Kabul is under Taliban control. Biden is holed up at Camp David while Washington points fingers.
Summary
On Sunday, the Taliban effectively re-took control of the country after capturing the capital city of Kabul.
- Several people are dead in a chaotic scene at the airport in Kabul as thousands of people attempt to flee Afghanistan in the midst of America’s retreat.
- The American embassy has been evacuated while military and diplomatic personnel are assisting in the evacuation at the airport.
- After taking control of Kabul, the Taliban released thousands of prisoners affiliated with the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and ISIS.
- In Washington, finger pointing has begun after the Biden administration is facing questions from both parties and the media while the President himself has yet to address the situation.
- In a call with top foreign policy and military officials, Congressional Republicans blasted the Biden administration, whose handling of the fall of Afghanistan was called “inexcusable” by Wyoming Rep Liz Cheney.
- An analysis by CNN argued that while Biden is ultimately going to bear the brunt of responsibility for the Taliban retaking Afghanistan, the failure of the mountain nation was the result of “two decades of the missteps of others.”
- Vox’s explanation of the situation, particularly the speed at which the Taliban conquered territory, was the result of a “demoralized military” in Afghanistan plagued by corruption and beset by a feeling of inevitably losing after negotiations between the United States and Afghan officials cemented an eventual American pullout.
- The New York Times reported on the fall of Kabul, stating the city’s residents are facing uncertainty and the possibility of violence despite the declared apparent “peaceful transfer of power” negotiated by Afghan interior minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal.
- New York Post’s Miranda Devine tore into President Biden for “the humiliating scenes of Americans evacuating” while including portions of her interview with President Trump who said his plan for Afghanistan was set on certain conditions including warnings of devastating retributions if the Taliban took military action.
- The Daily Wire reported on the chaos at Kabul’s airport, with thousands attempting to flee, bogging down jets and preventing them from taking off as gunfire erupts in an attempt to keep the peace.
- Townall.com declared the Biden administration AWOL, including a vacation for White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, highlighting one Twitter response that “Jen Spaki has time for Vogue photo spreads from Annie Leibovitz. Fall of Kabul? Not so much.”
Author’s Take
Much reporting, especially on the right, has paraphrased former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who previously declared Biden “has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”
Several traditionally-supportive liberal outlets have turned to sharply criticizing Biden, even on matters not related to Afghanistan. After months of effusive praise and laudatory reports about turning a page in American history from the Trump era, is it possible even the liberal media sees the fecklessness and incompetence of the Biden administration?
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
