Yesterday during a press briefing, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley was adamant from his podium when he proclaimed: “There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days.” WATCH (25 secs):

Unfortunately for General Milley, today reports are surfacing that 23 State Department staff at the Kabul embassy informed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken of exactly that…. Kabul will fall quickly to the Taliban:

[Via Wall Street Journal] … “The cable, sent via the State Department’s confidential dissent channel, warned of rapid territorial gains by the Taliban and the subsequent collapse of Afghan security forces, and offered recommendations on ways to mitigate the crisis and speed up an evacuation, the two people said.

[…] In all, 23 U.S. Embassy staffers, all Americans, signed the July 13 cable, the two people said. The U.S. official said there was a rush to deliver it, given circumstances on the ground in Kabul.  The cable was sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Director of Policy Planning Salman Ahmed.

Mr. Blinken received the cable and reviewed it shortly after receipt, according to the person familiar with the exchange, who added that contingency planning was already under way when it was received, and that Mr. Blinken welcomed their feedback.” (link – paywall)

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The message from one of the leading democrats in the House to stranded Americans in Afghanistan is: “you’re on your own.”   John Garamendi (CA) told CNN the U.S. military should not try to rescue stranded Americans outside the Kabul airport.  This rings a familiar Benghazi bell…

This is a remarkable statement considering Garamendi is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and one of the key people who supported, funded and authorized the current mess in Kabul. While his outlook is representative of the ideology of leftists, it is still quite alarming to see a leading U.S. political figure telling desperate Americans there will be no help coming.

Keep in mind the British forces are conducting search and rescue missions to extract their stranded citizens.  Quite a contrast. Watch this statement from John Garamendi:

This sounds like a massive hostage situation now….

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President Trump previously agitated NATO allies by demanding they keep their pledges and pay for NATO defense security.  However, President Trump never drew the level of criticism on display yesterday from the U.K. Parliament,  who angrily aligned from across the political aisles to hold Joe Biden in contempt for his unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan without discussing the issues with NATO.

According to British media,  Joe Biden would not take the calls from U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson for 36 hours as the crisis unfolded.  The British and allied forces were scrambling to secure their own troops and diplomats with no guidance or contact from the White House.

Labour and Conservative parties expressed a united anger and frustration toward a failed and inept U.S. administration during their session to challenge Boris Johnson on the events and crisis.

According to the U.K . Telegraph (paywall)– “Joe Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal was condemned as “catastrophic” and “shameful” on Wednesday as the Houses of Parliament delivered an unprecedented rebuke to a US president.

MPs and peers from across the political spectrum, including Boris Johnson, put some blame for the Taliban’s takeover and the chaos that followed on Britain’s closest ally.

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Political ads showcasing the ineptitude of the current White House occupant and his ideological incompetents have begun.  Joe Biden makes these ads easy, because every segment of the administration is failing miserably…. the most recent example is obviously Afghanistan.

Here is a sample of the ads. WATCH:

https://youtu.be/ZuhGtMMnmts

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Oh boy, Lara Logan appeared for an interview with Tucker Carlson [Full Article Here] and shouts a big trumpet.  In essence, Ms. Logan points out the current situation in Afghanistan is exactly the outcome those controlling the Biden administration want.   There is a benefit to someone or some group in the current outcome; because if there wasn’t, the outcome would be different.

I happen to agree with this perspective because there are so many options that could have been taken before this point in the crisis was reached. We have seen this play out before [Bathtub Principle] where a crisis is created because the crisis has a purpose.

In Libya rather than Hillary Clinton and CIA Director Leon Panetta getting busted for selling surface-to-air missiles (SAMS) to al-Qaeda (Operation Zero Footprint), the State Department and CIA -essentially brother and sister agencies- helped “the Benghazi rebels” take over the Kadaffi weapons caches.  If SAMS were then used elsewhere (Syria), well, they came from Kadaffi’s stores… see how that works?

Based on current political alignment, alliances, and the ideology behind who is in charge of specific U.S. government agencies, it can reasonably be assumed someone (insert Obama here) wants Pakistan and Iran to have advanced military technology via the stolen weapons we leave behind in Afghanistan.  Why? Because those same people already made money selling advanced military tech to Iran, and this ‘crisis’ provides cover when it shows up later in their arsenal.

https://youtu.be/GD9JRcbGx90

Now, REMEMBER that thing about “Weird Stuff” FIRST…. then keep reading.

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President Trump called in to Greg Kelly at Newsmax TV for a discussion of the cascading crisis in Afghanistan.  President Trump outlines in plain speak what his plan of action was during the draw-down from Afghanistan and the absolute mess created by Biden.  WATCH:

Segment 2 below:

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chief’s Chairman Mark Milley held a Pentagon press briefing today about the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. [Full Presser Here] As the Taliban has taken full control over the country and capital, the U.S. presence in Kabul has been reduced to securing the airport as a temporary fortress, and telling U.S. citizens to try and get there.

When asked about the Taliban surrounding the airport, constructing checkpoints and the inability of Americans to reach safety for evacuation, Defense Secretary Austin said the military “don’t have the capability to…extend operations.”  The follow-up question was then about the U.S. essentially having to negotiate safe-passage with the Taliban… and rather than say, “Yes, that is accurate“, the question left Secretary Austin speechless.  WATCH:

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Ooof… THAT, my friends, is exactly what FUBAR looks like!

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We must be cautious in reviewing any/all media articles about the fluid situation in Afghanistan, as both Leftist and NeoCon media are framing the crisis story to fit their preferred narrative.  All DC media reporting should be viewed through the prism of cynicism and skepticism.

CNN is reporting the State Dept. Narrative that Taliban have surrounded the Kabul airport and there is no safe way for Americans to reach the evacuation point.   However, the Pentagon is reporting that the Taliban is “not interfering in their mission” to facilitate the evacuation of Americans, and  Taliban members “are not stopping U.S. citizens with American passports” from traveling to the airport.

When we review a State Department position (DoS) on anything, it should be noted that DoS personnel are, by ideological tribe, very dramatic, tender and pearl-clutching leftists in their worldview.  State Department officials are the wokeist of the international woke community. As a consequence of their alignment and role,  CNN is almost identically predisposed to the dramatic flair.

CNN takes the DoS bulletin and proclaims that Americans are trapped outside the airport by the Taliban. There is no evidence of this claim being accurate. There’s a difference between “we cannot ensure safe passage”, and “your passage is unsafe.”  Yes, things are sketchy and unstable, but there have been no reports of safety incidents with any Americans.

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The FUBAR in Afghanistan is so large in scope and failure, the Pentagon appears to be throwing the White House under the bus; and they are being considerably obtuse while doing it…. or are they?

If these reports from Daily Mail and Wall Street Journal are accurate, the Pentagon is claiming that Joint Chief’s Chairman General Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Joe Biden about the pending collapse of Afghanistan if 2,500 troops were removed.   However, both Milley and Austin are on record only a few weeks before the collapse saying exactly the opposite.

(Via Wall Street Journal) –  In his Monday speech defending America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden said he would not shrink from his share of responsibility.

That would include his decision to bring home U.S. troops, which was made against the recommendations of his top military generals and many diplomats, who warned that a hasty withdrawal would undermine security in Afghanistan, several administration and defense officials said.

The president’s top generals, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, urged Mr. Biden to keep a force of about 2,500 troops, the size he inherited, while seeking a peace agreement between warring Afghan factions, to help maintain stability. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who previously served as a military commander in the region, said a full withdrawal wouldn’t provide any insurance against instability.

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Earlier this evening President Trump appeared for a lengthy and detailed interview with Sean Hannity.  The topic of the failed Biden administration effort to withdraw from Afghanistan was the primary focus.  [Note: These raw videos are likely to be removed overnight. If you missed it, watch while you can].

https://youtu.be/2tNSQBOdi3Y

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