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:
Vox, BBC, Twin Cities, The Intercept, Political Wire and New York Times
RELATED:
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
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:
HotAir, National Review, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, TheBlaze, Breitbart, Power Line and Talking Points Memo
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
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, NPR, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Atlantic Council, National File, The Gateway Pundit, Al Jazeera, TheBlaze, CNBC, Task & Purpose, Outside the Beltway, Forbes, Common Dreams, The Moderate Voice, National Review, Insider, Slate, Raw Story, The Hill, Washington Examiner, CBS San Francisco, Mock Paper Scissors, FOX 5 San Diego, NBC 6 South Florida, ABC News and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
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 …
Discussion:
U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, RedState, National Review and NPR
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
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
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
Wall Street Journal:
Intelligence Reports From Afghanistan Missed One Key Element: Speed — U.S. officials are conflicted over whether intelligence failures may have contributed to the swift Taliban takeover of Afghanistan — In late June, a stark new intelligence estimate said the government of President Ashraf Ghani …
Discussion:
Twin Cities and 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
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, The Daily Caller, The National Interest, The Daily Beast, UPI, The Texas Tribune, Twin Cities, Newsbusters and Bloomberg
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:
Power Line, Al Jazeera, Breitbart and National Review
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:
The Daily Caller, Page Array and Althouse
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:
Al Jazeera and Task & Purpose
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
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:
HotAir, The Independent Tribune, UPI, Politico, BBC, Mediaite, The US Sun, Associated Press, The Hill and The Daily Caller
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:
The Daily Wire, RedState, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller and Trending Politics
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
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:
Washington Examiner, National File, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, One America News Network, HotAir and Insider
Allahpundit / HotAir:
“Forget the visas”: The scramble is on to save Afghan partners as Taliban close in
“Forget the visas”: The scramble is on to save Afghan partners as Taliban close in
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Politico and Washington Post
Politico:
Taliban seize power amid chaos in Kabul
Taliban seize power amid chaos in Kabul
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Post, Insider, Forbes, One America News Network and justoneminute.typepad.com
Washington Post:
Taliban enters Kabul, leaving Afghan government on brink of collapse
Taliban enters Kabul, leaving Afghan government on brink of collapse
Discussion:
The Guardian, Axios, Twitchy, The US Sun, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Political Wire, Townhall, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Post and Task & Purpose
Adam Weinstein / Responsible Statecraft:
20-year US intervention in ruins as Taliban enters Kabul
20-year US intervention in ruins as Taliban enters Kabul
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Mediaite
Stars & Stripes:
‘They are coming’: US diplomats await flights out of Kabul as the Taliban advance and fear spreads in the capital
‘They are coming’: US diplomats await flights out of Kabul as the Taliban advance and fear spreads in the capital
Discussion:
Financial Times, New York Post, UPI, CBS News and One America News Network
John Ellis / GEN:
Biden's Folly — Afghanistan. Lynsey Addario for Getty Images.
Biden's Folly — Afghanistan. Lynsey Addario for Getty Images.
Discussion:
Fox News, Washington Times, Bipartisan Report, Raw Story, Politico and Power Line
Liz Sly / Washington Post:
Afghanistan's collapse leaves allies questioning U.S. resolve on other fronts
Afghanistan's collapse leaves allies questioning U.S. resolve on other fronts
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Breitbart, Townhall, Balloon Juice, HotAir and TheBlaze
Sky News:
Afghanistan live updates: Taliban enters outskirts of Kabul - as Afghan government promise peaceful transition of power
Afghanistan live updates: Taliban enters outskirts of Kabul - as Afghan government promise peaceful transition of power
Discussion:
Telegraph
Justin Gomez / ABC News:
US moving personnel out of its embassy in Kabul: Blinken
US moving personnel out of its embassy in Kabul: Blinken
Discussion:
Slate, Bloomberg, abc7NY, CNN and Washington Examiner
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 …
CBS News:
California's vaccinated say unvaccinated are adding risk; strong support for mandates — CBS News poll — As Californians express widespread concern about the Delta variant, they overwhelmingly say the state's recent rise in cases was preventable, had more people gotten vaccinated and taken more precautions.
Discussion:
CBS Los Angeles, Forbes, Breitbart and CBS San Francisco
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 and Just Security
Catherine Kim / Politico:
NIH director sees ‘no signs’ of a Delta peak — National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins warned on Sunday the continuing rise of Covid-19 cases propelled by the Delta variant could return the nation to the worst days of the pandemic. — “This is going very steeply upward …
Discussion:
The Guardian, CNN and Fox News
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 …