Top Items:
Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:
Afghan security forces' wholesale collapse was years in the making — In the summer of 2011, Army Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV made a round of public appearances to boast that he had finally solved a problem that had kept U.S. troops bogged down in Afghanistan for a decade.
Discussion:
UPI, NPR, Talking Points Memo, The Reactionary, New York Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Althouse, Japan Times, Vox, Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I and New Yorker
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James Gordon Meek / ABC News:
Afghanistan's collapse: Did US intelligence get it wrong? — American intelligence sources say they correctly predicted the fall of Kabul. — As panicked Afghans watched Taliban fighters roll into the capital city of Kabul Sunday, sealing the collapse of the U.S.-backed government there …
Noah Rothman / MSNBC:
The fall of Afghanistan in 2021 is the result of years of American delusion — On Sunday morning, Taliban fighters captured Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield — the symbol and source of U.S. power projection in the region for 20 years — releasing thousands of prisoners.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Al Jazeera, The Daily Caller, Israpundit and The Dispatch
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 …
Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Afghanistan Is Your Fault — Kabul has fallen. Americans will now exercise their usual partisan outrage for a few weeks, and then Afghanistan, like everything else in a nation with an attention span not much longer than a fast-food commercial, will be forgotten.
Discussion:
The Dispatch, New York Times and UPI
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
After Sunday It's Even More Clear Biden Was Right — Americans, or at least the commentating classes, are watching aghast as events unfold in Afghanistan. Some are second-guessing the wisdom of withdrawal - after all, how hard is it to maintain a few thousand soldiers there permanently?
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Anatol Lieven / Politico:
Why Afghan Forces So Quickly Laid Down Their Arms
Discussion:
Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Talking Points Memo
Miranda Devine / New York Post:
Joe Biden's defeat will echo for eternity
Discussion:
HotAir, The Federalist, CNN, Louder With Crowder, BizPac Review, Ace of Spades HQ and Bloomberg
Richard Haass / Project Syndicate:
America's Withdrawal of Choice
Discussion:
National Review, The Nation and New York Times
Wall Street Journal:
Biden's Afghanistan Surrender
Discussion:
The Hill, Louder With Crowder, Talking Points Memo, The US Sun, Breitbart and HotAir
George Packer / The Atlantic:
Biden's Betrayal of Afghans Will Live in Infamy
Discussion:
Persuasion, Poynter, PRESS RUN, Politico, USA Today, Associated Press, Daily Kos and Stars & Stripes
Annie Linskey / Washington Post:
From Saigon to Kabul: Biden's response to Vietnam echoes in his views of Afghanistan withdrawal
Discussion:
Politico, Townhall, Maggie's Farm, New York Post and The Moderate Voice
Robin Wright / New Yorker:
Does the Great Retreat from Afghanistan Mark the End of the American Era?
Discussion:
Just Security, Breitbart, The Dispatch, Issues & Insights and Twin Cities
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Biden owns the moment. He'll also own the consequences.
Discussion:
USA Today, NBC News, The Bulwark, Twin Cities, Washington Post and IJR
Wall Street Journal:
‘Saigon on Steroids’: The Desperate Rush to Flee Afghanistan — Kabul airport descends into chaos as Afghan civilians besiege the terminal and Western countries scramble to evacuate personnel, in a dizzying coda to America's longest war — KABUL—The lucky few were already inside …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, New York Times, Reuters, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox News, NPR, globalnews.ca, BBC and Forbes
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Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:
White House weighs response as Biden faces mounting criticism over Afghanistan crisis — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden faced growing criticism from his allies in Washington following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as administration officials considered his public response.
Discussion:
HotAir, Insider, Althouse, BizPac Review and MSNBC
United States Department of State:
Joint Statement on Afghanistan — The following is the text of a joint statement on Afghanistan initially released by the following: Albania, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark …
Discussion:
RedState
Wall Street Journal:
Three Killed in Kabul Airport as Afghans Scramble to Escape Taliban — Mass evacuations follow the insurgents' capture of Kabul after a rapid sweep of the country — At least three people were killed by gunfire Monday morning in chaotic scenes at the passenger terminal of Kabul's international airport …
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.
Discussion:
Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Michael Lee / Fox News:
Jen Psaki ‘out of the office’ as Biden remains silent on Taliban takeover of Afghanistan — The timing of Psaki's time off comes as Biden has faced criticism for remaining on vacation
Discussion:
HotAir, BizPac Review, RedState, Townhall, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Twitchy, CBS News, Insider, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and CNN
BBC:
Afghanistan: US takes control of Kabul airport to evacuate staff from country — There have been scenes of panic at Kabul airport as desperate residents try to flee following the seizure of the Afghan capital by the Taliban. — Witnesses say at least three civilians died on Monday …
Discussion:
Reuters, Bloomberg, Insider, Al Jazeera and France 24
Tom Porter / Insider:
The GOP quietly removed a webpage hailing Trump's peace deal with the Taliban as the militant group seized power in Afghanistan
Discussion:
Mediaite, Lincoln Journal Star, HotAir, The Guardian, Raw Story, BizPac Review, Crooks and Liars and Maryland Matters
Associated Press:
The latest on Afghanistan: Four Afghans dead after fall from US plane wheel well
Discussion:
Insider, Associated Press, Bloomberg and Snopes.com
Martin Amin Rahmani / The Bulwark:
We Didn't Think Our American Friends Would Leave Us in the Dead of Night
Discussion:
Insider, New York Post and Salon
U.S. Embassy / U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan:
Security Alert - U. S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Breitbart, New York Post, Forbes, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Mediaite, Power Line, Associated Press, National File, HotAir, ABC News and Political Wire
United States Department of State:
Joint Statement from the Department of State and Department of Defense: Update on Afghanistan
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, TIME, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Insider and U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan
Sarah Zheng / South China Morning Post:
China, Russia embassies stay put in Afghanistan as US and allies flee Taliban
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Forbes, Variety, RedState, Associated Press, FOX 5 San Diego and Sky News
CNN:
US curtailing evacuation flights of Afghans to US for now to prioritize Americans
Discussion:
HotAir, CBS News, The Daily Caller and UPI
Gillian Brockell / Washington Post:
The fall of Saigon: As Taliban seizes Kabul, the Vietnam War's final days remembered
Discussion:
Twitchy, Mediaite and Trending Politics
Associated Press:
Detainee says China has secret jail in Dubai, holds Uyghurs — A young Chinese woman says she was held for eight days at a Chinese-run secret detention facility in Dubai along with at least two Uyghurs, in what may be the first evidence that China is operating a so-called “black site” beyond its borders.
Discussion:
HotAir
Meridith McGraw / Politico:
The GOP waves white flag in the same-sex marriage wars — To mark the beginning of Pride Month this year, Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel did what party leaders do on these types of occasions: She sent out a tweet. — “Happy #PrideMonth!” she wrote, " …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
Ben Kesling / Wall Street Journal:
Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan Brings Complicated Feelings for U.S. Military Veterans — Some vets were ready for the war to be over; others wanted the U.S. to stay. But most agree this was not the ending they wanted — U.S. Army veteran Sean Lee wasn't necessarily surprised …
Discussion:
CNN, more at Mediagazer »
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