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10:15 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.
RELATED:
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 …
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, UPI and The Daily Caller
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?
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 …
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.
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 …
Jazz Shaw / HotAir:
US pauses flights out of Kabul
Discussion: CNN, CBS News and Talking Points Memo
Richard Haass / Project Syndicate:
America's Withdrawal of Choice
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 …
RELATED:
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.
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 …
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
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 …
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
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.
Associated Press:
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan
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.
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
 
 
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Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
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Discussion: Fox News, Salon and New Republic
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Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November
 
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