In the call, Biden offered aid if Ghani could publicly project he had a plan to control the spiraling situation in Afghanistan. “We will continue to provide close air support, if we know what the plan is,” Biden said. Days before the call, the U.S. carried out air strikes to support Afghan security forces, a …
Continue reading “Biden lectures himself against nation building”
When Taliban fighters seized control of Kabul two weeks ago, the invading units made a beeline for two critical targets: the headquarters of the National Security Directorate and the Ministry of Communications. Their aim — recounted by two Afghan officials who had been briefed separately on the raid — was to secure the files of …
But it also contains details on the individuals’ military specialty and career trajectory, as well as sensitive relational data such as the names of their father, uncles, and grandfathers, as well as the names of the two tribal elders per recruit who served as guarantors for their enlistment. This turns what was a simple digital …
Continue reading ““They should also have thought of securing it””
On Saturday night I had just sat down to have a drink with a friend when he got a call. He apologized for having to take it, but it was urgent: it was about the Afghan women’s orchestra. They were stuck in Kabul and desperate to get out. He was involved in the effort to …
New at the Belmont Club. The enemy always gets a vote, however masterful Washington’s new plan.
Joe Biden “will remember” comments about his mental acuity emanating from senior figures in the UK, and will “bear a grudge” against Britain, sources told the Telegraph Telegraph
President Joe Biden said Friday that China was withholding “critical information” on the origins of Covid-19 after the US intelligence community said it did not believe the virus was a bioweapon — but remained split on whether it escaped from a lab. Yahoo
Pakistan, nominally a U.S. partner in the war, was the Afghan Taliban’s main patron, and sees the Taliban’s victory as its own. But now what does it do with its prize? NYT
The US president has also reaffirmed the 31 August deadline for troops to leave Afghanistan and says forces will fly out as many people as possible before that date. SBS
But with no “smoking gun” and limited access to raw data, discussion of the science has played out in a haze of circumstantial evidence … international scientists tasked with studying the virus’ origins warned Wednesday that another crucial window is “closing fast”: the shrinking opportunity for any thorough scientific study to be completed. As time …
Continue reading “Biden covid origin deadline ends with bupkis”
Kentucky’s Republican congressmen are asking President Joe Biden to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan until all Americans and Afghan allies have been evacuated. McClatchy
The Biden administration has exposed itself as incapable of making basic prudential decisions, and then compounding it with outrageous statements by the president, Pentagon brass, and the State Department that have many Americans asking, “What were you thinking?” The Hill
“in light of the New York Attorney General’s report, and Andrew Cuomo’s subsequent resignation as Governor, it is rescinding his special 2020 International Emmy Award. His name and any reference to his receiving the award will be eliminated from International Academy materials going forward.” Variety
“It was a deep dive, but you can only go so deep as the situation allows,” one U.S. official said. “If China’s not going to give access to certain data sets, you’re never really going to know.” WSJ
Military advisers have told the White House that the decision must be made by Tuesday in order to have enough time to withdraw the 5,800 troops currently on the ground, as well as their equipment and weapons. If the President agrees, the military anticipates “a few more days” of trying to evacuate as many people …
Continue reading “US military gives Biden a deadline to decide on extending Afghanistan evacuations”
Her difficult journey contradicts President Biden’s assertion that anyone with an American passports would be allowed through checkpoints. Daily Mail
New at the Belmont Club. Biden is a bigger strategic danger than the Taliban.
Biden makes a potentially huge and elementary mistake in the full view of America’s enemies. He is basing his extraction actions on his estimate of the Taliban’s intentions and what he perceives to be “their self-interest” rather than US capability. Time is working against him and for the enemy, and he seems not to appreciate …
Continue reading “Biden doesn’t trust the Taliban but he’ll count on them”
He [Biden] wanted all American troops out of Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon. In the Oval Office, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wanted to make certain. “I take what you …
Continue reading “Next time lower the lifeboat before abandoning ship”
