![Last month US President Joe Biden announced plans to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by September 11 [File: Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GettyImages-849100420.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Once American and NATO troops leave, it is the only realistic course of action.
![Protesters supporting Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021 [File: Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/1295889127.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
UNPACK THE PAST
How the far right got a stranglehold on the West
In the past, the rise of far-right ideology has surged ahead in Europe and the US in unison.
![In this January 20, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden signs his first executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Six of Biden's 17 first-day executive orders dealt with immigration, such as halting work on a border wall in Mexico and lifting a travel ban on people from several predominantly Muslim countries [File: AP Photo/Evan Vucci]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AP_21025799312888.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Democrats can knock out Trump’s support base if they win over Republicans on immigration – it may take a deal to do it.
![Circa 1905: Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), the 26th president of the United States (1901-09) sitting at his desk working [File: Hulton Archive/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/teddy-roosevelt.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
UNPACK THE PAST
Why does the US mythologise its former presidents?
No matter their shortcomings, former presidents have a way of still exerting influence. Will the same be true for Trump?
![The Democratic United States presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, arrives to speak at a rally with former President Barack Obama in Flint, Michigan on October 31 [File: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AP_20305683112580.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Joe Biden’s campaign has mirrored his character, showing the calm, compassionate leader Americans need in this moment.
![Could the past - and, in particular, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression - offer an example of the type of leadership the US needs now? [Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/201111151430655734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Democrats and Republicans have shown a lack of vision and creativity in addressing the country’s many problems.
![United States Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden smiles while speaking during a round table on economic reopening with community members on June 11 in Philadelphia [AP Photo/Matt Slocum]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/c8b9a74b8fc141c2ac26f62094b4f3ab_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
The partisan divide is helping Joe Biden in terms of building coalitions and bringing in new voters.
![Joe Biden speaks about his 'Build Back Better' clean energy economic plan in Wilmington, Delaware on July 14 [Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/56b02f5e2f85422ba79033607df87a5f_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
But he will need a coalition of progressives and centrists to unite around it.
![US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Dover, Delaware on June 5, 2020 [Jim Bourg/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/1baabbc3814c4d92968850f5c00a8710_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Democrats have played it safe and allowed Republicans to hijack US politics. Now a nation in crisis needs real change.
![United States presidential candidate Joe Biden delivers remarks at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on March 10, 2020 [Kyle Mazza/Anadolu]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cbed7bee73724caca36418a504010576_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Voter suppression and Trump’s strong campaigning will work against Biden on the treacherous political terrain ahead.