memeorandum: The American epoch of failure (Daniel McCarthy/spectatorworld.com)

11:40 PM ET, August 16, 2021

Top Items:

Tara Copp / Defense One:

Inside Reach 871, A US C-17 Packed With 640 Afghans Trying to Escape the Taliban — The Air Force evacuation flight from Kabul to Qatar came near the record for most people ever flown in the Boeing airlifter. — AFGHANISTAN - WHITE HOUSE - AIR FORCE - CIVILIANS

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, Newsweek, RedState, Power Line, The Wrap, Twitchy, New York Post and The US Sun

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:

Biden must rescue thousands of U.S. citizens trapped in Afghanistan — As the situation on the ground in Afghanistan's capital continues to deteriorate, thousands of U.S. citizens are trapped in and around Kabul with no ability to get to the airport, which is their only way out of the country.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, National Review, Politico, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, RedState, HotAir, IJR, HuffPost and The Daily Signal

Antonio Planas / NBC News:

Female mayor in Afghanistan says she's waiting for Taliban to ‘come ... and kill me’ — One of Afghanistan's first female mayors said Sunday that she is waiting for the Taliban to come and kill her as the Islamic militants reached the capital, Kabul. — “I'm sitting here waiting for them to come.

Discussion: inews.co.uk, Raw Story and Metro.co.uk

Daniel Silverberg / The Atlantic:

Biden Was Right — In 2017, I arrived at Kabul's Hamid Karzai Airport as part of a congressional staff delegation. Even though the U.S. embassy stood a mere four miles away, safety concerns necessitated our helicoptering from a recently constructed multimillion-dollar transit facility instead of traveling by road.

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Quartz, Crooks and Liars and New Republic

Washington Post:

Eerie tension settles over Kabul as Taliban patrols the streets and U.S. reasserts control at the airport following chaotic scenes — Horrifying scenes of desperate Afghans, lunging for the wheels of a U.S. military aircraft as it taxied for takeoff from Kabul airport Monday …

Discussion: CNN, CBS Los Angeles, Politico, National Review and NBC 6 South Florida

Matt Viser / Washington Post:

Biden's promise to restore competence to the presidency is undercut by chaos in Afghanistan — Joe Biden presented voters with a core argument why he, more than anyone else, was the best choice to replace the wildly unorthodox Donald Trump: He would bring competence.

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, National Review, Breitbart, New York Post, The American Spectator, Instapundit, CNN, The Atlantic, The Nation, Roll Call, Fox News, One America News Network, The Daily Signal, The Left Coaster, Daily Kos and TheBlaze

The Bulwark:

'Please Don't Leave Us Behind. We Will Be Great Americans.' — An interview with a U.S.-trained Afghan Air Force pilot, now hiding from the Taliban. — AFGHAN AIR FORCE PILOTS LAND THEIR UH-60 BLACKHAWKS ON A NARROW LANDING STRIP DURING A RESUPPLY MISSION TO AN OUTPOST IN GHAZNI PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021.

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, Washington Examiner and HotAir

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Biden gave the best possible defense of his Afghanistan withdrawal — President Biden's case for the fruitlessness of a continued military mission in Afghanistan got a boost as the Afghan army melted away, and its leaders fled practically overnight. During remarks from the White House on Monday …

Discussion: Esquire, Rev, RedState, Althouse and The Times of Israel

Joe Ferullo / The Hill:

Beltway reporting of Afghanistan withdrawal a disservice to Americans — As Taliban forces pushed through Afghanistan this past week, most news outlets covered the swiftly shifting story by falling back to their usual position: reporting from inside the Beltway.

Discussion: All Arab News, The Daily Caller and Townhall

Washington Post:

After Taliban triumph, Biden faces even greater test in preventing extremist resurgence in Afghanistan — Even before the Taliban's stunning takeover this week, American military and intelligence officials were racing to devise plans for containing extremist threats emanating from Afghanistan …

Politico:
Biden was barreling toward perilous political waters. Then Afghanistan happened.

Discussion: RedState and Bloomberg

Brett Bruen / USA Today:
Ex-Obama adviser: Why Biden must fire his national security adviser for Afghanistan failure

Discussion: The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, RedState, Jihad Watch, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Insider, Breitbart and National Review

John McCormack / National Review:
What Biden Left Out When He Blamed Afghans for the Taliban's Swift Victory

Discussion: New York Times, The White House, C-SPAN.org and ABC News

Joseph Choi / The Hill:
US reaches deal with Taliban on evacuations: report

Discussion: New York Times, Military Times, Forbes, HotAir, National Review and Althouse

Samuel Benson / Deseret News:
They aided the U.S. military in Afghanistan for years. Have we left them to die?

Discussion: CNN, Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Biden says the ‘buck stops with me’ — while pinning blame on Trump and many Afghans

Discussion: Fox News, Power Line, Breitbart, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, Metro.co.uk and Insider

The Guardian:
Kabul airport: footage appears to show Afghans falling from plane after takeoff

Discussion: Axios, Jerusalem Post, The Intercept and UPI

Jake Dima / Washington Examiner:
Trump follows Biden speech by blasting ‘grossly incompetent’ Afghanistan withdrawal

Discussion: Breitbart

Daniel McCarthy / spectatorworld.com:
The American epoch of failure

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Post, City Journal and The Federalist

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Joe Biden is facing a crisis of competence

Discussion: Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, HotAir, Trending Politics, Forbes and Twitchy

Dana Loesch / Dana Loesch's Chapter and Verse:
The Blame for Afghanistan — We saw a revolving door of officials yoke an entire generation …

Discussion: Instapundit, coldfury.com, Quartz and Mediaite

Associated Press:
The latest on Afghanistan: Four Afghans dead after fall from US plane wheel well

ABC News:
Afghanistan updates: US resumes air operations at Kabul airport

Discussion: Raw Story, HotAir and The Hill

Maeve Sheehey / Politico:
Poll: Support for Afghanistan withdrawal plummets as Taliban seize control

Discussion: Esquire, Associated Press, Crooks and Liars, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast and National Review

Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:
Afghan security forces' wholesale collapse was years in the making

David Edwards / Raw Story:
Marjorie Taylor Greene: Americans deserve assault weapons like the Taliban

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:
China Touts ‘U.S. Humiliation’ in Afghanistan in Warning to Taiwan

Discussion: Global Times, The Week, The Guardian and National Review

Kyle Drennen / Newsbusters:
Deranged MSNBC: ‘95%’ of Americans Agree With Biden (They Don't)

Discussion: HotAir, Mediaite, The Hill, Fox News, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Daria Litvinova / Associated Press:
Uzbekistan says it downed Afghan military plane crossing in

Discussion: KXAN-TV, Breitbart and KVEO-TV

ABC News:
Afghanistan updates: Chaos at Kabul airport, world responds

Discussion: NPR, TK News, Washington Times, Defense One, Washington Examiner, HotAir, Slate, U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan and New York Times

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Support for Afghanistan Withdrawal Tumbles Amid Taliban Resurgence

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Townhall and Washington Examiner

Wesley Morgan / Washington Post:
He spent his adult life helping U.S. soldiers. Now, he's desperately fleeing Afghanistan.

Discussion: New York Times

Sharon LaFraniere / New York Times:

U.S. to Advise Boosters for Most Americans 8 Months After Vaccination — Nursing home residents and health care workers will most likely be the first to get booster shots, as soon as September, followed by other older people who were vaccinated last winter.

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, CNN, National Review and NPR

Axios:

Scoop: Investigation finds fired Tennessee vaccine official mailed dog muzzle to self — A Tennessee investigation found evidence that the state's fired vaccine chief, Michelle Fiscus, purchased a dog muzzle that she previously claimed someone had mailed in an attempt to intimidate her.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, USA Today and WJHL

Washington Post:

First-ever water shortage declared on the Colorado River, triggering water cuts for some states in the West — BOULDER, Colo. — Low water in the Colorado River's largest reservoir triggered the first-ever federal declaration of a shortage on Monday, a bleak marker of the effects of climate change …

Henry Fountain / New York Times:
In a First, U.S. Declares Shortage on Colorado River, Forcing Water Cuts

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, HuffPost, UPI, Forbes, The Verge, Associated Press, The Colorado Sun, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politico and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

NBC News:

Texas requests five mortuary trailers in anticipation of Covid deaths — With Covid-19 surging across the state, Texas has requested five mortuary trailers from the federal government in anticipation of an influx of dead bodies, state officials told NBC News.

Discussion: Insider and Dallas Morning News

The New York Times Company:

Group Statement Sent to President Biden on Behalf of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post — Dear President Biden: — For the past twenty years, brave Afghan colleagues have worked tirelessly to help The New York Times, The Washington Post …

Discussion: Insider, Vanity Fair, CNBC, Fox News and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Committee to Protect Journalists:
US must protect Afghan journalists as Taliban take power

Discussion: Washington Post and Insider

Eduardo Medina / New York Times:

Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening to Kill Newly Elected U.S. Senator — Federal prosecutors said Eduard Florea of Queens posted menacing threats online against Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Congress before and during the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Discussion: CNN

Bush Center:

Statement by President and Mrs. Bush on Afghanistan — “Laura and I, along with the team at the Bush Center, stand ready as Americans to lend our support and assistance in this time of need. Let us all resolve to be united in saving lives and praying for the people of Afghanistan.”