TRAGEDY: Biden breaks promise to 'stay' in Afghanistan until every American evacuated

By Jessica Chasmar | Fox News

Biden promised in interview: 'If there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay to get them all out'

President Biden appears to have broken his promise to stay in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated. 

Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. announced Monday evening that the last of the U.S. troops stationed at the Kabul airport had left, completing the military’s drawdown in the country, even though hundreds of Americans likely remain.

McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, said some American citizens who wanted to leave Afghanistan remained in the country. 

"We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out," he said.

President Biden told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos during an interview on Aug. 18 that the U.S. military objective in Afghanistan was to get "everyone" out, including Americans and Afghan allies and their families. 

"That's what we're doing now, that's the path we're on. And I think we'll get there," he said. "If there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay to get them all out."

A senior State Department official told Fox News on Monday that there remained a "small number" of Americans inside Afghanistan. 

That official put the number of Americans at "below 250," adding that some additional Americans have departed Afghanistan in recent hours. The official added that the State Department also was committed to evacuating "those who worked with us," referring to Afghan "partners."

The announced end of the withdrawal came less than a day before the official deadline agreed to by the Taliban, which was 3:29 p.m. ET Tuesday – 11:59 p.m. local time in Kabul, U.S. defense officials told Fox News.

The Taliban have said they will allow normal travel after the U.S. withdrawal, once they assume control of the airport.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Nick Kalman contributed to this report.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-breaks-promise-stay-afghanistan-every-american-evacuated

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Almost 90 Retired Flag Officers Demand Mark Milley, Lloyd Austin Resign After Afghanistan Debacle

By Jordan Davidson | The Federalist

Photo YouTube/Photo

Nearly 90 retired U.S. generals and admirals penned an open letter asking Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley to resign from their positions following their “negligence in performing their duties primarily involving events surrounding the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

“As principal military advisors to the CINC [Commander-in-Chief]/President, the SECDEF and CJCS should have recommended against this dangerous withdrawal in the strongest possible terms,” the letter states. “If they did not do everything within their authority to stop the hasty withdrawal, they should resign. Conversely, if they did do everything within their ability to persuade the CINC/President to not hastily exit the country without ensuring the safety of our citizens and Afghans loyal to America, then they should have resigned in protest as a matter of conscience and public statement.”

This “hasty retreat,” the letter continues, not only left thousands of vulnerable Americans and Afghan allies stranded at the hands of the Taliban but also contributed to the “catastrophic” loss of “billions of dollars in advanced military equipment and supplies falling into the hands of our enemies.”

“The consequences of this disaster are enormous and will reverberate for decades beginning with the safety of Americans and Afghans who are unable to move safely to evacuation points; therefore, being de facto hostages of the Taliban at this time. The death and torture of Afghans has already begun and will result in a human tragedy of major proportions,” the letter says. “The damage to the reputation of the United States is indescribable. We are now seen, and will be seen for many years, as an unreliable partner in any multinational agreement or operation. Trust in the United States is irreparably damaged.”

This damaged trust, the retired generals and admirals argue, gives confidence to U.S. enemies who “are emboldened to move against America due to the weakness displayed in Afghanistan.”

“China benefits the most followed by Russia, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea and others. Terrorists around the world are emboldened and able to pass freely into our country through our open border with Mexico,” the letter states.

The letter also points out how military leadership’s focus on “wokeness” is hurting the viability of U.S. troops and the military as an institution.

“In interviews, congressional testimony, and public statements it has become clear that top leaders in our military are placing mandatory emphasis on PC ‘wokeness’ related training which is extremely divisive and harmful to unit cohesion, readiness, and war fighting capability,” the letter says. “Our military exists to fight and win our Nation’s wars and that must be the sole focus of our top military leaders.”

“For these reasons we call on the SECDEF Austin and the CJCS General Milley to resign,” it concludes. “A fundamental principle in the military is holding those in charge responsible and accountable for their actions or inactions. There must be accountability at all levels for this tragic and avoidable debacle.”

“Simply stated, the letter is all about accountability. One of the things that makes our great military unique as an institution is the fundamental principle of holding each other accountable for our actions, or inactions. Regarding the tragic and avoidable situation in Afghanistan, accountability begins at the top of the chain,” Retired Maj. Gen. Joe Arbuckle told The Federalist in a statement.

Over the last week, multiple GOP lawmakers called on President Joe Biden to resign for “dereliction of duty that has left Americans dead at the hands of terrorists.”

Jordan Davidson is a staff writer at The Federalist. She graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/30/almost-90-retired-flag-officers-demand-mark-milley-lloyd-austin-resign-after-afghanistan-debacle/

 

Marine officer speaks out after firing, issues new warning to top military leadership: 'Every generation needs a revolution'

BY CHRIS ENLOE | The Blaze

The Marine officer who was fired after speaking out against top military leadership for the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal has issued a new warning to those same leaders.

What is the background?

Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller went viral last Thursday after posting a video online demanding accountability for senior military leaders who helped President Joe Biden facilitate the now-deadly Afghanistan withdrawal.

In the video, Scheller explained that he had questions for his "senior leaders," and inquired whether those leaders bucked details of the White House's Afghanistan withdrawal plan, such as the decision to surrender Bagram Air Base.

"Did anyone do that? And when you didn't think to do that, did anyone raise their hand and say, 'We completely messed this up?'" he said.

Later in the video, Scheller directly blamed "senior leaders" for letting down the country. He called out Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and Marine Commandant Gen. David H. Berger.

"The reason people are so upset on social media right now is not because the Marine on the battlefield let someone down," Scheller said. "That service member always rose to the occasion and has done extraordinary things. People are upset because their senior leaders let them down and none of them are raising their hands and accepting accountability or saying 'we messed this up."

On Friday, Scheller revealed on Facebook that he had been "relieved for cause based on a lack of trust and confidence."

What is Scheller saying now?

The decorated Marine spoke to the New York Post and issued a warning about accountability coming for top military leaders.

"The baby boomer's turn is over," Scheller said. "I demand accountability, at all levels. If we don't get it, I'm bringing it."

According to the Post, Scheller also quoted Thomas Jefferson, saying, "every generation needs a revolution."

The New York Post also spoke to Scheller's father, Stuart Scheller Sr., who described his son as "the real deal, a Marine's Marine."

"People will follow him to the ends of the earth. He has put his life on the line for fellow Marines so putting his career on the line like this does not surprise us," Scheller Sr. said. "It's interesting that no one [in the military] has answered his call for accountability. Their answer was to fire him I guess. It's a sad day for America."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/stuart-scheller-warning-accountability-military-leaders

Non-Compliance and Freedom from Tyranny: The Movie

By Krisanne Hall

The movie “Non-compliant” shows why and how the states must refuse to recognize an unlawful use of power and declare it null and void.

It brings into sharp focus how our inalienable rights protected by our Constitution are being usurped by the power-hungry and corrupt tyrants running the federal government.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE NON-COMPLIANT MOVIE BY KRISANNE HALL

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Justice Kavanaugh Schools Joe Biden on the Constitution

BY RICK MORAN | P J MEDIA

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File, Pool)

Supreme Court justices are not in the habit of schooling presidents about the ins and outs of the United States Constitution. It’s assumed that anyone who achieves such high office has a passing familiarity with our founding document.

But Joe Biden apparently needs some remedial learning. He had his administration sent letters to state and local officials urging that they block unnecessary residential evictions after the high court’s 6-3 decision calling the president’s ban on evictions unconstitutional.

It’s the second time the court has said so, and Biden’s actions make it clear he doesn’t get it. In late June, the Supreme Court refused to extend the eviction moratorium that had been in place since March of 2020 citing overreach by the Centers for Disease Control. Justice Kavanaugh wrote for the majority.

“[C]lear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation) would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31.”

U.S. News:

The Biden administration letter to state and local authorities suggested they enact their own eviction moratoriums, noting that six states and the District of Columbia have already done so.

It said state and local courts should also require landlords to apply for rental assistance that was approved in COVID-19 legislation earlier this year before commencing eviction proceedings. The letter said the Treasury Department is working with state and local governments to get the aid “out the door and into the hands of renters and landlords.”

Unconstitutional means unconstitutional. The ball is clearly in Congress’s court — the same place it’s been since the pandemic began.

But democracy is just too hard for the left. It’s so much easier to have the courts take a shortcut through the law and dare the Supreme Court to quash it.

Wall Street Journal:

The Court’s eight-page unsigned opinion lifts a district court stay on its own injunction and makes unequivocally clear that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t come close to having legal authority to ban evictions. Landlords “not only have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits—it is difficult to imagine them losing,” the Court writes.

In fact, this is not a problem for the courts. It is a governing problem — namely, incompetent governing.

There are at least $42 billion dollars in rental assistance sitting in state coffers waiting for state and local bureaucrats to get the money to people who need it — renters who are on the verge of being evicted. Congress has taken action to address the problem. But activists are weeping for the “millions facing eviction” because the Supreme Court decided to impose a little constitutional order on the process.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the opinion last June that spanked the president for his constitutional ignorance.

“The CDC has imposed a nationwide moratorium on evictions in reliance on a decades-old statute that authorizes it to implement measures like fumigation and pest extermination,” the Court explains. “It strains credulity to believe that this statute grants the CDC the sweeping authority that it asserts.” Under the government’s argument, there’s no limiting principle to CDC authority.

“No limiting principle”? It’s almost like Kavanaugh was using flashcards to school a slow learner in the classroom.

“Could the CDC, for example, mandate free grocery delivery to the homes of the sick or vulnerable? Require manufacturers to provide free computers to enable people to work from home? Order telecommunications companies to provide free high-speed Internet service to facilitate remote work?” the opinion muses.

The left has stupidly decided to make the eviction moratorium part of their “compassion theater” that substitutes for constitutional government. They are in the wrong. They know it. But they can’t resist the siren call of social justice.

Perhaps Kavanaugh shouldn’t have given the left any ideas about what they can do next to “help people.”

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/08/29/justice-kavanaugh-schools-joe-biden-on-the-constitution-n1473953?utm_source=pjmedia&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm&newsletterad=&bcid=227841a8b1ca836b99e21ea36efa6859&recip=28551147

Biden's Pentagon Won't Tell Anyone Who Was Killed In That Drone Strike They Say Happened

BY BRYAN PRESTON | P J MEDIA

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Simple question: Why?

At this point, the Pentagon is best known for publicly downplaying the threat the Taliban posed for taking over all of Afghanistan, and for greenlighting closing its largest operational base in Central Asia. It’s still purging competent minds but retaining and encouraging its woke drones. Gen. Mark Milley, the 21st-century version of Gen. Custer, still has a job.

Biden has lied, or remains unaware, about the fact that our allies are livid at him and questioning whether working with the United States is in their interests anymore. The Biden government hasn’t been straight about anything, from the number of stranded Americans to who is on the planes getting out to the inflation it has unleashed on the country. This regime still thinks white supremacy is a greater threat than the monsters they’ve unleashed and armed in Afghanistan.

One hesitates to go down the “question the timing” route, but the fact is the Pentagon needed a good news story after weeks of humiliating disaster and a terrorist attack that has now claimed 14 American lives. The Pentagon has also bought into the “over-the-horizon” approach to terrorism.

Suddenly, BOOM, it had a positive story that just happens to fit the over-the-horizon narrative. Supposedly.

It’s told us nothing specific about the strike that it says it carried out — not the targets, not so much as a sketch of the intelligence that led up to the strike, not the time or location other than an entire province in Afghanistan — Nangarhar. That’s in eastern Afghanistan, so near Pakistan, so we can do some very rough math from that. But it’s still a fairly big place.

We’ve seen no video or image. And it’s refusing to name the individuals it claims have been turned into pink mist.

Again, why?

There might be a valid reason or two. This arrogant administration isn’t bothering to offer one, if there is one. The two most plausible reasons are that the targets weren’t really high-level, or there was no strike. Or maybe they don’t really even know who they killed.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/bryan-preston/2021/08/28/bidens-pentagon-wont-tell-anyone-who-was-killed-in-that-droke-strike-they-say-happened-n1473771?utm_source=pjmedia&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm&newsletterad=&bcid=227841a8b1ca836b99e21ea36efa6859&recip=28551147

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Department of the Indefensible: Who Decided to Close Bagram Air Base and Why?

Joe Biden Has Been Derelict In His Duty. He Is Unfit To Lead. He Should Be Impeached

By John Daniel Davidson  | The Federalist

The deadly attacks in Afghanistan should be the final straw for Biden, whose incompetence has now cost the lives of at least a dozen American soldiers.

Joe Biden is not capable or competent to hold the office of the presidency. If there were any doubt on this point, his press conference Thursday evening in the wake of a pair of coordinated suicide bombings in Kabul should put the matter to rest.

The first blast Thursday killed 13 U.S. soldiers at a Kabul airport gate, along with scores of Afghans. Another bomb at a nearby hotel killed dozens more. Between the two blasts, as many as 170 people perished, not counting the U.S. service members. Hundreds more were injured, and according to U.S. officials there may be more attacks coming.

Whatever the final body count is, Thursday was the deadliest day for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since 2011, and the first time since February 2020 that any U.S. service members have been killed in action there. When the smoke finally clears, one thing is certain: Biden has been derelict in his duty, he is unfit to lead, and he should be impeached.

At his press conference Thursday evening, the president was slow and appeared at times to be confused, his answers rambling and unclear. When the time came to take questions, he said he’d been given a list, and had “been instructed” to call on certain reporters. It was a moment of quiet dread when we all saw confirmed again, before a gaping world, that although Biden is the president, he’s not actually running the country.

Of course Biden’s bizarre behavior at the press conference, although deeply disturbing, does not alone justify impeachment. Rather, it’s his fecklessness and incompetence, his failure to protect Americans in the evacuation of Afghanistan, and his inability to speak clearly and honestly about the situation, that justifies impeachment at this point.

Throughout this crisis, Biden and his White House have been evasive, defensive, and cruelly indifferent to a disaster entirely of their own making. The bare minimum for a commander in chief in this scenario is to be clear and forthright with the American people about what it will take to get Americans out safely, and what will happen if we can’t get them out by the August 31 deadline. Instead, the Biden administration has blamed Donald Trump, ducked questions, stonewalled, and generally contributed to the deadly chaos still unfolding in Afghanistan.

Indeed, what this means for the ongoing evacuation is unclear. It might well be over, at this point. News reports out of Kabul indicate the U.S. military is welding shut the gates of the airport complex, which could mean an abrupt end to evacuation efforts for an estimated 1,500 American citizens, at least, still trapped in Afghanistan.

If that is the case, we are now facing the worst hostage crisis in American history.

Some of our allies have already acknowledged as much. On Thursday, many of our North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies announced they were ending evacuation efforts, frankly conceding they are leaving behind citizens still stranded in and around Kabul.

In a press briefing Thursday, Gen. Kenneth Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said he expects these attacks to continue but that the U.S. military will press on with its evacuation mission. It’s unclear, though, what that will look like, given what’s happened and the likelihood it will happen again before the military can get American citizens, to say nothing of U.S. soldiers and equipment, out of Kabul.

For much of the day on Thursday, Biden was again absent and the White House silent. Hours before the president addressed the nation, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke about the attack in Kabul. David Marcus rightly noted how disturbing it was that the British prime minister would speak publicly about the attack before the U.S. president did.

Indeed, five hours after the attacks on Thursday, the only public communication from the White House was a statement about the celebration of “Women’s Equality Day.”

The administration’s silence continues to be matched by its incompetence. Later on Thursday, Politico reported that U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders, and Afghan allies to grant entry into the airport complex, a move that sparked outrage among lawmakers and military officials. “Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” one defense official told Politico. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.”

Even before the deadly attacks on Thursday, Sen. Lindsay Graham this week called for Biden’s impeachment, citing “dereliction of duty by the commander-in-chief.” Graham is of course a foreign policy neocon who, if he had his way, would continue the war in Afghanistan in perpetuity. But Republican calls for Biden’s impeachment or resignation swelled to a chorus after the Thursday attacks, and rightly so.

Some on the right will protest that impeaching Biden will only give us President Kamala Harris, thrusting from the frying pan into the fire. Maybe so. But at least a President Harris would know what was going on and could be held answerable for it. At least we would know who’s running the country.

Some will also object that any impeachment, given the state of American politics, will perforce be merely political, or be seen as such by half the country. Maybe so. But unlike Democrats’ two impeachments of former President Donald Trump, impeaching Biden over his Afghanistan disaster isn’t about political theater. Recall that Trump was impeached the first time for a perfectly legitimate phone call, and the second time for giving an innocuous speech to his supporters.

The impeachment of Biden, by contrast, would be about basic competence and confidence and Biden’s ability to execute his sworn duties as president. He has shown that he is unfit and incompetent. Now Congress should do its duty, and impeach him.

John is the Political Editor at The Federalist. Follow him on Twitter.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/27/joe-biden-has-been-derelict-in-his-duty-he-is-unfit-to-lead-he-should-be-impeached/

BOMBSHELL: U.S. Officials Handed Taliban a List of Names of Americans and Afghan Allies

BY KEVIN DOWNEY JR. | P J MEDIA 

(AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

In a move no one can grasp, U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders, and Afghan allies, believing the Taliban would allow them to enter the militant-controlled outer perimeter of the city’s airport. Lawmakers and military officials are outraged.

The insane move was designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Kabul by the August 31 deadline. It also came as the Biden administration began relying on the Taliban for security outside the airport. ISIS-K has since set up forces around the soon-to-be-renamed Hamid Karzai International Airport.

FAST FACT: The Taliban has a history of executing Afghans who have worked with American and NATO forces.

“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.”

The region surrounding the Kabul airport is out of control. More attacks are expected.

President Biden assured the nation there wouldn’t be a “Saigon moment” in Kabul, but thus far it seems far worse.

The U.S. recently pulled out military personnel, only to return several thousand more to help with the evacuation.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/kevindowneyjr/2021/08/26/bombshell-u-s-officials-handed-taliban-a-list-of-names-of-americans-and-afghan-allies-n1473191

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Reports of Multiple Additional Explosions Near Kabul Airport

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DEVASTING AD EXPOSES THE BIDEN DISASTROUS DEFEAT IN AFGHANISTAN.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE AD

BREAKING: At Least Ten Marines Are the First American Military to Die in Afghanistan Since February 2020

BY KEVIN DOWNEY JR. | P J MEDIA

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Fox News is reporting that at least ten U.S. servicemembers have been killed today, and the number is likely to rise.

Today marks the first time since February 2020 that American military forces were killed in action in Afghanistan.

Two suicide bombings killed at least 40 people today, and wounded another 120, outside of the Hamid Karzai International Airport. One attack occurred at the airport’s Abbey Gate and the other was very near the Baron Hotel, where U.S. and UK military and journalists are staying.

The attacks today killed four U.S. Marines and injured another three, marking the first American military deaths in Afghanistan since February 8, 2020, when two American soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing.

The soldiers killed on February 8, 2020, were Sgt. 1st Class Javier Jaguar Gutierrez, 28, of San Antonio, Texas; and Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rey Rodriguez, 28, of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Both soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

The names of the U.S. Marines killed today have not yet been released.

The situation in Afghanistan remains fluid and information is rapidly coming in.

GRAPHIC. Video from Afghanistan shows dozens of people killed and injured in today’s attacks.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/kevindowneyjr/2021/08/26/four-marines-are-the-first-american-military-to-die-in-afghanistan-since-february-2020-n1473002?utm_source=breakingemail

 

 

 

Dozens of California children, parents stranded in Afghanistan after summer trip

By Sarah Taylor | The Blaze

Photo by AFP via Getty Images

Dozens of San Diego County-area school students and their parents are stranded in Afghanistan, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times, after taking a trip abroad for summer vacation.

What are the details?

The outlet reported that at least 24 students and 16 parents from Cajon Valley Union School District in El Cajon, California, visited Afghanistan earlier this summer and are now among the thousands of people who are stranded in the war-torn country as the Taliban continues to take over.

On Tuesday, Cajon Valley Superintendent David Miyashiro announced that the students and adults traveled to the country on special visa for U.S. military services, and that the Department of Defense "considers them allies." He also noted that he would be meeting with Republican California Rep. Darrell Issa to figure out how to locate and rescue the stranded families.

It was not immediately clear at the time of this reporting when the families arrived in Afghanistan.

A spokesperson for Issa told the outlet that the congressman and his team are "working diligently to determine the facts on the ground, any bureaucratic barriers that can be removed, and the best ways to help those stranded leave Afghanistan and return home safely."

"We won't stop until we have answers and action," the spokesperson vowed.

Cajon Valley School Board President Tamara Otero said that the "biggest concern" is that the Taliban closed the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

"We are so worried about our students that are stuck there," Otero said. "We'll do the best that we can to get them out."

The New York Post reported that the trip — which was not sanctioned by the district — was for students and their parents to visit with extended relatives.

What else?

The Taliban this week demanded the evacuation operations, including U.S. troops, be completed by Aug. 31 or there would be "consequences."

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Tuesday declared that no Afghan nationals would be permitted to flee the country, and that U.S. troops would not have any option to extend the evacuation order past the Aug. 31 date.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen added that the U.S. would face "consequences" for failing to adhere to the terrorist group's demand.

"It's a red line," Shaheen warned. "President [Joe] Biden announced that on Aug. 31 they would withdraw all their military forces. So if they extend it, that means they are extending occupation."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/california-children-parents-stranded-afghanistan

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US Embassy issues urgent warning to Americans at Kabul airport to leave over 'security threats'

By Carlos Garcia | The Blaze

Image Source: ABC News YouTube screenshot

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued an urgent warning to Americans to leave the airport over unspecified "security threats" on Wednesday.

The travel warning was the latest in the ongoing crisis involving Americans stranded in Afghanistan after the fall of the government to Taliban militants.

The statement warned Americans to stay away from the Kabul airport while those who were at several airport gates were told to leave immediately.

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TWEET

Travel - State Dept

@TravelGov

#Afghanistan: Due to threats outside the Kabul airport, US citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates unless you receive instructions to do so. Those at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately. http://ow.ly/chJu50FYgpW 

 ---

The statement did not specify whether the threat was from the Taliban militia, who control the city outside of the airport, or from ISIS terrorists. The Associated Press reported that the threat involved potential vehicle bombs targeting Americans and others.

The Biden administration has been excoriated by critics accusing them of poorly planning the withdrawal. President Joe Biden blamed the Afghanistan army and claimed that none of his advisors foresaw the government collapsing so quickly before the Taliban.

The Biden administration had also been reticent to produce solid figures about how many Americans were trapped in Afghanistan. On Wednesday Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that they believed 1,500 Americans were still waiting to be evacuated. Of those, 500 had been instructed on how to leave the country.

"From the list of approximately 1,000, we believe that the number of Americans actively seeking assistance to leave Afghanistan is lower, and likely significantly lower," Blinken said.

The Taliban has warned the U.S. against leaving any military presence in the country past the August 31 deadline. Biden has vowed to evacuate all Americans from the country before the deadline, but he was unable to say what his plan would be if he were unable to do so.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki appeared uneasy about the possibility of Americans left behind after the deadline.

"Again, we expect there could be some, but I don't — I'm not going to get into it further," Psaki said.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO

https://www.theblaze.com/news/afghanistan-embassy-terror-threat-americans#toggle-gdpr

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Mutilated body of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui discovered in Afghanistan after being left behind; Afghan general says Taliban likely culprit

By Sarah Taylor

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui is dead after having inadvertently been left behind in Afghanistan in July during an Afghan military retreat.

Reuters reports that Major-General Haibatullah Alizai and other soldiers say that Siddiqui was likely discovered and ultimately murdered by the Taliban.

Just three days ahead of Siddiqui's violent death, Reuters published an account of the late photographer's experience in Kandahar accompanying Afghan commandos in a rescue mission.

What are the details?

According to reports, Siddiqui, a 38-year-old Reuters photographer, was said to have been killed on July 16 along with two Afghan commandos after the military retreated in a fight to to take Spin Boldak, near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Alizai, commander of the country's Special Operations Corps, and four other soldiers said that Siddiqui and the two commandos were reportedly mistakenly left behind "after the soldiers believed the three already retreated."

At least one mutilated body was reportedly discovered in Taliban custody, and reports soon emerged suggesting that neither Siddiqui nor the two commandos made it out of the town to safety after all.

Images of the late photojournalist's body reportedly began circulating on social media, and was ultimately identified and recovered after Reuters and Forensic Equity recognized the body as belonging to Siddiqui.

Forensic Equity ballistics expert Philip Boyce said that it was "evident" that Siddiqui was "shot multiple further times after he was killed."

Reuters added that other reports also claimed that Siddiqui's body, in addition to being shot and mutilated, was also run over by a vehicle.

A spokesman for the Taliban denies it had any role in Siddiqui's death.

"We can't say whose bullet hit Danish Siddiqui, and we had no prior information about him being in the area," the spokesman said.

Siddiqui leaves behind a wife and two young children.

According to The Hill, Siddiqui told his boss that he felt compelled to cover Afghanistan in the weeks leading up to the country's collapse.

"If we don't go, who will?" he reportedly told his superiors ahead of departing to cover the terrorist-ravaged country.

Reuters stated that it completed a risk assessment before Siddiqui embedded with the country's Special Forces.

"Don't worry," he reportedly told a concerned friend. "I know when to pull the plug."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/mutilated-body-of-pulitzer-prize-winning-photojournalist-danish-siddiqui-discovered-in-afghanistan-afghan-officer-says-taliban-likely-culprit

Americans Await Evacuation As Biden Takes A Knee To Taliban

By I & I Editorial Board

When President Joe Biden met with this year’s WNBA champions Seattle Storm in the White House on Monday, he took a symbolic knee, apparently to show he’s Woke. No surprise. He just took a knee before the Taliban, too, after the terrorist group’s humiliating rejection of his request for an “extension” on his Aug. 31 deadline for evacuating Afghanistan.

Biden’s plans, if you can call them that, to get Americans out of Afghanistan have been an epic disaster. It’s almost impossible to exaggerate the incompetence and duplicity of Biden and his administration.

Biden rejected extending the deadline, citing the “increased risk” of terrorism as a reason for doing so. The fact is, he really had no choice, after the Taliban rejected the U.S. plea, calling the Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal a “red line.” The U.S. president did what the Taliban told him to do.

That rejection, by the way, came after Biden sent CIA Director William Burns to Kabul for emergency talks with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar. Baradar sent Burns packing with nothing for his efforts, another humiliation.

“If the U.S. or U.K. were to seek additional time to continue evacuations, the answer is no,” said Taliban official Suhail Shaheen. “Or there would be consequences.”

Adding insult to injury, Biden told our allies that the U.S. “won’t be able to get everyone out of Afghanistan,” according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, twisting the knife, the Taliban demanded that the U.S. take only Americans, not Afghans, with them.

Late in the day, facing a barrage of criticism from all quarters, Biden appeared to abruptly change tack, calling for “contingency plans” for lengthening the withdrawal, whatever that means.

It’s almost impossible to exaggerate the incompetence and duplicity of the Biden administration, which in a brief two-week period has managed to alienate and weaken our major allies while emboldening and empowering our foes, in particular Russia, China, Iran and the myriad Islamist terrorist groups across the Mideast and South Asia.

And things are about to get even uglier in Afghanistan, if that’s possible.

The good news is that, as of Monday, the U.S. had already helped evacuate 37,000 people from Afghanistan, according to a leaked ambassadorial communication. The bad news: Only 4,000 Americans were among those evacuated.

The U.S., despite having the biggest airlift capacity on Earth, has had to rely on private carriers to evacuate the country, at the same time doing little to get stranded American citizens into the airport, say some.

“The South Africans, the Brits, the Qataris, their ambassadors have been getting safe passage for people to the airport,” said former congressman and one-time Navy SEAL Scott Taylor, who is working with others to privately evacuate people from Kabul.

Taylor, in remarks to the Daily Caller, called the U.S. refusal to aid private groups such as his “frustrating” and, in even blunter terms, a “massive f*#k up.”

There remain 15,000 more Americans and at least 50,000 Afghans to be evacuated, according to recent U.S. estimates. But even the Biden administration admits it doesn’t know how many Americans are even there.

From initial assurances that all would be rescued to Biden’s more recent comment that the U.S. “won’t be able to get everyone out,” it now looks as if a nightmare scenario is unfolding.

It includes possible mass hostage-taking or imprisonment of Americans as “spies,” with abuse, torture and possibly even executions for some. We’ve been here before. Remember the 444 days in Iran from 1979 to 1981, under the Ayatollah Khomeini? The Taliban is even worse. And it’s terrifying to think what it’ll do to those Afghans who helped us these past two decades.

In addition to gifting the now-national Taliban army with billions of dollars in spanking-new U.S. rifles, missile launchers, aircraft and even uniforms, we have now created the potential for “Largest Hostage Crisis in American History,” as Commentary online called it.

Begging terrorists for help is a huge mistake for a superpower. Our willful weakness makes the world a far more unstable and dangerous place than it already is.

Do the Democrats in Congress care? It doesn’t seem so. They’ve been moving forward on other things, even as they criticize and distance themselves from the increasingly isolated, politically damaged and mentally failing Biden. His public approval in nearly every poll has collapsed, and Democrats fear the taint of his failure going into 2022.

While the rest of us worry about the utter implosion of U.S. foreign policy, the loss of our prestige and power around the world, and the tragedy of the Afghan people and Americans trapped in Kabul, Democrats in Congress have had their eyes on the real prize.

With little fanfare, they just announced a $3.5 trillion spending bill that if passed into law will put Americans further in hock for decades to come, raise taxes, kill thousands of small businesses, add to already soaring inflation and give government unprecedented control over all aspects of American life.

“Never let a good crisis go to waste,” as the Democrats like to say.

Whether they now try to remove political liability Biden via the 25th Amendment, making Kamala Harris president, or wait and take their chances in the 2022 midterms, remains to be seen.

But Biden’s total lack of competence can no longer be doubted. He’s failed to push back against the murderous Taliban, set up the possible re-establishment of both al-Qaida and ISIS in Afghan territory, and in effect asked for a mass hostage crisis. Such ineptitude isn’t mere bureaucratic failure; it’s deadly.

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/08/25/americans-await-evacuation-as-biden-takes-a-knee-to-taliban/