Top Items:
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 …
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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 …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Breitbart, Fox News, Twin Cities and The Dispatch
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.
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:
CNN, Bloomberg, Insider and globalnews.ca
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:
New York Times, Japan Times and The Reactionary
Sarah Zheng / South China Morning Post:
China, Russia embassies stay put in Afghanistan as US and allies flee Taliban — Collapse of Afghan government sets off evacuation scramble but Beijing and Moscow have no current plans to remove staff Chinese embassy warns its nationals to stay indoors, take safety precautions and keep …
Discussion:
RedState
Wall Street Journal:
Chaotic Afghanistan Pullout Caps Two Decades of Missteps — Successive U.S. administrations followed strategies that inadvertently fueled support for the insurgency and missed key windows to negotiate — WASHINGTON—In early July, President Biden stood in the East Room of the White House …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, National Review, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
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:
Townhall, RedState, BizPac Review, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, TheBlaze, National File and FOX 5 San Diego
Eltaf Najafizada / Bloomberg:
Chaotic Scenes Grip Kabul's Airport, With Reports of Deaths — Panicked citizens crowd the airport in desperate bid to exit — Taliban declare victory, prepare to announce new government — Desperate scenes played out at Kabul's international airport on Monday as thousands rushed …
Discussion:
RedState, Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Times of Israel, Associated Press and Financial Times
Richard Haass / Project Syndicate:
America's Withdrawal of Choice — The swift fall of Kabul recalls the ignominious fall of Saigon in 1975. Beyond the local consequences - widespread reprisals, harsh repression of women and girls, and massive refugee flows - America's strategic and moral failure in Afghanistan …
Discussion:
National Review, Israpundit and PRESS RUN
Julian Borger / The Guardian:
Taliban's Abdul Ghani Baradar is undisputed victor of a 20-year war — Return to power of movement's co-founder embodies Afghanistan's inability to escape history of conflict — Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban leader freed from a Pakistani jail on the request of the US less than three years ago …
Discussion:
Strangely Blogged, The Daily Caller and The Daily Beast
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
Anatol Lieven / Politico:
Why the U.S. Should Have Predicted the Speed of Afghanistan's Collapse
Why the U.S. Should Have Predicted the Speed of Afghanistan's Collapse
Discussion:
Washington Post
Wall Street Journal:
Three Killed in Kabul Airport as Afghans Scramble to Escape Taliban
Three Killed in Kabul Airport as Afghans Scramble to Escape Taliban
Discussion:
Associated Press, CBS News, Gizmodo, NBC4 Washington, Fox News and BBC
Associated Press:
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan
Discussion:
Fox News, RealClearPolitics, The Daily Wire, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, CNN, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Newsbusters, RedState, FOX 5 San Diego, claytoonz and ABC13
Associated Press:
“Game over:” Westerners rush to leave Kabul, rescue Afghans
“Game over:” Westerners rush to leave Kabul, rescue Afghans
Discussion:
Insider, HuffPost UK, Salon, The Daily Caller, WSVN-TV, Florida Politics, CBS News and Associated Press
New York Times:
Taliban Takeover Could Extinguish U.S. Influence in Kabul
Taliban Takeover Could Extinguish U.S. Influence in Kabul
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN and New York Post
Robin Wright / New Yorker:
Does the Great Retreat from Afghanistan Mark the End of the American Era?
Does the Great Retreat from Afghanistan Mark the End of the American Era?
Discussion:
Just Security, The Hill, The Dispatch, New York Post, Breitbart and Twin Cities
The Bulwark:
America Has a Moral Obligation to Get Our Translators Out of Afghanistan
America Has a Moral Obligation to Get Our Translators Out of Afghanistan
Discussion:
Associated Press
Kenneth C. Brill / The Hill:
Afghanistan: Can we build bipartisan agreement out of bipartisan failure?
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:
New York Times, Fox News, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, The National Interest, Twin Cities, The Daily Beast, Newsbusters and Bloomberg
George Packer / The Atlantic:
Biden's Betrayal of Afghans Will Live in Infamy
Biden's Betrayal of Afghans Will Live in Infamy
Discussion:
Persuasion, Poynter, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, Politico, Associated Press, Daily Kos and Stars & Stripes
Lindsay Kornick / Fox News:
Rep. Van Drew calls for Biden's resignation amid Taliban takeover in Afghanistan
Rep. Van Drew calls for Biden's resignation amid Taliban takeover in Afghanistan
Discussion:
Breitbart
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Terrorist threat to U.S. levels up after Taliban rise, Joint Chiefs chair says
Terrorist threat to U.S. levels up after Taliban rise, Joint Chiefs chair says
Discussion:
The Bulwark, The Guardian, Fox News, The US Sun and CNN
BBC:
Afghanistan conflict: As Kabul falls, Biden backlash grows
Afghanistan conflict: As Kabul falls, Biden backlash grows
Discussion:
New York Times, Breitbart, Townhall, The US Sun and The Daily Beast
Financial Times:
Low morale, no support and bad politics: why the Afghan army folded
Low morale, no support and bad politics: why the Afghan army folded
Discussion:
Atlantic Council
Jeff Stein / SpyTalk:
Exclusive: U.S. Channel for Emergency Afghan Visas Crashes
Exclusive: U.S. Channel for Emergency Afghan Visas Crashes
Discussion:
Common Sense with Bari Weiss, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post
Susannah George / Washington Post:
Afghanistan's military collapse: Illicit deals and mass desertions
Afghanistan's military collapse: Illicit deals and mass desertions
Discussion:
BBC, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New Yorker, Fox News, ABC News, Vox, Twin Cities, Washington Monthly, HotAir and The Intercept
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
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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 …
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:
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and CBS News
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Chuck Lindell / Austin American-Statesman:
Texas Supreme Court blocks lower-court rulings that allowed mask mandates
Texas Supreme Court blocks lower-court rulings that allowed mask mandates
Discussion:
Off the Kuff, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Associated Press, The Hill and Politico
San Antonio Express-News:
In win for Gov. Abbott, Texas Supreme Court blocks local mask mandates
In win for Gov. Abbott, Texas Supreme Court blocks local mask mandates
Discussion:
UPI, KXAN-TV, Trending Politics, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth and Off the Kuff
Annie Linskey / Washington Post:
From Saigon to Kabul: Biden's response to Vietnam echoes in his views of Afghanistan withdrawal — The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights — Two weeks before Saigon fell in April 1975, a 32-year-old Joe Biden was among the senators summoned to the White House …
Discussion:
IJR, Politico and The Moderate Voice
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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, Mediaite and Trending Politics
Claire Giangravé / Religion News Service:
Cardinal Burke is placed on ventilator days after testing positive for COVID-19 — VATICAN CITY (RNS) - A message from the Twitter account of Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, a conservative prelate and outspoken skeptic of the COVID-19 vaccine, confirmed Saturday (Aug. 14) via Twitter …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Mock Paper Scissors
Juan Williams / The Hill:
Trump's coup attempt should bar him from 2024 race — Let's agree — former President Trump is running again. — He has $100 million in his political war-chest. His GOP rivals for the nomination, including top congressional Republicans, fear him. — One reason he might not run …