memeorandum: Biden owns the moment. He'll also own the consequences. (Bret Stephens/New York Times)

11:25 AM ET, August 16, 2021

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, New York Times, The Reactionary, NPR, Talking Points Memo, Poynter, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Townhall, Japan Times, Althouse and The Moderate Voice

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: HotAir, New York Post and New York Times

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 …

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: Washington Post, The Hill, The Atlantic, New York Times, The Guardian, Townhall, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and Twin Cities

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, Washington Examiner and New York Times

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

Biden owns the moment. He'll also own the consequences. — What on earth was Joe Biden thinking — if, that is, he was thinking? — On July 8, the president defended his decision to withdraw all remaining U.S. forces from Afghanistan. After assuring Americans that …

Discussion: USA Today, Townhall, TIME, Washington Post, IJR, The Dispatch and Just Security

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall:
Our Military Is A Woke Joke

Discussion: BizPac Review, Talking Points Memo and Task & Purpose

Wall Street Journal:
Biden's Afghanistan Surrender

Discussion: The Hill, Townhall, Louder With Crowder, New York Times, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, IJR, The US Sun and Breitbart

Anatol Lieven / Politico:
Why Afghan Forces So Quickly Laid Down Their Arms

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, HotAir, Washington Post, New York Times, Townhall, Wall Street Journal, The Bulwark and Commentary Magazine

Miranda Devine / New York Post:
Joe Biden's defeat will echo for eternity

Discussion: The Hill, HotAir, The Federalist, Townhall, RealClearPolitics, Louder With Crowder, CNN, BizPac Review, Bloomberg, Ace of Spades HQ and Axios

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

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Times and CNN

Ben Kesling / Wall Street Journal:
Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan Brings Complicated Feelings for U.S. Military Veterans

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Townhall and CNN, more at Mediagazer »

Richard Haass / Project Syndicate:
America's Withdrawal of Choice

Discussion: Politico, PRESS RUN and HotAir

Shay Khatiri / The Bulwark:
Why the Afghan Army Fell to the Taliban

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart and Washington Post

David Frum / The Atlantic:
The 1 Thing That Could've Changed the War in Afghanistan

Discussion: Axios, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Persuasion and Quartz

Noah Rothman / MSNBC:
The fall of Afghanistan in 2021 is the result of years of American delusion

Discussion: The Bulwark, Al Jazeera, UPI, Israpundit and The Dispatch

NBC News:
Biden's rosy statements on Afghanistan, Covid have come back to haunt him

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News and BizPac Review

Patrick Reilly / New York Post:
Trump calls on Biden to ‘resign in disgrace’ over crisis in Afghanistan

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story, Washington Post, TheBlaze, Instapundit and Crooks and Liars

Robin Wright / New Yorker:
Does the Great Retreat from Afghanistan Mark the End of the American Era?

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Issues & Insights, Ace of Spades HQ and Twin Cities

The Daily Beast:
Even Biden's Allies Think He Screwed Up Afghanistan

Discussion: CNBC, HuffPost, Al Jazeera, Newsbusters, Washington Times, Slate and TheBlaze

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 …

Discussion: New York Times, HotAir, Insider, Al Jazeera, The Federalist, Washington Post, Fox News, Associated Press and The Hill

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, Reuters, CNN, TheBlaze, Mock Paper Scissors, Bloomberg, RedState, Fox News, Mediaite, MSNBC, Insider and globalnews.ca

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 …

Discussion: Mirror.co.uk, NBC News, Politico, Washington Examiner, Gizmodo, Human Events, Al Jazeera, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, FOX 5 San Diego, Fox News, RedState, Raw Story, National Review, KXAN-TV, WGN-TV, BBC and HotAir

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: Washington Free Beacon, HotAir, TheBlaze, The Federalist, Townhall, RedState, BizPac Review, Breitbart, Florida Politics, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Twitchy, CNN, FOX 5 San Diego, IJR and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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, France 24, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and Insider

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: RedState, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Insider, Althouse and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Ben Smith / New York Times:
Afghans working for U.S. government broadcasters fear Taliban backlash.

Discussion: Associated Press, Raw Story, Insider and FOX 5 San Diego, more at Mediagazer »

Martin Amin Rahmani / The Bulwark:
We Didn't Think Our American Friends Would Leave Us in the Dead of Night

Discussion: Insider, The Nation, Religion News Service, CBS Denver and IJR

Jazz Shaw / HotAir:
US pauses flights out of Kabul

Discussion: CNN, CBS News and Talking Points Memo

Sarah Zheng / South China Morning Post:
China, Russia embassies stay put in Afghanistan as US and allies flee Taliban

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Louder With Crowder, Forbes, CNN, Quartz, Variety, RedState, Associated Press and Fox News

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: Washington Post, Mediaite, HotAir, Bipartisan Report, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Guardian, Crooks and Liars, BizPac Review and Maryland Matters

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 and The Daily Caller

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

Jaclyn Peiser / Washington Post:

A conservative cardinal who criticized the vaccine caught covid. Days later, he was put on a ventilator. — Most days during the coronavirus pandemic, Cardinal Raymond L. Burke could be found strolling down the streets of Rome maskless and carrying rosary beads.

Discussion: Religion News Service, Friendly Atheist, Balloon Juice, Raw Story and Mock Paper Scissors

Dave Orrick / Twin Cities:

Ugly drama inside MN GOP threatens chairwoman's job — Indictment of donor sparked fire — Following what amounted to a weekend political firestorm, the Minnesota Republican party Sunday evening found itself navigating treacherous waters of possible scandal that threatened to oust the state party's leader.

Discussion: WCCO | CBS Minnesota and Law & Crime

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 …