Wretchard.com

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

Biden’s weak leadership is now America’s top national security threat

The Biden administration has exposed itself as incapable of making basic decisions, and then compounding it with outrageous statements.

“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

International Emmys Takes Back Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Honorary Emmy Award

The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has taken back the honorary Emmy it had awarded then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year. In a statement, the org announced on Tuesday tha…

“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

New U.S. Intelligence Report Doesn’t Provide Definitive Conclusion on Covid-19 Origins

The assessment didn’t yield a definitive conclusion on whether the new coronavirus jumped to humans naturally, or via a lab leak, heightening the challenge of getting answers from China.

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 as possible before the drawdown of US forces begins, possibly at the end of this week.

CNN

US military gives Biden a deadline to decide on extending Afghanistan evacuations

The US military is advising President Joe Biden that he must decide by Tuesday whether to extend the evacuation in Afghanistan beyond August 31, according to a defense official directly familiar with the discussions, though Biden has yet to make a decision.

Her difficult journey contradicts President Biden’s assertion that anyone with an American passports would be allowed through checkpoints.

Daily Mail

British troops help American Washington Post reporter evacuate

British troops evacuating brits from Afghanistan helped escort an American Washington Post reporter Savannah George and her Afghan colleagues to safety in Kabul airport.

New at the Belmont Club. Biden is a bigger strategic danger than the Taliban.

Chaos on the Ground, Collapse at the Top

Command failure

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 the significance.

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 said as a decision, sir,” General Milley said, according to officials with knowledge of the meeting. “Is that correct, Mr. President?”

It was.

NYT

Debating Exit From Afghanistan, Biden Rejected Generals’ Views

Over two decades of war, the Pentagon had fended off the political instincts of elected leaders frustrated with the grind of Afghanistan. But President Biden refused to be persuaded.

He makes a blunder, denies it and doubles down. Some enormous character flaw and dysfunction is driving him to destruction.

His current strategy, incredibly, is that people will forget all about it. That the media will cover for him. But it can’t. He’s causing real damage now to powerful interests. His insurance, the incompetence of Harris, may not save him indefinitely.

“I just had the feeling that he was so wrapped up in the decision itself that he forgot the basics of implementation,” said Leon E. Panetta.

Biden Ran on Competence and Empathy. Afghanistan Is Testing That.

The chaotic endgame of the American withdrawal has undercut some of the most fundamental premises of President Biden’s presidency.

President Joe Biden ignored British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempts to contact him for approximately 36 hours as the Taliban cemented its control over Afghanistan, a report said.

Johnson tried to reach Biden on Monday morning, UK time, but wasn’t able to get him on the phone until 10 p.m. Tuesday (5 p.m. Washington time), according to The Daily Telegraph.

Biden ignored Boris Johnson for 36 hours as Afghan chaos grew: report

President Joe Biden ignored British PM Boris Johnson’s attempts to contact him for approximately 36 hours as the Taliban cemented its control over Afghanistan, a report said.

According to the readout, Macron described the mission to evacuate allies as a “moral responsibility” and told Biden: “We cannot abandon them.”…

The White House version, however, made no mention of a “moral responsibility” to evacuate Afghan allies.

US omits Macron’s plea for ‘moral responsibility’ from record of Afghanistan call

French readout of call with Biden included phrase, with Macron saying of Afghan allies: ‘We cannot abandon them’

In a way the Afghan catastrophe was God’s mercy; or if you prefer to put it another way, a stroke of luck. That might be a strange way of regarding a vast human tragedy, a monstrous betrayal and a sickening display of dishonesty and incompetence. But consider this: the world could have discovered the truth about its institutions and Joe Biden in particular when Russian missiles were inbound over the pole or the Chinese were landing in Taiwan.

Rahm Emmanuel appointed ambassador to Japan.

Harris faces task of convincing Asia of U.S. reliability after Afghan chaos

Vice President Kamala Harris, in a visit to Singapore and Vietnam next week that aims to counter China’s growing influence, will have to contend with a new problem: the collapse of Afghanistan, which has left allies questioning the credibility of U.S. foreign policy promises.

Biden stuns allies with Afghanistan mistakes expected of Trump

‘Greatest debacle that NATO has seen’: Biden stuns allies with Afghanistan mistakes expected of Trump

President Joe Biden’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan has sent a shiver of frustration and bewilderment through allies at home and abroad who regarded his inauguration as a break from former President Donald Trump’s oft-haphazard approach to foreign policy.

Biden has lost support among surveyed voters of all ages, all races, all genders and all political affiliations

Trump Would Beat Biden If Elections Were Today, Poll Shows

A Rasmussen poll shows that Biden has lost support among voters of all ages, races, genders and political affiliations, and if elections were held today, Trump would beat him.

• Biden said there was ‘no way’ to leave Afghanistan without chaos ensuing, but six weeks ago he said a Taliban takeover was ‘highly unlikely’
• Biden said US doesn’t have a military presence in Syria, but 900 troops remain 
• The president took questions from the media for the first time in over a week on Wednesday in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos 
• In one bizarre moment, Biden seemingly brushed off Afghani stowaways so desperate to flee they clung to a departing US plane before falling to their death 

President falsely stated US does not have troops in Syria

President Biden attempted to his explain his administration’s decision to stay the course on Afghanistan withdrawal, at times backing up his point with outright falsehoods.

I keep thinking of Hillary on the night she lost it all, except worse.

Something Is Wrong with the President | National Review

Biden’s latest interview, insistence that he was incorrectly briefed, and low profile amid the Afghanistan crisis all raise troubling questions.