John Bolton, the former national security adviser, said the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is a big mistake — and there’s no difference between the policies of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Bolton called the abrupt pullout a “strategic mistake” for which both leaders share the blame. “Trump fully supported (withdrawing),” Bolton told CNN. “Had he been reelected he would have done the same thing.” “On this question of withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump and Biden are like Tweedledee and Tweedledum,” he added. Bolton said Biden bears “primary responsibility” for letting...
In a strange agreement with President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump railed against the war in Afghanistan and the pointlessness of continuing to be there.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump said that Afghanistan isn't fighting the Taliban because they're no longer being paid to do it. He claimed that, for years, Afghan fighters were doing the work on the ground because the U.S. was paying them to do it and supplying them with the weaponry to do it.
The U.S. attempted to train them to fight the war against the Taliban after leaving, but according to Trump, they didn't care once they weren't being paid anymore.
"The fact is. The are among the highest paid soldiers in the world. They were doing it for a paycheck. Because once we stopped, once we left, they stopped fighting... So we were sort of bribing them to fight," said Trump.
"We spent over $1 trillion over 20 years. We retrained and equipped with modern equipment over 300,000 Afghan forces. And Afghan leaders have to come together," Biden told reporters. "I'll insist we continue to keep the commitments we made: providing close air support, making sure that their Air Force functions and is operable, resupplying their forces with food and equipment, and paying all of their salaries. But they have got to want to fight."
Speaking to Sean Hannity on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump promoted what he said was perfect leadership in Afghanistan under his presidency.
First, he claimed that in the last year-and-a-half, no Americans died in Afghanistan. According to the data from iCasulties.org nine US people died in 2020 and 22 died in 2019.
Trump then moved on to answer questions from Hannity about the "Deal" that Trump did with the Taliban. According to Trump, there was a provision that said if the Taliban took over more than 5 percent of Afghanistan then "we would have hit them really hard."
Trump's deal was based on a timeline, but U.S. Institute of Peace's director of Afghanistan and Central Asian programs argued at the time that Trump should be talking about preconditions before a timeline.
But when prompted to attack President Joe Biden's approach to the withdrawal, Trump said that the real culprit in the Afghan problems are the Bushes.
"I know the Bush family will not be happy but I think it's the worst mistake in our history to go into the Middle East," Trump said.
Host Erin Burnett started out by informing viewers that Abbott "fortunately is fully vaccinated and not experiencing symptoms at this moment, and getting the full Regeneron treatment."
However, she also argued that his infection comes after months of blocking local municipalities from enacting mask mandates and asked Offit if his positive COVID-19 diagnosis weakens his arguments against taking more preventative measures against the disease.
"I wish Governor Abbott a speedy recovery, but I'm sure he's learning now masks are a lot cheaper than Regeneron," said Offit. "Why tie the hands of the public health officials behind their back? You have two weapons, one is vaccines and one is masking, and for children under 12 that's the only weapon they have. It seriously weakens his argument."
"It's amazing," said Burnett. "Regeneron is $1500 per dose. He's getting it. Ron DeSantis pushed that as a solution. I guess they think other state taxpayers will pay for it. It's incredible."
Watch below:
Dr. Paul Offit on Greg Abbott's COVID infection
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While there has been plenty of finger pointing about who deserves the most blame for the disastrous ending to America's 20-year war in Afghanistan, MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan argued on Tuesday that one person that cannot be allowed to escape accountability is former President George W. Bush.
During his opening monologue, Hasan said that Bush and his administration were the ones who set America on its decades-long crash course with failure that culminated this week with the Taliban retaking Kabul.
"That the Bush administration failed to end the war early on is one of the many gross mistakes they made, including allowing Osama bin Laden to escape Afghanistan," he said.
He then said that, while President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are taking blame from partisans for their assorted mistakes in pushing for withdrawal from the country, Bush might have had a larger role in the catastrophe than either of them.
"It all started with the guy who launched the so-called War on Terror, George W. Bush," he said. "What happened on Bush's watch in Afghanistan was atrocious, perhaps criminal!"
An architect of the Afghanistan war doesn't want Americans to leave.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice argued that President Joe Biden's characterization of the Afghan fighters is "unfair."
"No — they didn't choose the Taliban," she wrote. "They fought and died alongside us, helping us degrade al-Qaeda. Working with the Afghans and our allies, we gained time to build a counterterrorism presence around the world and a counterterrorism apparatus at home that has kept us safe. In the end, the Afghans couldn't hold the country without our airpower and our support. It is not surprising that Afghan security forces lost the will to fight, when the Taliban warned that the United States was deserting them and that those who resisted would see their families killed."
She went on to say that the Afghan people tried to create a modern society and build a fledgling democracy with elected leaders.
"It was a government that never managed to tame corruption and the drug trade," she said. "In this, Afghanistan had plenty of company across the globe."
A 2019 Washington Post report detailed the rampant corruption in Afghanistan, calling it a "cesspool of fraud." There were stories of travelers carrying suitcases stuffed with $1 million in cash. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow did a 2010 investigation into the corruption in Afghanistan and the massive mansions built by those being handed the money.
The AP wrote last week that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's "style of rule was often characterized as cantankerous and arrogant, rarely heeding the advice of his government and often publicly berating those who challenged him."
He fled the palace with cars, cash, helicopters and his life, Reuters reported.
"Twenty years was not enough to complete a journey from the 7th-century rule of the Taliban and a 30-year civil war to a stable government," argued Rice. "Twenty years may also not have been enough to consolidate our gains against terrorism and assure our own safety. We — and they — need more time."
John Bolton effectively agreed, telling CNN that Biden has "given up because we've lost patience. That's a sad commentary about the current administration, but it's not a defeat for the United States."
Although counties that backed former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election are on the whole much less likely to have high vaccinated rates compared to counties that backed President Joe Biden, a new report from Vice News shows that is not universally the case.
Cassie Prather, the public health director for Woodford County, Kentucky, tells Vice that her department "got rid of every dose we had" in the early weeks of the vaccine's availability and then used a variety of tactics to keep more people coming in to get their shots.
One key lesson Prather has learned has been to rely on local people within the community as the best assets for informing Americans about the positives of the vaccines.
"We say that if you don't trust the health department or you don't trust the government, then contact your local physician or someone that you know that had COVID or got the vaccine," she explains.
Dr. Christopher Walcott of Ohio County, Indiana similarly tells Vice News that relying on a local approach is essential to creating trust among the unvaccinated.
"The people who are working in the clinic are [patients'] neighbors, grandparents, sisters, teachers of people within the community," Walcott said. "We took the politics out of it completely and made it a purely scientific endeavor."
Although MAGA Republicans spend a lot of time talking about "states' rights," they aren't always big on local rights and will gladly shoot down local laws and ordinances they don't like — whether it has to do with marijuana, taxes, the minimum wage or COVID-19-related restrictions. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, have issued executive orders forbidding local school districts from mandating face masks in the classroom. And liberal Washington Post opinion writer Greg Sargent, this week in his column, argues that Abbott and DeSantis are way out of the mainstream.
"With DeSantis and Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott actively thwarting local officials from protecting their constituents with mask mandates," Sargent writes, "a backlash to these antics may be brewing. A new Axios-Ipsos poll probes public sentiments on this in a novel way. It asks respondents about state laws that prohibit local officials from creating mask requirements. Both DeSantis and Abbott have sought to do this, albeit by executive order."
The Axios-Ipsos poll found that 66% of Americans oppose statewide prohibitions of local mask mandates, while only 33% favor them. In other words, the respondents believe that if local school officials in Dallas, for example, want a mask mandate, that should be left up to them — not forbidden by Abbott.
"What's more, the poll also finds that a whopping 77% oppose efforts to withhold funding from school districts and local governments that implement mask mandates," Sargent observes. "This fills in our understanding of public opinion. Polling has already shown that large majorities favor mask mandates when asked. This new data shows that equally large majorities oppose efforts by governors to actively prevent local officials from implementing such measures."
For his column, Sargent interviewed Chris Jackson, who heads public polling at Ipsos. Jackson told Sargent, "Americans think masks are useful and good in the fight against COVID."
Most Americans, according to Jackson, believe that governors who prohibit local mask mandates "are essentially taking away a useful tool for Americans to get back to their lives."
Jackson told Sargent, "There is a strong predisposition in this country toward doing something proactive to stop the pandemic."
Sargent argues that MAGA governors like Abbott and DeSantis are motivated by trying to please former President Donald Trump, not the health of residents of their states.
"These GOP governors keep telling us they are defending the liberty of Americans to live without health-care mandates," Sargent writes. "The argument is deranged nonsense: They selectively oppose such mandates in the case of COVID-19, because the preoccupations of Donald Trump and his movement require it. And by blocking local officials from implementing public health measures, they are impairing the ability of communities to act collectively, via their legitimately chosen leaders, in their own defense."
Sargent continues, "In numerous states, GOP laws have banned private businesses from imposing vaccine requirements and protecting their customers and the public health as they see fit. Fortunately, large majorities reject their thinking. Large majorities believe local officials should implement measures that put in place such collective self-defense efforts, and they see GOP governors thwarting this as the ones who are misusing their power."
Conservative leaders who have been quick to condemn President Joe Biden for failing to evacuate Afghan allies are now insisting that those refugees cannot be brought to the United States.
Right-wing broadcaster Steve Bannon made the point on his Tuesday War Room program.
"That photo of the 800 people on the plane -- only 150 Americans," Bannon noted. "And the question is where are they taking these, the people that helped us in Afghanistan, the commandos, the interpreters, all that -- you've got to stay in region."
"No need for anybody to come to the gold old United States of America," he added. "Everybody take a deep breath. Let's get them out of there. Let's get them out of Afghanistan. But no need to come to Wisconsin or Texas."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who appeared on Bannon's program, agreed with the right-wing host.
"And we don't have to hear about refugees being brought into our country leading to the likeness of Ilhan Omar becoming members of Congress one day," she said.
Florida Rep. Anthony Sabatini echoed the sentiment in a tweet.
"Any Republican that doesn't help fight against the plan to bring 100k Afghans into the country must be primaried," he wrote. "Every @GOP official must go on record NOW."
I'm begging you to understand Republican operatives don't care about the Afghan people. This has always been solely a political wedge for them.
If they cared, they'd demand the US accept Afghan refugees, which they are dead set against. — Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) August 17, 2021
GOP is seriously, "Trump was right to bring our troops home while freeing 5000 Taliban terrorists but how dare Biden bring our troops home with so many Taliban terrorists running free also no way Afghan refugees are coming here to escape the Taliban terrorists we freed." — Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) August 17, 2021
A House Democrat unloaded on President Joe Biden's handling of the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was quickly overtaken by the Taliban and descended into chaos.
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) was among 10 lawmakers who gave the president a letter recommending steps for improving the nation's stability as troops were pulled from the country, and he wrote a column for Foreign Policy condemning the administration's failures to consider the consequences of leaving Afghanistan.
"I suppose we are now experiencing the consequences of not getting 'into a hypothetical,'" Langevin wrote. "Public executions and forced marriages are reportedly back. People are fleeing. The Taliban are in Kabul, and the government has fallen. This is a catastrophe."
The situation was so bad it seemed to have been carried out by the Trump administration, the congressman said.
"This negligence was par for the course for the last U.S. administration," Langevin wrote. "I am disappointed to see it now. At minimum, the Biden administration owed our Afghan allies of 20 years a real plan. They also owed it to our military service members and their families, particularly the men and women in uniform and their families who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Not to mention the women and girls of Afghanistan who are now experiencing a devastating new reality."
Jenna Ellis, the former Trump personal and campaign attorney, says she has been suspended from Twitter after posting a tweet in which she appears to label Afghanistan refugees "terrorists."
She also called for President Joe Biden's impeachment, and baselessly claimed he is "literally bringing in terrorists."
Ellis announced her suspension on Newsmax Monday night, and posted a clip of her appearance (below) to her Facebook page.
"Twitter doesn't want any discussion of the truth about Biden's illegal actions and the repercussions that will most certainly happen to the United States," she wrote, falsely. "My 12-hour suspension for 'hate speech' is insane censorship."
A screenshot of what Ellis says is her suspension notice says her account has violated Twitter's rules against "hateful conduct."
Ellis on Newsmax claims by posting her tweet she was "standing up for our Constitution, standing up for our rule of law," and falsely claims that "Biden is letting in terrorists because he is not allowing any of these people to be vetted, he's breaking the law."
The refugees are being vetted by the U.S. Many if not most being brought to the U.S. have applied for the Special Immigrant Visa program and worked for the U.S. government or military. They are being housed on U.S. military bases.
The rules for obtaining a Special Immigrant Visa are quite strict, as The New York Times notes:
Applicants must show they have been employed for at least two years by the U.S. government or an associated entity. Among other paperwork, they must prove they performed valuable service by providing a recommendation from an American supervisor. They must also show that they have experienced, or are experiencing, a serious threat as a consequence of their work for the United States.
Following a major White House address on Monday for which he was both praised and panned by progressives after explaining his decision to withdraw most American troops from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden was urged to redouble efforts to ensure the safe passage of as many Afghan refugees as possible—especially those who aided the nearly 20-year U.S.-led invasion and occupation of the nation now reverting to Taliban rule.
"I stand squarely behind my decision," Biden declared during a 20-minute speech that came amid the Taliban's chaotic reconquest of Afghanistan. "After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces."
"I am deeply saddened by the facts we now face, but I do not regret my decision to end America's warfighting in Afghanistan," the president said. "I cannot and will not ask our troops to fight on endlessly in another country's civil war."
Biden continued:
The events we're seeing now are sadly proof that no amount of military force would ever deliver a stable, united, secure Afghanistan as known in history as the graveyard of empires. What's happening now could just as easily happened five years ago or 15 years in the future. We have to be honest, our mission in Afghanistan has taken many missteps, made many missteps over the past two decades. I'm now the fourth American president to preside over war in Afghanistan, two Democrats and two Republicans.
"I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth president," Biden said. "I will not mislead the American people by claiming that just a little more time in Afghanistan will make all the difference. Nor will I shrink from my share of responsibility for where we are today and how we must move forward from here."
In a stark departure from his predecessor, Biden stated, "I am president of the United States of America, and the buck stops with me," while also acknowledging that the collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government "did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated."
While some progressive observers called Biden's speech "honest,""clear-eyed," and a "refreshing" departure from former President Donald Trump, others accused the current president of "finger-pointing" and minimizing U.S. culpability in a crisis nearly 20 years in the making.
Other progressive politicians, journalists, and advocates eschewed lauding or lambasting the president's speech, instead focusing on the urgent need to evacuate and accommodate as many Afghan refugees as possible amid fear of renewed Taliban atrocities, especially against occupation collaborators.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) responded to Biden's address by asserting that "the urgency of the moment now demands we marshal an international coalition to evacuate every Afghan citizen who is fleeing for their lives."
In a statement, Refugee Council USA said that it "calls upon the Biden administration to bring Afghan refugees to safety immediately."
"America's resettlement agencies and other refugee-serving organizations are ready to help and are capable of welcoming many thousands of additional refugees, Special Immigrant Visa recipients (SIVs), and other Afghans in need of protection with the support of local communities," the group added.
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, noted in a statement that "there are still roughly 80,000 Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders and their families in grave danger—not to mention the tens of thousands in other vulnerable populations, including journalists, women's rights activists, NGO workers, and others."
"To frame the perspectives on U.S. withdrawal as either 'stay in a forever war' or 'save our allies' is a false dichotomy," O'Mara Vignarajah added. "We are simply calling on the administration to keep our promise. Our allies protected us, and in turn, we vowed to protect them. We call upon President Biden to immediately evacuate all U.S. citizens, American-affiliated Afghans, and other vulnerable populations."
The National Iranian American Council called for "immediate steps to support Afghans on the ground and save as many lives as possible," as well as "a shift away from militaristic policies and toward diplomacy-centric approaches that protect human rights and our shared humanity."
During a Sunday, August 15 appearance on Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed President Joe Biden deserves all of the blame for the Taliban recapturing Afghanistan — neglecting to mention that Biden was essentially following the Trump Administration's plan for withdrawal of U.S. troops from that country, although at a slower pace. Pompeo's audacity was not lost on MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan, and the progressive firebrand called him out vehemently on his Sunday night show.
Hasan explained, "Now, as American troops pull out of Afghanistan and everything falls apart, there is an effort to rewrite history — to make it seem like everything we are seeing is all President Joe Biden's fault. And let's be clear: Joe Biden has a lot to answer for. But the reality is, of course, that it is not just the Biden Administration that got us here — as much as Trump and his acolytes might like you to believe."
Hasan played a clip of Pompeo audaciously telling Wallace, "The Biden Administration has just failed in the execution of its own plan…. The plan should have been much like we had…. It's just a plain old fact that this is happening under the Biden Administration's leadership."
And in response to Pompeo's comments, Hasan angrily told viewers, "Wow, big talk from Pompeo. Big talk. But hold on, Mike."
Showing a 2020 photo of Pompeo meeting with the Taliban's Mullah Baradar, Hasan commented, "Who is this in Doha, standing next to Taliban official Mullah Baradar, who is now the de facto leader of Afghanistan? Oh wait, that's you, Mike! That is, of course, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Baradar, who was released from prison in Pakistan in 2018 at the request of the Trump Administration so that he could participate in negotiations. The two of them first met in September of 2020 and again, two months later, in November — because one meeting with the Taliban was not nearly enough for tough guy Mike."
