memeorandum: Kabul's Sudden Fall to Taliban Ends U.S. Era in Afghanistan (New York Times)

10:30 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, NPR, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, The Reactionary, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Althouse, Japan Times, Vox, Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I and Washington Monthly

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, The Guardian, Townhall, Breitbart, Fox News, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Twin Cities, CBS News and RedState

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

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 …

Discussion: New York Post, Fox News, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Breitbart, The American Conservative, Outside the Beltway, Power Line, HotAir, Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, USAFeatures.news, ABC News, Just The News, The Daily Beast, justoneminute.typepad.com and Wall Street Journal

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

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 …

Discussion: New York Times, PRESS RUN, Instapundit and New Yorker

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

Discussion: The Nation, New York Times and Talking Points Memo

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

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

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and New York Times

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

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

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall:
Our Military Is A Woke Joke

Discussion: BizPac Review, Task & Purpose and HotAir

Wall Street Journal:
Biden's Afghanistan Surrender

Discussion: The Hill, Louder With Crowder, NBC News, IJR, Ace of Spades HQ, CNN, The US Sun, Mediaite and Breitbart

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

Discussion: Axios, Wall Street Journal, Persuasion, Quartz and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:
Kabul's Sudden Fall to Taliban Ends U.S. Era in Afghanistan

Discussion: France 24, CNBC, CNN, Forbes and justoneminute.typepad.com

Annie Linskey / Washington Post:
From Saigon to Kabul: Biden's response to Vietnam echoes in his views of Afghanistan withdrawal

Discussion: Politico, Poynter, Townhall, Maggie's Farm and New York Post

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Just Security, The Hill and Twin Cities

The Bulwark:
America Has a Moral Obligation to Get Our Translators Out of Afghanistan

Discussion: Politico, HotAir, The Moderate Voice, Townhall, New York Post and New York Times

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, CNN, Reuters, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Fox News, Insider, globalnews.ca and BBC

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: Politico, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Gizmodo, Al Jazeera, Fox News, RedState, National Review, Mediaite, Raw Story, KXAN-TV and HotAir

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: U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, RedState, Washington Examiner, Power Line, Associated Press, Mediaite and Bloomberg

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: Insider, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Fox News, Associated Press, The Daily Caller and Snopes.com

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: HotAir, BizPac Review, Townhall, RedState, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Twitchy, IJR, FOX 5 San Diego, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, TheBlaze and National File

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, HotAir, Insider, TheBlaze and Althouse

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, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera and Insider

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 »

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

Discussion: ABC News, BizPac Review and Issues & Insights

Jazz Shaw / HotAir:
US pauses flights out of Kabul

Discussion: CNN, CBS News and Talking Points Memo

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

Discussion: Insider, Religion News Service and CBS Denver

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: Mediaite, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Guardian, BizPac Review, Crooks and Liars and Maryland Matters

United States Department of State:
Joint Statement from the Department of State and Department of Defense: Update on Afghanistan

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, TIME, New York Post, RedState and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Forbes, CNN, Variety, RedState, Associated Press, Fox News and FOX 5 San Diego

Associated Press:
Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan

Kenneth C. Brill / The Hill:
Afghanistan: Can we build bipartisan agreement out of bipartisan failure?

Discussion: Politico, HotAir and MSNBC

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

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