Let’s get real folks. If we would have taken our time and insured all American civilians were systematically and methodically evacuated first before our military retreated to Kabul airport, then a Taliban suicide bomber wouldn’t have murdered 90 innocent Afghans and 13 brave American soldiers.

Strong executive leadership doesn’t blame the previous administration for incompetence. The Biden administration botched the evacuation causing our enemies to perceive America as weak and inept.

If we continued to be energy independent and continued to be one of Europe’s main sources of fossil fuel, the Russian oligarchs wouldn’t have drawn up an agreement to be Europe’s main fossil source.

If Obama would’ve flexed our military might and worked with NATO to prevent Putin from overrunning Crimea, Putin wouldn’t be using Crimea to stage an invasion of Ukraine.

If Biden conducted foreign policy from a point of strength not weakness, we wouldn’t be on the brink of nuclear war. Most importantly, today hundreds of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children would be still be alive and living a good life.

The government needs to stay out of our daily lives. The government is constitutionally instructed to protect citizens from harm, build infrastructure and protect their assets, not rush the country into green energy policies we can’t presently afford or adjust to. Clean energy will rise up quicker and more efficiently through the natural constructs of a thriving economy. One party bullying and executive fiats that aren’t the will of the people will slow down the process to protect our earth, not speed it up.

George Pikoulas, Butler