In my first weeks with The Express, Howard Crilly, the retired editor and publisher, graciously accompanied me on my rounds throughout the paper’s circulation area. He introduced me to the people I needed to know and filled me on their likes and dislikes.

Frequently, I heard favorable comments about the editorials previously published in The Express. After each of those comments, Howard would say he expected the editorials to be much the same under the new editor. And many were for they were written by a syndicated editorial writer. From a collection of possible editorials presented via the U.S. Mail each Saturday, I chose the ones I wanted to publish. I was free to edit them to reflect my opinions.

Though I had taken an editorial writing class while attending college, in the early years I didn’t think I had the maturity needed to write editorials. The Express received eight daily newspapers and probably 30 weekly exchange papers. I read what others were writing and formulated opinions I was willing to share with others. Eventually I was writing most of the editorials and I stopped subscribing to the syndicated service.

When I became responsible for the content of more than one newspaper, I had less time to study the issues and eventually stopped writing editorials. Instead I concentrated more on this column which I hoped our readers would find to be entertaining.

As a column writer, I have tried to steer away from opinion and focus on the good life this area offers.

But today I feel compelled to write about this country’s disgraceful exodus from Afghanistan.

I’ve been appalled at the reports of thousands of Afghans desperate to escape the country clinging to the U.S. Air Force C-130s and falling out of the wheel wells as the U.S. suspended evacuation flights from the Kabul airport.

When the war started, I questioned the wisdom and feared our forces would become bogged down in a war they couldn’t win. Now, 20-years later, my fears are confirmed. We were bogged down in Afghanistan. It had become clear we were engaged in a war that would not end but surely there was a way out without the horrendous abandonment of military bases flush with equipment. Now the Taliban is one of the world’s best-armed terrorist groups, thanks to the stupidity of our nation’s leadershp.

But even worse is our abandonmet of our Afghan allies. The Taliban is now free to go door-to-door hunting down our allies in Afghanistan. We sold out our Afghanistan friends. Why can we expect other nations to befriend us?

Afghanistan is the most embarrassing military outcome in the history of the United States.

Though he doesn’t seem to realize it, the blood of the Afghan people is on President Biden’s hands just as our failure in Vietnam settled on the shoulders of President Johnson.