memeorandum: Worse Than Saigon — In yielding Afghanistan to the Taliban, Joe Biden has engineered … (Ben Sasse/National Review)

4:05 PM ET, August 16, 2021

Top Items:

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 …

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: Media Matters for America, Glenn Greenwald, Responsible Statecraft, HotAir, The Federalist, IJR, The Nation, New York Times, Townhall, Fox News, NPR, Mediaite, The Reactionary and Japan Times

Joseph Choi / The Hill:

US reaches deal with Taliban on evacuations: report — The U.S. has reached a deal with the Taliban to ensure that evacuations from Kabul's airport can take place without interference from the group, according to a report by The Associated Press. — The deal was reached in talks in Doha …

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

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, Bloomberg, Fox News, IJR, Ace of Spades HQ, Insider, Crooks and Liars and Instapundit

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

Joe Biden is facing a crisis of competence — (CNN)At the heart of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign was a single word: competence. — After four years of Donald Trump's incompetence in, well, everything, the Biden argument was that the country badly needed a steady hand on the tiller …

Discussion: RedState, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Federalist, Bipartisan Report, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, The American Independent, Breitbart and Twitchy

Daria Litvinova / Associated Press:

Uzbekistan says it downed Afghan military plane crossing in — MOSCOW (AP) — An Afghan military plane was downed by Uzbekistan's air defense system on Sunday over an attempt to illegally enter the country's air space, Uzbek authorities said Monday. — The downing took place in southeastern Uzbekistan …

Discussion: Breitbart and Boston Herald

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: Washington Examiner, Reuters, New York Times, AIRLIVE, Fox News, Mediaite, USA Today, The Daily Caller, IJR, CNBC, National Review, Raw Story, Jihad Watch, NBC News, Gizmodo, The Daily Signal, Human Events, Al Jazeera, Trending Politics, Bipartisan Report, Mirror.co.uk, RedState, CNN and UPI

ABC News:

Afghanistan updates: Chaos at Kabul airport, world responds — As people rush to leave, leaders contemplate recognizing the Taliban government. — United States troops have taken control of the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan as chaos continues after Afghanistan's president fled the country …

Discussion: TK News, Washington Examiner, CNN, Washington Times and HotAir

Preston Byrne:

Did America just lose Afghanistan because of WhatsApp? — In the middle of a conflict, good analysis is hard to come by. Because adversaries do not telegraph their plans to one another, plans depend greatly on the fact patterns surrounding their execution, and no human mind can possibly observe …

Discussion: Newsweek, Washington Post, The Nation and Jihad Watch

Wesley Morgan / Washington Post:

He spent his adult life helping U.S. soldiers. Now, he's desperately fleeing Afghanistan. — Iqbal, a fighter and former interpreter, battled thirst and gunfire to get to Kabul airport. Now what? — The voice on the phone from Kandahar Airfield sounded exhausted and resigned, as if not much hope was left.

Discussion: Associated Press

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: HotAir, Washington Free Beacon, RedState, Townhall, New York Times, Washington Post, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, The Hill, Breitbart, Florida Politics, Associated Press and Twin Cities

Daniel Silverberg / The Atlantic:
Biden Was Right — In 2017, I arrived at Kabul's Hamid Karzai Airport as part of a congressional staff delegation.

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, Breitbart and Financial Times

BBC:
Afghanistan: US takes control of Kabul airport to evacuate staff from country

Discussion: Telegraph, HotAir, Reuters, Politico, Breitbart, Al Jazeera, France 24, Bloomberg, Quartz and Insider

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Afghanistan Is Your Fault — Kabul has fallen. Americans will now exercise …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Salon, The Dispatch, USA Today and Twitchy

Ben Sasse / National Review:
Worse Than Saigon — In yielding Afghanistan to the Taliban, Joe Biden has engineered …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Lincoln Journal Star, The Federalist, Common Dreams, Townhall, Ace of Spades HQ and Israpundit

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

Discussion: USA Today, Insider, Washington Post, HotAir, NBC News, Al Jazeera and The Dispatch

Wall Street Journal:
‘Saigon on Steroids’: The Desperate Rush to Flee Afghanistan

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Guardian, HotAir, New York Times, Tangle, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart, Vanity Fair, CBS News, NPR, Reuters, IJR, Bloomberg, Mock Paper Scissors, CNN, globalnews.ca and Insider

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall:
Our Military Is A Woke Joke

Discussion: Politico, HotAir, RealClearPolitics and BizPac Review

Gerald F. Seib / Wall Street Journal:
America's Failures in Afghanistan Were Bipartisan and Long-Running

Discussion: Twin Cities

Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:
White House weighs response as Biden faces mounting criticism over Afghanistan crisis

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, RedState, Althouse, Washington Free Beacon, HotAir, IJR, Insider and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HotAir, Fox News, Project Syndicate, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Times, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Bulwark and Commentary Magazine

CNN:
Biden returns to White House ahead of address on Afghanistan

Discussion: Raw Story, NBC4 Washington, Townhall, The US Sun and Althouse

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

Discussion: Axios, HotAir, PRESS RUN, Washington Post, TheBlaze, Persuasion and Quartz, more at Mediagazer »

Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic: A Moment for Soul-Searching — My Afghanistan war lasted almost exactly two years …

Associated Press:
The Latest: Merkel says latest Afghan developments ‘awful’

Discussion: TheBlaze, Al Jazeera, Just Security and National Review

Olivier Knox / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Kamala Harris heads to Singapore and Vietnam in second trip as vice president

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times and ABC News

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
For Biden, Images of Defeat He Wanted to Avoid

Al Jazeera:
Chaos at Kabul airport as Taliban retakes Afghanistan: Live News

Discussion: Axios, Breitbart, TFIPOST, The Guardian, Louder With Crowder, Bloomberg, Forbes and Twitchy

Lynsey Addario / The Atlantic:
The Taliban's Return Is Catastrophic for Women

Discussion: National Review, The American Spectator, Insider and Page Array

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
How Republicans are slamming Biden on Afghanistan

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Telegraph, BizPac Review, USA Today, Gizmodo, Bipartisan Report, Trending Politics, The American Spectator and TheBlaze

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
In Washington, Recriminations Over Afghanistan Emerge Quickly

Discussion: Fox News, RedState, Daily Kos, CNN and ABC13, more at Mediagazer »

Jacqui Heinrich / Fox News:
US prepares to house thousands of Afghan refugees on American military installations

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Townhall, TheBlaze, New York Post and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: National Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller and RedState

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

Discussion: HotAir, Politico, HuffPost, Slate, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Jacobin, POLITICUSUSA, IJR and Insider

Nicholas Fondacaro / Newsbusters:
NBC Whines GOP ‘Seized’ on ‘Optical Comparison’ Between Kabul/Saigon Airlifts

Discussion: HotAir

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: New York Post, Religion News Service, Crooks and Liars, Friendly Atheist, KXAN-TV, 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: The Daily Caller and HotAir

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.

CNN:

Exclusive: Title, cover and details of new Trump book from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa revealed — (CNN)First it was “Fear,” then it was “Rage,” now it is “Peril.” That is the title of the highly-anticipated third book about President Trump from legendary journalist Bob Woodward …

Discussion: The Guardian

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, Raw Story and Mock Paper Scissors

John Nichols / The Nation:

Ron Johnson Does the Bidding of the Ultra-Rich — A new study reveals that Johnson's “principled” stand for tax reform may enrich two of his campaign donors by half a billion dollars. — Ron Johnson's public image is that of a delusional conspiracy theorist who struggles to pull together coherent sentences.