Category: The Afghan Debacle
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The black hole of Aghanistan
SIGAR (the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction) was established in 2008 to serve as an oversight body. It conducts audits of reconstruction projects and its mission is to look for waste and fraud. In the wake of the collapse of the Afghan government last year, SIGAR was asked by Congress to look into the…
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Rumor Of War
Joe Doakes from Como Park emails: Ukraine and Kazakhstan border on Russia. They are all mobilizing troops along the borders. Secretary of State Blinken says NATO never promised not to admit new members, and that the United States is fully committed to defending the principles NATO stands for. The US has moved an aircraft carrier…
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The Math
The Biden administration did its unearned victory lap yesterday, in of the most catastrophically bad speeches I’ve ever seen – a formidable bar indeed for our senescent president. But the worst part? The Administration brags about getting around 120,000 people out in the “biggest airlift in history” (not even close to the Berlin Airlift 73…
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The First Domino
Joe Doakes from Como Park emails: So the US got tossed out of Afghanistan, so what? How does our retreat-in-disgrace affect the rest of the world? Maybe not so good. If the US isn’t willing or able to exercise competent military actions, the nations which have been relying on us for defense, begin to look…
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Turnabout
President Trump used to say that, with him as president, we would win so much, we would eventually get tired of it. I don’t know about that. But after eight months of this administration, I am sure as hell tired of losing.
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The Drones Of August
One of my favorite rhetorical easy hits – one I use a lot, but then it’s apposite so very very often – is “I don’t believe so and so intended to (implement some current fiasco that so and so is involved with) – but if he did intended it, what would he have done differently?”…
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Dear Hollywood
To: HollywoodFrom: Mitch Berg, Irascible Peasant and Lapsed Movie-GoerRe: Planning Dear Moguls, Get an option in on this story. Stat. And don’t put some moron who cut his/her teeth writing comic book movies on the job of writing the screenplay; the story calls for someone of David Mamet’s stature and talent. Nothing less. Don’t f***…
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Our New, New Normal
Over the past few days, there’s been an undercurrent on social media of people saying the implosion of Afghanistan, culminating [1] in yesterday’s suicide-bomb attack killing (so far) 10 Marines and close to 100 people all told was “the angriest/saddest they’ve felt since 9/11”. For me? In some ways, it’s worse. 9/11 wasn’t a “surprise”,…
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They Say…
…to never ascribe to malice what can just as easily be chalked up to stupidity. I try to live by that advice. But with God as my witness, sometimes it’s so, so very very hard: U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies…