By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

President Biden is taking a lot of unjustified heat over his decision to end our military involvement in Afghanistan.

It is coming in the form of criticism over the lack of preparation for evacuating allies and those Afghans who helped us during the 20-year war. The Taliban stormed into Kabul this week and have seized control of a government they once ran with ruthless depravity.

I want to share this brief notion.

Joe Biden was the fourth president of the United States to deal with the Taliban and with a potential end game of the Afghan War. Did he present a coherent, comprehensive exit strategy that included caring for the translators and others who assisted us during the conflict? No.

However, Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump all had their opportunities to craft an end strategy as well. What they did any of them do to care for the men and women who aided us? Did any of those former presidents seek to develop a strategy to use once we declared an end to this war? No! They didn’t.

So as their successor, Joe Biden, struggles with seeking to manage this end game, he is taking heat that isn’t entirely justified. He inherited a mess — one of many — from his immediate predecessor, who let us remember actually sought to negotiate an end to the war with the Taliban. That didn’t go well, either.

Joe Biden declared that the “buck stops” with him. He is now the president and he takes full responsibility for his actions and for all the consequences they bring. He’s a grownup and is more than able to withstand the pounding he is taking.

However, I want to cut the POTUS just a bit of slack. He didn’t create the problem. Indeed, none of the three men who preceded him developed any strategy to deal with the chaos that is unfolding.