memeorandum: Who Takes the Blame? — Who, exactly, is responsible for today's calamity in Afghanistan? (Peter Nicholas/The Atlantic)

9:55 AM ET, August 27, 2021

Top Items:

U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate — U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the militant-controlled outer perimeter of the city's airport …

James Gordon Meek / ABC News:

US special operations vets carry out daring mission to save Afghan allies — At least 13 service members were killed in an attack in Kabul Thursday. — With the Taliban growing more violent and adding checkpoints near Kabul's airport, an all-volunteer group of American veterans …

Discussion: Morning Shots

The Dispatch:

A Defeat of Choice — It did not have to be this way. — The attacks Thursday at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed 13 U.S. troops, making it the deadliest single day of the war for Americans in more than a decade. More than 90 Afghans trying to escape …

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Twin Cities, Liberty Nation and Politico

Associated Press:

New urgency to airlift after Kabul blasts kill more than 100 — KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Evacuation flights from Afghanistan resumed with new urgency on Friday, a day after two suicide bombings targeted the thousands of desperate people fleeing the Taliban takeover and killed more than 100.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, CNBC, Reuters, Axios, ABC7, abc7NY, Raw Story, Breitbart, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Insider

Washington Examiner:

Biden must accept accountability for his Afghanistan debacle — At least 12 U.S. service members died from two attacks outside the Kabul airport Thursday. But the number of dead and the number of attacks keep rising. — What had been a stain on President Joe Biden's administration is now a historic catastrophe.

Discussion: New York Times, Reuters, CNBC, The Federalist and The Daily Caller

William Saletan / Slate:

The GOP's Phony Complaints About Afghanistan — On Thursday, suicide bombers killed scores of people outside the Kabul airport, including at least 12 American service members. Congressional Republicans snapped into action, demanding that President Joe Biden resign or be impeached.

Discussion: The US Sun, HuffPost, ME, ABC News, Insider, The Federalist and HotAir

Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:

What's happening in Afghanistan is horrible. But how else was U.S. involvement going to end? — How, exactly, did the Biden administration's critics think U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan was ever going to end? — “Certainly not like this” is not a valid answer …

Discussion: NPR, The US Sun, GZERO, The Gateway Pundit, National Review, New York Times, RedState and Althouse

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: ‘The worst day of your presidency’ — DRIVING THE DAY — When Kabul fell to the Taliban several days ago, rocking President JOE BIDEN's pullout operation, the White House made a strategic choice: They doubled down, didn't apologize and crossed their fingers that the nation would move on quickly.

Discussion: NBC News, CNN and Forbes

Washington Post:

Biden struggles to address the most volatile crisis of his presidency — President Biden on Thursday confronted the most volatile crisis of his young presidency, the deaths of at least 13 Americans in Afghanistan that threatened to undermine his credentials as a seasoned global leader and a steady hand.

Discussion: CNN, The Guardian, Breitbart, Fox News, Trending Politics, Mediaite and Washington Times

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall:
Resign — Rip those stars off your pathetic nostalgia costumes and resign. Quit.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, RedState and National Review

C-SPAN.org:
Pentagon Confirms 12 Services Members Killed in Suicide Bombing in Kabul

Discussion: National Review, CNBC, Liberty Nation, USA Today, Reuters, Breitbart, The Western Journal, The Daily Caller, The Hill and Reason

Farnaz Fassihi / New York Times:
A Stranded Interpreter, and the Soldiers Who Would Not Let Go

Discussion: Washington Post, TheBlaze, Forbes and Los Angeles Times

Hunter Walker / New York Magazine:
‘A Total F*cking Disaster’: Inside Seth Moulton's Secret Trip to Kabul Officials condemned the mission as a reckless stunt. …

Discussion: USA Today, Insider, Washington Times, The National Interest, The Uprising and Crooks and Liars

Washington Post:
A dark day reminds us: Thousands of Americans are risking everything for this rescue mission

Discussion: NBC News, The Daily Signal, Liberty Nation and Washington Times

Robert Kagan / Washington Post:
It wasn't hubris that drove America into Afghanistan. It was fear.

Discussion: The Dispatch, Real Clear Politics and Townhall

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:
Former President Donald J. Trump On The Debacle In Afghanistan

Discussion: Mediaite, HuffPost, Insider, TheBlaze and Raw Story

Alan Cullison / Wall Street Journal:
Inside the Taliban's Hidden War Against ISIS

Discussion: FOX31 Denver and Washington Examiner

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
A Bungled Mess — For days, those defending President Joe Biden's pullout from Afghanistan repeated …

Discussion: ABC News, The Stream and The US Sun

The White House:
Remarks by President Biden on the Terror Attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Insider, Washington Post, Townhall, The Daily Caller and The Western Journal

Cathy Young: Afghanistan and the Anti-Liberal Right

Libby Cathey / ABC News:
Biden vows retribution on terrorists who killed 13 US service members in Kabul

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, Israpundit, Power Line, New York Post, The Federalist, Politico and NBC Los Angeles

Los Angeles Times:
‘I saw a flash’: Dozens killed in bombings outside Kabul airport

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, New York Times and The Federalist

NBC News:

Officer who shot Ashli Babbitt during Capitol riot breaks silence: ‘I saved countless lives’ — In the chaotic minutes before he shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, Lt. Michael Byrd focused his attention on the glass doors leading into the lobby of the U.S. House of Representatives chamber.

Devoun Cetoute / Miami Herald:

Florida COVID update: case, death, vaccine count — Florida on Thursday reported 21,765 more COVID-19 cases and 901 deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data. — All but two of the newly reported deaths occurred after July 25 …

Discussion: Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Sacramento Bee, Insider, Raw Story and Florida Politics

Caitlin Owens / Axios:

Living with the coronavirus will likely never be risk-free — Vaccinated Americans are facing a disheartening reality: Even after getting the shot, they'll have to live with some level of risk from the coronavirus for the foreseeable future. — State of play: A glut of data released …

Bloomberg:
Remember When September Was Going to Be the Return to Normal in the U.S.?

Discussion: HotAir and Insider

New York Times:
Facing Its Worst Virus Surge, Oregon Returns to Strict Mandates

Discussion: The Guardian

New York Times:

Supreme Court Ends Biden's Eviction Moratorium — The ruling followed political and legal maneuvering by the administration to retain protections for tenants. It puts hundreds of thousands at risk of being put out of their homes. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected …

CNN:
READ: Supreme Court ruling against Biden and CDC's eviction moratorium

Discussion: Louder With Crowder, NBC News and Power Line

Elie Honig / CNN: Merrick Garland, get tougher on the insurrectionists

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Justice Breyer on Retirement and the Role of Politics at the Supreme Court — In an interview prompted by his new book, the 83-year-old leader of the court's liberal wing said he is working on a decision about when to step down. — WASHINGTON — Justice Stephen G. Breyer says he is struggling …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Hill and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Steve Contorno / Tampa Bay Times:

Struggling Hillsborough GOP turns to Marjorie Taylor Greene — The Georgia Republican speaks tonight at the annual fundraiser for a local party beset by losses and dissent. — Updated Just now — It was only six years ago that Hillsborough County Republicans scored Jeb Bush to headline their Lincoln Day fundraiser.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Peter Wehner / The Atlantic:
Trumpism Has Entered Its Final Form

Discussion: Raw Story

NBC News:

Clamoring for ivermectin, some turn to a pro-Trump telemedicine website — When users visit the telemedicine website SpeakWithAnMD.com, they are immediately hit with a warning: “Due to overwhelming demand, we are experiencing longer than usual wait times.” — The demand is for ivermectin …

Discussion: Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Guardian

CNN:

CNN EXCLUSIVE ‘Something has to be done’: After decades of near-silence from the CDC, the agency's director is speaking up about gun violence — Watch CNN Films' “The Price of Freedom” on CNN TV without commercial interruption starting at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 29.

Discussion: National Review and DCReport.org

Hugo Gurdon / Washington Examiner:

Biden's first 200 days — Joe Biden, like most presidents, made much of supposed achievements in his first 100 days. Remember how, arriving in office, he promised 100 million COVID vaccine doses in that period. It was a soft target, for, as some of us pointed out, the vaccination pace …

Anne Helen Petersen / Vox:

The staggering, exhausting, invisible costs of caring for America's elderly — As millions “age in place,” millions more must figure out how to provide their loved ones with increasingly complex care. — Illustrations by Cha Pornea for Vox — This story is part of a group of stories called