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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/opinion/afghanistan-withdrawal-history.html
U.S. Credibility Will Weather Afghanistan
(New York Times) Dennis Ross - With its withdrawal from Afghanistan, not since the fall of Saigon in 1975 has the U.S. been so vulnerable to fundamental questions about America's reliability. Vietnam was undoubtedly a debacle, but it did not spell the end of American leadership on the world stage, nor did it lead others to believe they could not depend on the U.S. Nor did the Iran hostage crisis during the Carter administration, or the loss of 241 Marines in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing under President Reagan, even though the U.S. withdrew all forces from Lebanon within a few months and never retaliated for the bombing. During the Clinton administration, the U.S. never retaliated after terrorists bombed the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S. airmen. Each of these examples damaged American credibility worldwide, but countries continued to ask for U.S. support. The reality will remain: America is the most powerful country in the world, and its allies will need its help to combat direct threats. The writer, who served in senior national security positions for four presidents, is counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.