY4