Top Items:
Susannah George / Washington Post:
Afghanistan's military collapse: Illicit deals and mass desertions — KABUL — The spectacular collapse of Afghanistan's military that allowed Taliban fighters to reach the gates of Kabul on Sunday despite twenty years of training and billions of dollars in American aid began with a series …
Discussion:
BBC, Washington Monthly, Vox, Twin Cities, The Intercept and Political Wire
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George Packer / The Atlantic:
Biden's Betrayal of Afghans Will Live in Infamy — There's plenty of blame to go around for the 20-year debacle in Afghanistan—enough to fill a library of books. Perhaps the effort to rebuild the country was doomed from the start. But our abandonment of the Afghans who helped us …
Discussion:
USA Today, Talking Points Memo and Associated Press
John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:
All Biden Had to Do Was...Nothing — All Joe Biden had to do was nothing. Had Joe Biden done nothing, Afghanistan would not have fallen to the Taliban today. Had he just let the status quo continue, the status quo would have continued. Afghanistan would have plodded along and we would have kept …
Discussion:
RedState, Breitbart and Instapundit
Axios:
1 big thing: Biden's stain — Rarely has an American president's predictions been so wrong, so fast, so convincingly as President Biden on Afghanistan. — Usually military operations and diplomacy are long; the outcomes, foggy. Not here. — Just five weeks ago, President Biden assured Americans …
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Daily Caller, HotAir, National Review, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, TheBlaze, Power Line and Talking Points Memo
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Terrorist threat to U.S. levels up after Taliban rise, Joint Chiefs chair says — Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban much faster than President Biden or his top military leaders predicted.
Discussion:
CNN, The Guardian and The US Sun
ABC News:
Afghanistan updates: Another 1K US troops heading to Kabul, bringing total to 6,000 — The U.S. flag has been taken down at the embassy in Kabul, an official said. — Another 1,000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne have been ordered to head directly to Afghanistan's capital instead …
Associated Press:
Taliban enter Kabul, await ‘peaceful transfer’ of power — KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban fighters entered Kabul on Sunday and sought the unconditional surrender of the central government, officials said, as Afghans and foreigners alike raced for the exit, signaling the end …
Discussion:
CBS News, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, NPR, Townhall, Mediaite, republicanleader.senate.gov, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, National File, Task & Purpose, CBS San Francisco, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, Atlantic Council, The Moderate Voice, CNBC, The Hill, Common Dreams, Insider, Outside the Beltway, TheBlaze, National Review, Raw Story, Slate, FOX 5 San Diego, Washington Examiner, Mock Paper Scissors, Agence France-Presse, ABC News and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Jeff Stein / SpyTalk:
Exclusive: U.S. Channel for Emergency Afghan Visas Crashes — State Department mailbox crashes under weight of thousands of SIV applications — The email in-box for emergency visa applications for Afghans who worked with the U.S. has crashed, according to a former Air Force serviceman trying …
Discussion:
Common Sense with Bari Weiss, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Just Security
Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
The Broader Questions Aside, President Biden Has Disastrously Botched this Withdrawal — Those who are defending the debacle in Afghanistan seem to believe that there is only one important question to ask here: Namely, should the United States have withdrawn per se? In reality, though there are two questions.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Afghans working for U.S. government broadcasters fear Taliban backlash. — More than a hundred journalists employed by the American government's own radio stations remain in Afghanistan as the Taliban take power, U.S. officials and Afghan journalists said Sunday.
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
How America Failed in Afghanistan — The New Yorker staff writer Steve Coll on the humanitarian catastrophe that is now likely to engulf Afghan civilians. — On Sunday, as the Taliban entered Kabul—the last remaining major Afghan city not under the group's control—the President of the country …
Discussion:
Atlantic Council
Atefa Alizada / The Guardian:
Afghan women's defiance and despair: 'I never thought I'd have to wear a burqa. My identity will be lost'
Afghan women's defiance and despair: 'I never thought I'd have to wear a burqa. My identity will be lost'
Discussion:
Associated Press, Althouse, Page Array and The Daily Caller
CNN:
Biden officials admit miscalculation as Afghanistan's national forces and government rapidly fall
Biden officials admit miscalculation as Afghanistan's national forces and government rapidly fall
Discussion:
Fox News, HotAir, Twin Cities, Newsbusters, The Daily Caller, The National Interest and Bloomberg
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
U.S. completes evacuation from American embassy in Kabul
U.S. completes evacuation from American embassy in Kabul
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Times, Associated Press, HotAir, Political Wire and Mediaite
Associated Press:
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Wire, ABC13, claytoonz and Newsbusters
Wall Street Journal:
Intelligence Reports From Afghanistan Missed One Key Element: Speed
Intelligence Reports From Afghanistan Missed One Key Element: Speed
Discussion:
HotAir
Tara Palmeri / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: How the White House wants to spin the fall of Kabul
POLITICO Playbook: How the White House wants to spin the fall of Kabul
Discussion:
The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Trending Politics and Fox News
Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
Taliban Enter Kabul as Panic Spreads in Afghanistan's Capital
Taliban Enter Kabul as Panic Spreads in Afghanistan's Capital
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Breitbart, Power Line, Sky News and National Review
ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 8-15-21: Sec. Antony Blinken & Rep. Liz Cheney
‘This Week’ Transcript 8-15-21: Sec. Antony Blinken & Rep. Liz Cheney
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Townhall
Michael R. Gordon / Wall Street Journal:
Biden's Afghanistan Exit Raises Questions About His Foreign-Policy Record
Biden's Afghanistan Exit Raises Questions About His Foreign-Policy Record
Discussion:
New York Times, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Trending Politics and The Hill
New York Times:
A frenzied flight from Kabul as the U.S. evacuation accelerates.
A frenzied flight from Kabul as the U.S. evacuation accelerates.
Discussion:
Insider, Al Jazeera, Task & Purpose and Townhall
BBC:
Afghanistan conflict: As Kabul falls, Biden backlash grows
Afghanistan conflict: As Kabul falls, Biden backlash grows
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Daily Beast and The US Sun
CNN:
US completes evacuation of embassy in Afghanistan as flag comes down at diplomatic compound
US completes evacuation of embassy in Afghanistan as flag comes down at diplomatic compound
Discussion:
The Independent Tribune, Politico, IJR, Mediaite, UPI, The Hill, The US Sun, The Daily Caller, HotAir, Washington Examiner and One America News Network
The Daily Beast:
Kabul Falls, Afghanistan Burns
Kabul Falls, Afghanistan Burns
Discussion:
New York Times, TheBlaze, RedState, Bipartisan Report and NPR
Siobhan Hughes / Wall Street Journal:
Biden Officials Blame Trump Administration, Security Forces for Afghanistan Collapse
Biden Officials Blame Trump Administration, Security Forces for Afghanistan Collapse
Discussion:
RedState
Associated Press:
The Latest: UN to hold emergency meeting on Afghanistan
The Latest: UN to hold emergency meeting on Afghanistan
Discussion:
Insider, Washington Examiner, ABC News, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, One America News Network, National File and HotAir
Laura Reiley / Washington Post:
Biden administration approves largest increase to food assistance benefits in SNAP program history — Benefits will rise by 25 percent on average, an infusion of cash that advocates say better reflects the modern cost of a basic diet. — The Biden administration has approved the largest increase …
Discussion:
Politico
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Jason DeParle / New York Times:
Biden Administration Prompts Largest Permanent Increase in Food Stamps
Biden Administration Prompts Largest Permanent Increase in Food Stamps
Discussion:
The US Sun and Bloomberg
Seth Moulton / U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton:
Moulton Statement on the Situation in Afghanistan — WASHINGTON — Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) issued the following statement on Afghanistan: — To say that today is anything short of a disaster would be dishonest. Worse, it was avoidable. The time to debate whether we stay …
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Andrew A. Michta / 19FortyFive:
Why America Was Destined to Fail in Afghanistan
Why America Was Destined to Fail in Afghanistan
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Washington Post, spectatorworld.com and Trending Politics
NBC News:
‘Easy money’: How international scam artists pulled off an epic theft of Covid benefits — Last June, the FBI got a warrant to hunt through the Google accounts of Abedemi Rufai, a Nigerian state government official. — What they found, they said in a sworn affidavit, was all the ingredients for a …
Roger L. Simon / theepochtimes.com:
Elder Ignores Mainstream Media in First Online Press Conference — Who'd a thunk it? — Neither the Los Angeles Times nor Politico (both of whom had multiple reporters) and a host of other mainstream media suspects, including the Associated Press, got to ask a single question Friday …