During the White House press briefing today, the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki once again made the claim that no one could foresee the rapid collapse of the Afghan government.  That claim is the White House narrative, and despite the evidence to the contrary they are sticking to it… because a stunningly incurious media is allowing them to.

When questioned about the incompetence of the Biden administration not seeing the Afghan government collapse, Jen Psaki said today: “I don’t think anyone assessed that they would collapse as quickly as they did. Anyone — anyone in this room, anyone anywhere in the world,” Psaki responded, “If you have anyone who did I would be surprised.”

This continued White House claim is disputed by evidence provided by both the intelligence community and internal cables from the U.S.  State Department. Let’s review; first ABC:

ABC NEWS – […]  U.S. officials tell ABC News that the opposite was true, insisting that key intelligence assessments had consistently informed policymakers that the Taliban could overwhelm the country and take the capital within weeks. […] “[U.S.] leaders were told by the military it would take no time at all for the Taliban to take everything,” an anonymous U.S. intelligence official told ABC News. “No one listened.” (read more)

Then there was the internal State Department cables from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, dated July 13th:

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The installed occupant of the White House is scheduled to deliver remarks today attempting to take a victory lap for his efforts in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.  It is highly doubtful he will take questions, because he cannot defend his decision-making which led to the death of 13 U.S. marines and service members.

The effort to distract, obfuscate, cast blame toward others and deny accountability is scheduled to begin at 2:45pm ET with livestream links below:

White House Livestream – Fox Business Livestream –  Alternate Livestream Link

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Fox News host Tucker Carlson opened his show tonight asking some very serious questions about Afghanistan while contrast against a very incurious U.S. media.   The entire opening segment is well worth watching.

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As the chaotic operation to rescue Americans and allies from Afghanistan ends, the Biden administration pushes Secretary of State Anthony Blinken toward the microphones to make a statement.   The anticipated statement is scheduled to begin between 6:30pm and 7:00pm ET.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarks on the situation in Afghanistan from the Department of State’s Treaty Room. U.S. forces have completed their evacuation from Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war.  Update: Video Added

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Centcom Commander Kenneth McKenzie: “I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal in Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals and vulnerable Afghans.”

The last military plane out of Afghanistan departed at 3:29 p.m. on the East Coast — that’s 11:59 p.m. in Kabul. We are officially out of Afghanistan.  According to General McKenzie, “The vast majority of U.S. citizens who wanted to leave, were evacuated.”  However, he later continued, “There’s a lot of heartbreak. We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out.”

Attempting to reassure the nation of the federal government’s competence in the aftermath of a devastating Hurricane Ida, Joe Biden introduces the woke FEMA officials who will be coordinating the recovery effort.   The outcome was, unfortunately, exactly what you would expect.

Within the confidence building effort, Biden introduces “his boy” Senior Advisor and Director of Public Engagement, Cedric Richmond.  Things go downhill from there:

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Team one (DoS/CIA) are really putting Team two (WH/DoD) on the defensive with this leak.  [Pentagon video at bottom]

According to a Politico report, using leaked classified intelligence from the U.S. intel community, the Pentagon knew well in advance that a suicide bomber was coming to the Abbey Gate long before the explosion.  According to the leak, the military knew where and when the attack was coming; and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned allies to avoid the area.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chief’s Chariman Mark Milley, and CentCom Commander General Kenneth McKenzie all knew in advance the Abbey Gate was going to be bombed on Thursday, yet they kept the gate open.

(Politico) – Just 24 hours before a suicide bomber detonated an explosive outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, senior military leaders gathered for the Pentagon’s daily morning update on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

Speaking from a secure video conference room on the third floor of the Pentagon at 8 a.m. Wednesday — or 4:30 p.m. in Kabul — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin instructed more than a dozen of the department’s top leaders around the world to make preparations for an imminent “mass casualty event,” according to classified detailed notes of the gathering shared with POLITICO.

During the meeting, Gen. Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned of “significant” intelligence indicating that the Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate, ISIS-K, was planning a “complex attack,” the notes quoted him as saying.  Commanders calling in from Kabul relayed that the Abbey Gate, where American citizens had been told to gather in order to gain entrance to the airport, was “highest risk,” and detailed their plans to protect the airport.

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A very interesting internal dynamic amid U.S. institutions and their media PR networks solidifies around a lengthy Washington Post report about the day Kabul fell to the Taliban.   It’s not the story per se’ that provides the clarity, although the details are interesting; but rather the intent of the narrative around the story putting accountability for the lack of Kabul security upon the Pentagon.

Remember, Team #1 (State Dept./CIA) use CNN and the Washington Post; while Team #2 (White House, Pentagon, NSC)  do not.

The internal battle amid U.S. government institutions, two teams, in the Afghanistan-crisis blame game, are reflected by this organizational relationship between two U.S. Govt. factions and their media allies.  The overarching problem in this part of the blame game is the security situation in Kabul, specifically the lack of security which led to a terrorist attack that killed 13 American service members at the Kabul airport and wounded hundreds more.

According to the Washington Post outline, the Taliban offered to stay out of the capital city until the U.S. military had departed; however, during an in-person meeting between the head of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, and U.S. Central Command Commander, Kenneth F McKenzie, the U.S. general told the Taliban to take the city but leave them the airport.

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There have been various and increasing ¹reports all day that a Biden-authorized U.S. drone strike targeting ISIS-K, in retaliation for their Kabul terrorist attack, not only killed Islamic terrorists, but also killed allies, innocent civilians and children.

[NOTE: I hate to keep harping on this, but it is important context. Remember CNN represents the official position of the State Dept. If CNN reports it, that is Team #1 (Dos/CIA), positioning a narrative to put Team #2 (White House and Pentagon) in a compromising position.]

New York Post – Multiple Afghan civilians, including relatives and children, were reportedly killed in Sunday’s US airstrike near the Kabul airport.

US officials said the drone strike wiped out a vehicle carrying multiple suicide bombers that posed an “imminent ISIS-K threat” to the city’s airport.

The exact amount of casualties was not immediately clear, but a relative of those killed told CNN that nine of his family members died in the drone strike. Six children, ranging in age from 2 to 10, and three adults were among the dead, the relative told the news outlet. (read more)

[Original CNN report HERE] – As the media start to pick up the story, dig and verify the reports of innocents as collateral damage, unbelievably U.S. Central Command (Centcom) releases a public statement seemingly admitting to the issue.

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Secretary of State Tony Blinken appears on several friendly news shows this morning, as he attempts to walk through the aftermath of a massive U.S. crisis created by a botched withdrawal effort from Afghanistan.  The bodies of dead U.S. service members are looming in the background, and the Biden administration is desperate to exit from this problem.  [NBC HERE and ABC HERE]

Notable in the spoken language, as well as the visible physical and mental discomfort, is Blinken’s tenuous position as head of a Deep State operation he does not control.  The career officials within the Dept of State, the CIA and the broader intelligence community, view Blinken as a temporary apparatchik of the Biden administration, and their current position is aligned against him.  That reality is visible in Blinken’s extremely nervous expressions.

The unelected operators, bureaucrats within the Department of State (DoS), make U.S. foreign policy from within the executive branch. There is a pretense promoted by media that the executive branch, specifically the President of the United States, is controlling the internal mechanism of the U.S. State Department, but that’s a ruse. If it were true, the State Department would act like they had accountability to someone or something; they do not.

Team Obama, those in power over the Democrat political mechanisms, are using the Biden crew as useful and disposable idiots. Because Biden was installed, not elected, the Chicago crew are actually in a great position as all the political consequences can fall upon Biden administration personnel, and the people truly in control are isolated and invisible from any repercussions.  It is a very interesting dynamic.

Making the issue even more interesting is the institution under Blinken -which he doesn’t control- is aligned with CNN, CNNi and WaPo.  As a consequence, the Biden administration cannot rely on CNN or the Washington Post and has to stick to the traditional alphabets (ABC, CBS, NBC). (more…)