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, Fox News, Twin Cities, The Intercept, HotAir and Political Wire
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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
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, Associated Press and Daily Kos
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:
The Guardian, CNN and The US Sun
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 …
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, Associated Press, National Review, Washington Examiner, RedState and NPR
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
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.
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:
Boston Herald, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Breitbart, Townhall, TheBlaze, Mediaite, NPR, republicanleader.senate.gov, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, National File, CBS San Francisco, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Atlantic Council, The Guardian, Forbes, CNBC, The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Common Dreams, HotAir, Outside the Beltway, Insider, FOX 5 San Diego, National Review, Raw Story, Slate, Mock Paper Scissors, ABC News and Agence France-Presse
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
For Biden, Images of Defeat He Wanted to Avoid — President Biden will go down in history, fairly or unfairly, as the president who presided over a humiliating final act in the American experiment in Afghanistan. — Rarely in modern presidential history have words come back to bite …
The Bulwark:
America Has a Moral Obligation to Get Our Translators Out of Afghanistan — (SCREENSHOT HTTPS://MOBILE.TWITTER.COM/BSARWARY/ STATUS/1427002551858311173) — We promised we would get them out. We promised we would stand by the thousands of Afghan translators and their families as they stood …
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
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
U.S. completes evacuation from American embassy in Kabul — The American flag has been removed at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Sunday, a final step in the mass and rapid evacuation of U.S. citizens and some Afghan allies who are now awaiting flights out of the country.
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Times, Twitchy, Washington Post, Associated Press, HotAir and Political Wire
Gillian Brockell / Washington Post:
The fall of Saigon: As Taliban seizes Kabul, the Vietnam War's final days remembered
The fall of Saigon: As Taliban seizes Kabul, the Vietnam War's final days remembered
Discussion:
Twitchy, Trending Politics and Mediaite
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
How America Failed in Afghanistan
How America Failed in Afghanistan
Discussion:
Bloomberg, 19FortyFive and Atlantic Council
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:
HuffPost, Fox News, HotAir, Twin Cities, Newsbusters, The Daily Caller, UPI, The National Interest and Bloomberg
Associated Press:
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, RealClearPolitics, Fox News, CNN, The Daily Wire, ABC13, claytoonz and Newsbusters
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, Page Array, The Daily Caller and Althouse
Wall Street Journal:
Intelligence Reports From Afghanistan Missed One Key Element: Speed
Intelligence Reports From Afghanistan Missed One Key Element: Speed
Discussion:
HotAir
Associated Press:
Concerns over US terror threats rising as Taliban hold grows
Concerns over US terror threats rising as Taliban hold grows
Discussion:
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and The Daily Caller
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:
Washington Post, The Guardian, Trending Politics and Fox News
Associated Press:
“Game over:” Westerners rush to leave Kabul, rescue Afghans
“Game over:” Westerners rush to leave Kabul, rescue Afghans
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Associated Press
BBC:
Afghanistan conflict: As Kabul falls, Biden backlash grows
Afghanistan conflict: As Kabul falls, Biden backlash grows
Discussion:
New York Times, The Daily Beast, Al Jazeera and The US Sun
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, Townhall, Washington Examiner and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
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:
RedState, The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, TheBlaze, Trending Politics and The Hill
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
The Daily Beast:
Kabul Falls, Afghanistan Burns
Kabul Falls, Afghanistan Burns
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, RedState, Bipartisan Report and NPR
New York Times:
Afghanistan Live Updates: Taliban Advances on Kabul; U.S. Evacuation Accelerates
Afghanistan Live Updates: Taliban Advances on Kabul; U.S. Evacuation Accelerates
Discussion:
Politico, Associated Press, NPR, The National Interest, Japan Times, Task & Purpose, Washington Times, The Hill, Power Line and justoneminute.typepad.com
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
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
Jason DeParle / New York Times:
Biden Administration Prompts Largest Permanent Increase in Food Stamps — The jump in benefits, the biggest in the program's history, comes after a revision of the initiative's nutrition standards that supporters say will reduce hunger and better reflect how Americans eat.
Discussion:
NBC News, The US Sun and Bloomberg
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Laura Reiley / Washington Post:
Biden administration approves largest increase to food assistance benefits in SNAP program history
Biden administration approves largest increase to food assistance benefits in SNAP program history
Discussion:
Associated Press and Politico
Krista Torralva / Dallas Morning News:
Texas Supreme Court blocks mask mandates in Dallas, Bexar counties — The entirely Republican court granted a temporary stay at the request of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Sunday. — Two days after a Dallas appeals court dealt Texas Gov. Greg Abbott …
Discussion:
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
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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 …
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 …