A decade ago, I wrote that NATO coalition forces should declare victory in Iraq and Afghanistan and depart forthwith. The situation on the ground didn’t matter as it was only going to be a greater quagmire with each passing day. I didn’t write this suggesting I could see the future, but because we should learn from the past.

This past weekend, we witnessed sobering reports of Taliban forces overtaking Afghan cities and villages. U.S. President Joe Biden subsequently sent in American troops to ensure the safe departure of embassy and NGO officials. Then, just as night follows day, we heard the steady drumbeat of pundits and so-called experts who were calling for troops to return to the battlefield.

Folks, Afghanistan is done. Move on. This is not a surprise. In fact, I’m surprised that you’re surprised.

Eerily reminiscent of the Vietnam War, mission creep and an unwillingness to call an embarrassing end to a tragic episode continued to add to the tragedy. Recall that the invasion of Afghanistan was the result of 9/11 and the U.S. decision to pursue the chief protagonist of that attack, Osama Bin Laden, and the Taliban who protected him.

When it rains, it pours, or so the adage goes, although residents of southwestern Manitoba must wonder if the rains will ever come this year. It may be an agonizing segue to suggest it has been raining for quite some time on Premier Brian Pallister and his government who seem to be careening from public relations disaster to disaster.

The government of Manitoba has rarely appeared to be so much of an escape room as it does these days.

To be fair, (and what am I if not fair?), many of the PR challenges have come as a result of the global battle against COVID. Pallister certainly cannot be blamed for this pandemic, nor can he be blamed for many of the harsh restrictions or how many Manitobans (few but loud) have skeptically responded to vaccines.

While politicians are easy targets for scorn, we elected them and are responsible for who we put into the Premier’s office. To be fair, it’s daunting to consider that Premier Wab Kinew would have done a better job managing this crisis.