Evacuations continue but advisors are urging Biden to extend the August 31 deadline. The Taliban has warned staying past August will “provoke a reaction.”
Summary
The Taliban are closer to full control of Afghanistan, retaking three northern provinces while Western nations have airlifted nearly 60,000 individuals over the past 10 days.
- The United States evacuated the most people in a day since the evacuations began as President Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the administration is talking with the Taliban “on a daily basis” to facilitate the safe passage of Americans to Hamid Karzai International Airport.
- Despite previous restrictions on their mission limiting them to the airport, American military personnel carried out at least one rescue mission to bring Americans to the airport for evacuation.
- With just a few days left before the August 31 deadline for withdrawal, Democrats in Congress are skeptical that timetable can be kept, which the Taliban warns is a “red line” that will “provoke a reaction” if extended.
- A virtual G-7 summit over the Afghanistan disaster is scheduled today, which is expected to show rifts between Biden and European leaders “appalled by missteps in the [Afghanistan withdrawal] operation.”
- The situation in Afghanistan has extended to economic crisis as inflation and currency devaluation are expected.
- The Washington Post reported on the “mounting global pressure” the Biden administration is under to extend its mission past August 31, which will force other Western nations to pull out if it is not prolonged.
- CNN’s Chris Cillizza attempted to justify Biden’s Afghanistan policy by arguing his “bet” that Americans won’t care about it by the time of the next election.
- Slate reported on a top military officer under Presidents Bush and Obama who backed a “nation-building” mission now having a change of heart and admitting Biden “got it right” in 2009 when as Vice President he advocated for a more limited mission in Afghanistan.
- The Washington Examiner reported on the admission by the Biden administration it delayed evacuations in the preceding months to prevent the collapse of the Afghan government.
- OANN highlighted President Trump’s latest statement blasting the Biden administration, saying “Biden’s biggest mistake was not understanding that the Military has to be last out the door, not first out the door. Civilians and equipment go first and then, when everyone and everything is out, the Military goes.”
- The Daily Caller ran an exclusive report on the Biden administration’s actions stymying the efforts of private organizations conducting their own evacuations out of Afghanistan, saying they have not gotten any support from the U.S. government.
Author’s Take
The Afghanistan debacle is an example of elite institutions failing us. With respect to foreign policy, Biden declared “America is back” and that “the adults are back in the room”, yet their clever machinations and feeble attempts at geopolitical chess have yielded nothing but disaster.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
