Afghanistan
August 8, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Rep. Darrell Issa convened a public forum for the Gold Star families of service members killed in the 2021 attack at the airport in Kabul to say their piece. Family members told their stories as they sought answers and accountability for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan during which 11 sons and two daughters were lost. The forum was held in the main council chamber of Escondido City Hall. President Biden
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July 5, 2023 — Scott Johnson
Last week the State Department released a heavily redacted public version of its After Action Review on Afghanistan. I noted the report here. It was released on the Friday afternoon preceding the long holiday weekend — it can’t have been good news for our senescent president. A reporter asked Biden about the report as he exited from his remarks condemning the Supreme Court for its decision holding him to have
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June 30, 2023 — Scott Johnson
The State Department has released a redacted version of its After Action Review on Afghanistan. It appears to be dated March 2022. As released to the public the report runs 23 pages. The classified original runs to 87 pages. The narrative portion of the report appears to have been withheld in its entirety. In best scandal management style, the report was released on the Friday afternoon preceding a long holiday
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May 9, 2023 — Scott Johnson
The floggings will continue until morale improves is an old workplace joke. As a joke it’s not up there with the bumper sticker advice to Support mental health or I’ll kill you, but it’s a classic. The latter seems to me to have taken on new life as the tactical wisdom of the left. The former comes to mind in connection with the legacy of Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The
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April 24, 2023 — Scott Johnson
The Biden administration has conducted a comprehensive campaign of misinformation, disinformation, lying, and deception of the storied Gaslight variety. My personal favorite is the “success” of Biden’s open borders program, but you may have your own. The frequently derided White House press secretary KJP may be the perfect person for the job after all. The humiliating fiasco of our withdrawal from Afghanistan is another case in point. “Twas a famous
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April 10, 2023 — Elizabeth Stauffer
Following six hours of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to a Politico reporter and two French journalists aboard COTAM Unité, France’s Air Force One this weekend. He discussed his concept of “strategic autonomy for Europe, presumably led by France, to become a third superpower.” Specifically, Macron said Europe’s “greatest risk” is getting “caught up in crises that are not ours,” such as a potential conflict
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April 7, 2023 — Scott Johnson
The Biden administration has rendered its final judgement on our catastrophic exit from Afghanistan. Insofar as it went poorly, you will be shocked to learn, it was Trump’s fault. The Washington Free Beacon’s Ben Wilson reports on the administration’s unclassified National Security Council summary that was released yesterday. NSC spokesman John Kirby answered questions at a press conference minutes after the summary was released. The White House has posted transcript
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February 15, 2023 — John Hinderaker
This is real, not parody: Are Afghans familiar with #BlackGirlMagic and the movement it inspired? Do Afghan girls need a similar movement? What about Afghan Women? Teach me, ready to learn. #BlackHistoryMonth @Beyonce @lizzo @ReginaKing — Chargé d’Affaires Karen Decker (@USAmbKabul) February 15, 2023 Where to begin? First, Ms. Decker is in fact the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Kabul. I was surprised to learn that we still have a diplomatic
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May 8, 2022 — John Hinderaker
International attention has been focused on Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of that country. Meanwhile, events in the Middle East have been depressingly true to form. In Israel, at least 19 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians since the middle of March. The attacks appear to be mostly uncoordinated, but are being inspired and cheered on by Hamas. As a result, the London Times reports that Israel is contemplating
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February 9, 2022 — Paul Mirengoff
According to the sworn testimony of military commanders involved in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, senior White House and State Department officials failed to grasp the Taliban’s steady advance on Afghanistan’s capital and resisted efforts by U.S. military leaders to prepare the evacuation of embassy personnel and Afghan allies weeks before Kabul’s fall. The result was the perilous, chaotic, and ultimately deadly withdrawal that stunned America. This indictment is contained
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February 2, 2022 — Paul Mirengoff
That’s the title of a long article in The Atlantic by George Packer about the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Even if you’re already as disgusted as I am by the betrayal — Donald Trump’s decision to turn over the whole country to the Taliban and, especially, Biden’s scandalous handling of the pullout — the article is well worth reading in full. It should be required reading
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November 15, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Since Joe Biden took office, it’s been one bad thing after another on the domestic front. A surge in coronavirus cases and deaths (even with the vaccine), a supply chain crisis, runaway inflation, rising violent crime, etc. There have also been a series of setbacks internationally, and these are directly attributable to Biden. The debacle in Afghanistan was the worst and most important one. It pretty much settled the question,
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October 27, 2021 — John Hinderaker
One thing about news stories that reflect badly on Democrats: they generally disappear from the news quickly, and without leaving a trace. Like our departure from Afghanistan, an epic failure on the part of the Biden administration that resulted in 13 dead Americans (that we know of), hundreds of Americans still marooned in Afghanistan–assuming they are all still alive–and many thousands of Afghans, mostly unknown, in the U.S. or on
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October 1, 2021 — John Hinderaker
Rasmussen Reports asked 1,000 likely voters these questions: 1* In a congressional hearing this week, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, testified that his recommendation was to keep 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Would that have been better than a complete U.S. troop withdrawal? 2* In an interview last month, President Joe Biden denied that his advisers recommended keeping 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, which is
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September 29, 2021 — Scott Johnson
In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos last month, President Biden denied ever having received military advice to maintain 2,500 troops in Afghanistan — not that he recalled, anyway. The generals who testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday wanted it to be known that the debacle in Afghanistan was not their fault. It was Biden’s. They had recommended the maintenance of 2,500 troops in the interest of stability.
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September 28, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
The Senate Armed Services is conducting a hearing today into Joe Biden’s Afghanistan fiasco. I’ve been tied up with other business and therefore unable to watch the proceedings. Trying to catch up on what has transpired, I came across this piece in Politico. It demonstrates that Biden is either (1) lying about what generals recommended to him about withdrawing from Afghanistan or (2) lacks a good enough memory to serve
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September 28, 2021 — Scott Johnson
We have followed the fate of Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller since he posted his video on Facebook in late August seeking military accountability for our national humiliation in Afghanistan. Task & Purpose reports that Col. Scheller is held in the brig. According to the Task & Purpose story, the Marines have now issued the following statement confirming its report: “Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. is currently in pre-trial confinement
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