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9:35 AM ET, August 16, 2021

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 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.
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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 …
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 …
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.
more at Mediagazer »
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 …
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 …
Associated Press:
The latest on Afghanistan: Four Afghans dead after fall from US plane wheel well  —  Here's the latest on the rapidly unfolding events related to Afghanistan:  —  Report: Afghans who worked for US may temporarily go to bases in Wisconsin and Texas  —  The U.S. intends to evacuate tens …
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 …
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 …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
After Sunday It's Even More Clear Biden Was Right
Discussion: The Atlantic
Seth Moulton / U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton:   Moulton Statement on the Situation in Afghanistan
The Bulwark:
America Has a Moral Obligation to Get Our Translators Out of Afghanistan
Discussion: HotAir
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Jake Sullivan: Biden didn't think it was “inevitable” Taliban would take control  —  White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that President Biden did not believe it was “inevitable” that the Taliban would take control of Afghanistan, laying the blame at the feet …
RELATED:
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
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.
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.
Richard Haass / Project Syndicate:
America's Withdrawal of Choice
U.S. Embassy / U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan:
Security Alert - U. S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan
Associated Press:
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan
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: UPI and RedState
RELATED:
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
Krista Torralva / Dallas Morning News:
Jenkins says mask order will stay despite Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocking it  —  Dallas County judge says he'll remove penalties for noncompliant businesses after a stay was granted at the request of Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
RELATED:
San Antonio Express-News:
In win for Gov. Abbott, Texas Supreme Court blocks local mask mandates
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 …
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 More Items: 
Timothy Bella / Washington Post:
A Black officer was a rising star. The department's ‘Jim Crow culture’ destroyed his career, lawsuit says.
Discussion: The Root and Raw Story
Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Early indicators suggest Democrats' House majority is in jeopardy
Discussion: Fox News, Salon and New Republic
John Nichols / The Nation:
Ron Johnson Does the Bidding of the Ultra-Rich
Maria Abi-Habib / New York Times:
'I'm the Only Surgeon': After Haiti Quake, Thousands Seek Scarce Care
Discussion: CBS News
Meridith McGraw / Politico:
The GOP waves white flag in the same-sex marriage wars
Discussion: Raw Story
 Earlier Items: 
Lachlan Cartwright / The Daily Beast:
Mary Trump Rails Against ‘Awful’ Meghan McCain and ‘Weak’ Uncle Donald
Discussion: Raw Story and The Guardian
Juan Williams / The Hill:
Trump's coup attempt should bar him from 2024 race
Gavin Bade / Politico:
‘Lay out the strategy’: Corporate America grows impatient on Biden's China trade review
Discussion: The Guardian
John Eligon / New York Times:
In Zambia Election, Opposition Leader Storms to Decisive Win Over President
 

 
From Techmeme:

Shakeel Hashim / Transformer:
New emails released as part of Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI show Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever had serious concerns about Sam Altman as early as 2017

Financial Times:
Sources: xAI raised $5B at a $45B valuation, almost double its valuation a few months ago; SpaceX prepares a tender offer that would value the company at $250B+

Yifan Yu / Nikkei Asia:
Biden admin finalizes its $6.6B CHIPS Act grant to TSMC; money will be disbursed in stages and TSMC is expected to receive at least $1B by the end of 2024
 
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