We were going to put together a piece on just this, but Tucker Carlson summed it up so well, he made every point that needed to be made. Mainly, who is going to assume responsibility for the disaster that took place in Afghanistan?
“The captain goes down with the ship” is a maritime tradition that a sea captain holds ultimate responsibility for both their ship and everyone embarked on it, and in an emergency will either save those on board or die trying. Although often connected to the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912 and its captain, Edward J. Smith, the tradition precedes Titanic by at least 11 years. In most instances, the captain forgoes their own rapid departure of a ship in distress, and concentrates instead on saving other people. It often results in either the death or belated rescue of the captain as the last person on board.
Now do Afghanistan.
@%^*!*& says
‘Who is going to take responsibility for Afghanistan?’ you ask.
China Joe owns it.
Stuart Bell says
Along with everyone that voted for him and helped to steal the election.
David Moore says
ALL OF THEM
Paul Plante says
What world is Tucker Carlson living in?
This is America!
Or maybe Murka, now, it has become so stupid, ignorant and moronic, and in Murka, NOBODY in government is held responsible for anything, for by and large, the American people, who themselves are irresponsible, simply don’t care.
As to the question of the hour, mainly, who is going to assume responsibility for the disaster that took place in Afghanistan?
Joe Biden already has:
Remarks by President Biden on the End of the War in Afghanistan
AUGUST 31, 2021
THE PRESIDENT: In April, I made the decision to end this war.
We were ready when they and the people of Afghanistan watched their own government collapse and their president flee amid the corruption and malfeasance, handing over the country to their enemy, the Taliban, and significantly increasing the risk to U.S. personnel and our Allies.
The decision to end the military airlift operations at Kabul airport was based on the unanimous recommendation of my civilian and military advisors — the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all the service chiefs, and the commanders in the field.
Now, some say we should have started mass evacuations sooner and “Couldn’t this have be done — have been done in a more orderly manner?”
I respectfully disagree.
Imagine if we had begun evacuations in June or July, bringing in thousands of American troops and evacuating more than 120,000 people in the middle of a civil war.
There still would have been a rush to the airport, a breakdown in confidence and control of the government, and it still would have been a very difficult and dangerous mission.
The bottom line is: There is no evacuatio- — evacuation from the end of a war that you can run without the kinds of complexities, challenges, and threats we faced.
None.
Paul Plante says
Joe Biden will be held accountable for nothing and we are getting handed the bill for his incompetence, because we are stupid and don’t really care:
REUTERS
“White House asks Congress for funding on Afghanistan and hurricanes”
By Trevor Hunnicutt
SEPTEMBER 7, 2021
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden’s aides on Tuesday asked Congress for billions in new funds to deal with hurricanes and other natural disasters as well as the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan.
The White House said in a blog post at least $24 billion in new money will be needed for disasters, including Hurricane Ida, and $6.4 billion will be needed for the Afghan evacuation and refugee resettlement.
About 124,000 people were evacuated last month from Kabul in a U.S.-led airlift of U.S. and other foreign citizens as well as vulnerable Afghans as the Taliban took control of the country during the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The evacuation was one of the largest airlifts in history but thousands of at-risk Afghans and about 100 U.S. citizens have remained behind.
Biden’s acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Shalanda Young, said in a blog post that some of the temporary funding would go to still-unmet needs from prior hurricanes and wildfires even as the government responds to Hurricane Ida.
She also said most of the funds directed toward the Afghan effort would be for sites to process refugees from the country recently overtaken by the Taliban as well as public health screenings and resettlement resources.
Stuart Bell says
No Honor:
https://www.breitbart.com/news/statue-of-confederate-gen-robert-e-lee-dismantled-in-virginia/
David Moore says
You DEMOCRATS are getting EVERYTHING you voted for! Swallow it ALL!
Douglas Coburn says
Tell that who flew into Afghanistan with one-third of our AirForce’s C17 to evacuate as many as they could. Nothing pretty about it but Americans stood tall.
Note: Bad logistics, complete stupidity, complete corruption. Stay tuned, we have much more to come.
H. Jones GMCS ret says
‘Americans Stood Tall’ ???????
Bless your liberal democrat heart.
Could it be any more obvious that the Democrat actions
are all about pandering to their various constituent
groups — and not about Public health?
This occurred after pushback from the Postal Union:
— “US Postal Service workers are NOT included in —
— President Biden’s federal vaccine requirement” —
But the Democrat Globalists have declared war on your freedoms.
— This new “plan” is brought to you by the same Globalist
Political Operatives that gave you a Border Control Plan
that destroyed your borders — an Afghanistan Withdrawal
that lead to disaster — and who contributed your tax dollars
to the “Gain of Function” efforts in China that weaponized the
very Virus we are dealing with now. They used their wisdom to conclude that this was a very good idea.
— This is not a classic “vaccine.” It is an experimental
injection. — Once you take the injection, you cannot untake it.
— Remember the example of Israel, where high injection rates and various social controls have resulted in high Covid-19 occurrence rates in “break through cases.” And the suggested “fix” by Big Pharma and their Political Operatives is to mandate more and more of their “Product” be purchased by the government and injected into your body.
Paul Plante says
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, August 24, 2021
AUGUST 24, 2021
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
3:43 P.M. EDT
Q And on the statement that you just put out about a half hour ago about the August 31st deadline and sticking to it.
The President has — allies both here at home and abroad have wanted him to push that deadline back some.
And also, critics of the President are speaking out very strongly on his decision.
What do you say to those who are criticizing the President by sticking to this deadline?
It amounts for him to — capitulating to the Taliban.
MS. PSAKI: Well, first — and I think — I’m just going to read the statement.
I know a number of you have seen it, but just in case, because I think it has quite a bit of additional context that is not exactly aligned in — you know, he stuck with the deadline, as you just conveyed.
During a meeting this morning with the G7 leaders, the President conveyed that our mission in Kabul will end based on the achievement of our objectives.
That is a key component there.
He confirmed we are currently on pace to finish by August 31st.
As you all know, in the last nine days, we have effectively helped evacuate 57,000 people, and that has continued to escalate the number of people we’re getting out each day.
And our focus is — continues to be on evacuating Americans who want to come home, third-country nationals and Afghans who were our allies during the war.
He also made clear that with each day of operations on the ground, we have added risk to our troops with increasing threats from ISIS-K, and that completion of the mission by August 31st depends on continued coordination with the Taliban, including continued access for evacuees to the airport.
In addition, as we noted in the statement, he asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the timeline, should that become necessary.
So I think there’s quite a bit of context in there, including the threat from ISIS-K, which is quite real, and one that we are tracking and monitoring very closely from our national security and intelligence teams, to the continued cooperation of the Taliban as it relates to getting American citizens and our key allies on the ground to the airport.
And the third, of course, is ensuring that we have contingencies should they be needed.
So, I think those are pretty important caveats in the reporting.
Go ahead.
Q If you do have to adjust the timeline, how long are you talking about?
MS. PSAKI: I’m not going to get ahead of any contingency plans that are drawn up by the State Department and the Defense Department.
As you all know, the President has been meeting and being — and attended and participated in briefings with his national security team once a day, sometimes twice a day; is in constant and regular contact.
And I suspect we’ll get some updates in short order.
Q And when do you need to start pulling troops out of the Kabul Airport to make — to meet the August 31 target?
MS. PSAKI: It’s a great question, Steve.
I just don’t want to get into operational details that are under the purview of the Department of Defense.
Go ahead.
And you are correct — I will note that it would not be — there would have to be time in advance of the 31st or time in advance of whatever the date is in order to do that.
But they can give you the operational details.
Go ahead.
Q So does that mean that the evacuations will stop before the actual 31st so then there is time to get the troops and their machinery and weaponry out of there?
MS. PSAKI: That would be correct, yes, that there would need to be time to wind down the presence.
Paul Plante says
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, August 24, 2021
AUGUST 24, 2021
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
3:43 P.M. EDT
Q And then, is the CIA Director now the chief negotiator for the U.S. in Kabul?
And how long does he plan to stay there?
MS. PSAKI: I certainly understand your question.
I’d refer you to the CIA on any specific questions about his location or specific role.
Go ahead.
Q For a little bit of clarity — because minutes and hours matter here —
MS. PSAKI: Sure.
Q — when we talk about August 31st, is the understanding between the U.S. and the Taliban that that ends at midnight at the end of August 31st Afghan time, American time?
Is it the end of the 30th heading into the 31st?
When exactly is the deadline as it currently exists?
MS. PSAKI: It’s really a great question, and I want to give you a very clear and articulate answer from the team on the ground, so I’ll just have to get back to you on that to make sure we give you the accurate information.
Q So what is the last — I know that you’re continuing to do this actively —
MS. PSAKI: Yeah.
Q — as you indicated to one of my colleagues a moment ago.
Obviously, there’s going to be time needed to be able to get out the American troops and others who are helping facilitate this process.
What is the last call for Americans on the ground there to come to the airport at Kabul?
MS. PSAKI: We are in touch with Americans directly, and we have contact with — and I can give you an overarching — an overall assessment of where we stand with that, if that’s helpful as well.
But I’m not going to give you more of an articulation of that from here.
Q Are there any active threats?
You talked about, in that statement, the threat that’s posed by ISIS-K, but are there any active threats to Kabul, to HKIA, right now?
MS. PSAKI: I’m not going to give you an intelligence assessment from here either, but I can convey to you that we have increasing concerns about the threats, and that is certainly a part of the President’s assessment and decision making.
Paul Plante says
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, August 24, 2021
AUGUST 24, 2021
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
3:43 P.M. EDT
Q And the final question: If the Taliban said that staying past the 31st was going to provoke a reaction, and then President Biden decides, “Okay, we won’t stay,” do they have the same kind of influence over military planning as the Commander-in-Chief?
MS. PSAKI: Well, first of all, Peter, the Taliban’s deadline was May 1st — struck in a deal with the prior administration.
The President’s timeline was August 31st.
That’s the timeline he set and a ti- — and a period of time he needed in order to operationalize our departure from Afghanistan.
I’d also note that, as I said — as we conveyed in the statement — that our objective and our focus, and the focus of the Commander-in-Chief, is always going to be on the safety and security of the men and women who are serving our country in the military.
And that has to be a factor here, and that certainly is a factor for him as he thinks about the timeline.
Paul Plante says
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, August 24, 2021
AUGUST 24, 2021
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
3:43 P.M. EDT
Q Putting aside the specific activities of the CIA Director, why did the President decide to dispatch him to meet with the Taliban?
MS. PSAKI: I’m just not going to have any more on this.
As we’ve noted and confirmed many times in the past, we are in regular contact with the Taliban.
They are currently overseeing most of the country of Afghanistan, so, by necessity, that’s part of the jobs of our national security team.
But for any details on the CIA Director, I’d point you to the CIA.
Paul Plante says
Jen sounds like she is getting a bit testy and snippy there with that comment of hers: “I’m just not going to have any more on this.”
I guess she made that pretty clear that that is a verboten subject with her and Joe Biden whose mouthpiece she is.
Paul Plante says
I wonder what Jen will have to say about this:
“Fort Bliss: Female military service member assaulted by Afghan evacuees, FBI investigating”
Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times
25 September 2021
A female U.S. military service member was assaulted by male evacuees at the Doña Ana County Range Complex where Afghan refugees are being housed, Fort Bliss officials said.
The woman, whose name and age were not released, was assaulted Sept. 19 by a “small group of male evacuees” at the complex in New Mexico, Fort Bliss officials said.
The incident is being investigated by the FBI.
“We take the allegation seriously and appropriately referred the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Fort Bliss officials said in an emailed statement.
“The safety and well-being of our service members, as well as all of those on our installations, is paramount.”
No details on the assault or the suspects have been released.
The victim was “immediately provided appropriate care, counseling and support,” officials said.
The victim is among 1,000 service members who are part of Operation Allies Welcome.
The U.S. operation is to “support vulnerable Afghans, including those who worked alongside us in Afghanistan for the past two decades, as they safely resettle in the United States,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The number of refugees at the Doña Ana County Range Complex was not immediately available.
Thousands of refugees have come to the U.S. after fleeing Afghanistan as the U.S. ended its 20-year presence there in late August.
Officials said additional security and safety measures are being put into place at the complex.
“Task Force-Bliss is also implementing additional security measures to include increased health and safety patrols, additional lighting, and enforcement of the buddy system at the Doña Ana Complex,” officials said.
“We will cooperate fully with the FBI and will continue to ensure the service member reporting this assault is fully supported.”
Paul Plante says
Jen sure is good at the old duck-and-dodge and giving them the fast shuffle:
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, August 24, 2021
AUGUST 24, 2021
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
3:43 P.M. EDT
Q Say, after the withdrawal — it’s done; the U.S. declared it’s done; everyone is out — if one U.S. citizen was suddenly discovered, you know, saying, “Hey, I really want to get out and I’m stuck” — who knows where; somewhere in Afghanistan or in Kabul, (inaudible) got any problem — would this trigger a diplomatic, military, all-hands-on-deck-type thing to get that person out, whatever the date?
MS. PSAKI: Our commitment continues to be to U.S. citizens: If they want to leave, we will help get them out.
Q No matter what the date?
MS. PSAKI: Again, we expect there could be some, but I don’t — I’m not going to get into it further.
Paul Plante says
I wonder why the media never asks her, when she says “I’m not going to get into it further,” “WHY NOT, JEN, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO HIDE?”
The American people who aren’t DEMOCRATS and don’t drink Biden KOOL-AID really would like to know!
And Jen while we have you on the line here, with respect to your comment to the media on August 24, 2021 where in answer to a question you told the gullible media “But as the President of the United States and the Commander-in-Chief of this country, he has to factor in their security, their safety,” you are dead wrong.
Joe Biden IS NOT the Commander-in-Chief of this country!
We are Americans, Jen!
We are a FREE PEOPLE!
We DO NOT have Joe Biden as a Commander-in-Chief over us!
He is a public servant ANSWERABLE TO US, not the other way around!