Nice try, state Rep. Mike France, “The Afghanistan failure and its enablers like Joe Courtney,” (Aug. 31). U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney is one of “the very worst of our politicians”? Seriously? Not Republicans Reps. Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Greene, Laure Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, Mo Brooks, Louie Gohmert, Thomas Massie, Andy Biggs or Jim Jordan? I am not surprised that, since you followed the Republican playbook by cosponsoring restrictive voting legislation in the recent Connecticut General Assembly, you follow Republican talking points now regarding Afghanistan. Your op-ed sounds like it was a Republican National Committee press release. (So clever to add the Republican boogeyman AOC − Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez − and the word “progressive.” Funny, one of our greatest presidents was Republican Teddy Roosevelt, a progressive.)

Your treatise on Afghanistan conveniently omits the most important fact about Afghanistan, the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban (“terrorist thugs and war criminals”) and not the Afghan government to withdraw all American troops by this past May. The very fact that the Afghan government was not included preordained that the Taliban would take over after the U.S. left. In fact, it essentially guaranteed and blessed that consequence. Not surprising, since your leader Donald Trump loves autocratic governments.

Blaming President Joe Biden was incredibly dishonest.

Stephen Menno

Mystic