Tag: Afghanistan Withdrawal

Commentary: Reversing the Military Decline

RealClearWire
Marine Corps

Since 2020, the nation’s military has undergone one of the most humiliating periods in its history. The disgraceful rout at Hamid Karzai International airport during the Afghanistan withdrawal. Soon after, the decrepit state of naval maintenance and shipbuilding is the worst since the Navy’s founding.

Further compounding the humiliation, the Marine Corps has been castrated into a regional force whose legendary force in readiness is being replaced by a combination of colonial light infantry and coastal defense artillery.

Read the full story

Trump Campaign, Blackburn Hit Biden Administration over Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal

Peter D'Abrosca
Joe Biden

As the third anniversary of the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan that left 13 American soldiers dead and hundreds of Americans stranded nears, both former President Donald Trump’s campaign and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) criticized Democrats for the failed operation.

“On this day 3 years ago, Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss of Tennessee was tragically killed because of Biden & Harris’ colossal failure in pulling out of Afghanistan,” Blackburn said on X. “May we never forget the 13 brave servicemembers who lost their lives because of this administration’s negligence.”

Read the full story

Commentary: Typically, That General Is Removed

RealClearWire
General Kenneth F. McKenzie

by Stuart Scheller   Do general officers have an obligation to publicly tell the truth? I have an interesting perspective on this question. Currently, the Marine Corps teaches my story at the E-8 seminar (senior enlisted school). If you remember, I was the Marine officer who, via video, made a plea for accountability from military leaders who purposely abandoned Bagram airbase, American citizens and American military sacrifices. Shortly thereafter, I was fired, placed in solitary confinement and kicked out of the military short of my retirement. My story is not used to discuss leadership failures and operational mistakes during the Afghan withdrawal, but as a case study on why not to publicly criticize leadership. Military culture clearly signals: Making leadership look bad is far more dangerous than obediently failing. To date, not a single military leader assumes accountability for their failures at the end of Afghanistan. CNN recently published an article titled, “New evidence challenges the Pentagon’s account of a horrific attack as the US withdrew from Afghanistan.” It offers new video evidence and first-hand accounts of a significant gunfight following the suicide bomb attack in Kabul, during the American withdrawal. The article illustrates more facts contradicting the current political administration, and,…

Read the full story

Biden Administration Stiffed Nonprofit That Helped with Afghanistan Withdrawal, Virginia Democrats Claim

Tom Pappert
Tim Kaine

The Biden State Department reportedly failed to pay nearly $700,000 to the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS), a nonprofit partnership of Virginia governments, hospitals, and other private sector groups, after it was called to support the Biden administration’s relocation of Afghan citizens in the aftermath of the 2021 withdrawal of the United States military from Afghanistan.

A letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken detailing the unpaid debt was signed by six Democrats representing Virginia in Congress, including Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, as well as Representatives Jennifer Wexton (VA-10), Don Beyer (VA-08), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), and Gerry Connolly (VA-11).

Read the full story

Biden Admin Granted 34,000 Special Visas to Refugees After Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal

Admin
Afghanistan Refugees

The State Department has granted tens of thousands of visas to Afghans who aided the U.S. government following the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, according to a Thursday report from the lead inspector general to the United States Congress.

The Biden administration withdrew all American forces from Afghanistan in 2021, leading to a widespread takeover of the region by the Taliban and the displacement of millions of Afghans, according to the Wilson Center. As part of the U.S. effort to bring in refugees escaping Afghanistan, the State Department has issued approximately 34,000 special immigrant visas (SIV) to Afghans and their immediate family members, according to the Inspector General report released Thursday. 

Read the full story

New State Department Report Says Biden Didn’t Know Who Was in Charge of Afghanistan Debacle

Admin

The Biden State Department did not have clarity on who was in charge of coordinating the department’s role in the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, a report released on Friday found.

A State Department after-action review team found fault with both the Biden and Trump administrations for contributing to the chaos of the August 2021 military withdrawal, which left the Afghan government vulnerable to collapse and contributed to a massive effort to evacuate thousands of Americans and allies afterward, the report shows. While the U.S. military had contingency planning for an evacuation of Kabul in place “for some time” ahead of when the withdrawal was ordered in August in 2021, the State Department’s participation in the operation “was hindered by the fact that it was unclear who in the Department had the lead.”

Read the full story

Rep. Paul Gosar Slams Biden on One-Year Anniversary of Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Neil Jones

Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar released a statement slamming President Joe Biden’s botched operation to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan on the first anniversary of the incident.

“One year ago today, Joe Biden, and his incompetent woke military leadership, made the disastrous decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and surrender over $80 billion in equipment to the Taliban,” Gosar said. “I mourn for the thousands of our soldiers who died valiantly in a two decade military campaign that was mishandled from the start by poor leadership.”

Read the full story

VA-10 GOP Nominee Hung Cao: Focus on Economy and National Security

Eric Burk

GOP nominee for Virginia’s tenth congressional district Hung Cao said his top priorities if he’s elected to Congress will be the economy and national security.

“We have to stabilize this economy. This is spiraling out of control,” Cao told The Virginia Star. “We have to cut spending. This is not just about my kids and your kids, but our grand kids and our great grand kids. This is going to resonate for years.”

Read the full story

Congressman Burchett: Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal ‘Gave Vladimir Putin the Green Light to Invade Ukraine’

Cooper Moran

Congressman Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) on Tuesday argued that President Joe Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal laid the foundation for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine.

The Ukraine-Russia conflict has reached a boiling point amid weeks of increasing tensions. In an address to Russian citizens, Putin recognized the “independence” of two regions in Ukraine. Following the speech, he ordered troops into the regions to keep “peace.”

Read the full story

Biden Rejects U.S. Army Report Detailing Failures of Afghanistan Withdrawal

Admin

In an interview on Thursday, Joe Biden outright rejected an official investigative report by the United States Army that highlighted many of the failures that led to the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

As reported by the Daily Caller, the 2,000-page report was released by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request this week. The report included the sworn testimony of multiple commanders who were on the ground in Afghanistan and witnessed the failed withdrawal firsthand.

Read the full story

Biden’s Average Approval Rating Drops Below 40 Percent

Admin

President Joe Biden’s nationwide average job approval rating fell below 40% for the first time Thursday, multiple sources reported.

Biden’s mean approval rating sunk to 39.8% as of early Thursday, according to the Real Clear Politics average of major nationwide job performance polls. The figure is just 2.7 points above former President Donald Trump’s all-time low approval rating of 37.1% in December 2017, according to the Real Clear Politics average.

Read the full story

Poll Shows More Americans Worry About Inflation Than COVID

Admin

Despite the mainstream media hysteria over the Chinese coronavirus, a new poll shows that a broader swath of Americans continue to care more about inflation and other more direct economic issues.

As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, the poll was conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research throughout the month of December, with its findings released on Monday. In the poll, 37 percent of Americans believe that the coronavirus should be the government’s top priority in 2022. Last year, that number was 53 percent.

Conversely, 68 percent believe the economy should be the top focus instead. Of those 68 percent, 14 percent specifically named inflation as a major issue; last year, only one percent of respondents worried about inflation, which has since risen to a 40-year high under Joe Biden’s watch.

Read the full story

State Department Launching Investigations into Afghanistan Withdrawal

Admin

The State Department’s inspector general will investigate the Biden administration’s diplomatic operations in Afghanistan, a spokesperson confirmed with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The series of investigations will tackle a range of issues, from the State Department’s Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, to the processing of Afghans who applied for refugee admission into the U.S, to the resettlement of those refugees and visa recipients, according to an Oct. 15 action memorandum to Secretary of State Antony Blinken first obtained by Politico.

Read the full story

Republicans Demand Release of Marine Lt. Col. Jailed for Criticizing Afghanistan Withdrawal

Admin
Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller

Republican lawmakers in both houses of Congress are demanding that the United States Marine Corps release a Lieutenant Colonel who was jailed earlier this week for criticizing military leadership after the failed Afghanistan withdrawal, Breitbart reports.

A Marine spokesperson confirmed that Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller is currently in pre-trial confinement in the Regional Brig of Marine Corps Installations East, in Camp Lejeune, as he awaits an Article 32 hearing. Although he has not yet been formally charged, Scheller faces the possibility of being charged under a handful of articles, including “contempt toward officials” (Article 88), “willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer” (Article 90), “failure to obey lawful general orders” (Article 92), and “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman” (Article 133).

Scheller first made his criticisms in a viral video he posted to Facebook on August 26th, the same day that a suicide attack at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital city of Kabul claimed the lives of 13 American servicemembers, as well as hundreds of Afghan civilians. Scheller demanded accountability from military leadership for a withdrawal that has been universally viewed, both domestically and internationally, as a disaster.

Read the full story

Private Afghanistan Evacuation Team Criticizes Biden Administration Officials Who ‘Did Absolutely Nothing’ to Help Girls Escape Taliban

Admin
Afghan women refugee settlment

The Biden administration ignored several pleas for help from an American evacuation team in the waning days of the Afghanistan withdrawal, emails reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation show.

The team had contacted senior officials in the administration to help evacuate people from Afghanistan before the U.S. withdrawal, according to emails obtained by the DCNF. They were working to get Americans and vulnerable Afghans out of the country, but it was a difficult task to do alone, according to the team.

Robert Stryk, who earlier spoke with the DCNF about his frustrations with the administration before Aug. 31, said Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer failed to act on his team’s desperate pleas for help in getting hundreds of girls out of Afghanistan as the U.S. withdrawal deadline approached.

Read the full story

First Afghan Refugees Resettled in ‘Top Destination’ Phoenix

Peter D'Abrosca

The first of hundreds of Afghan refugees have been settled in the Phoenix area, which is being described as a “top destination” for those displaced after the U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover of the country. 

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey thanked the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), along with Cindy McCain, the widow of former Arizona Senator John McCain, for assisting in the refugee resettlement process. 

Read the full story

Trump Blasts Political Enemies, Warns About Future of U.S. in Wide-Ranging Interview with John Fredericks

Eric Burk
Donald Trump sitting at desk

RICHMOND, Virginia — Former President Donald Trump spent an hour on The John Fredericks Show for a wide-ranging exclusive interview also broadcast on Real America’s Voice Wednesday. Trump blasted enemies ranging from intelligence community leaders to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and criticized President Joe Biden for a decision to leave U.S. military equipment behind in Afghanistan.

“I looked at that equipment that’s left, where you have literally thousands, hundreds of thousands of guns left behind, and by the way, these are weapons that are better than what we have. They’re newer. And the planes, and just from a common sense standpoint, why wouldn’t you fly the planes out,” Trump said.

Read the full story

America First Legal Requests Investigation into the Biden Administration’s Afghanistan Withdrawal, Demands Answers on ‘Vetting’ of Evacuees

Admin

America First Legal is demanding an investigation into the Biden administration regarding its withdrawal from Afghanistan and is requesting answers from a number of government agencies over the handling of evacuees, according to a letter and six Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The group has asked the Department of Defense (D0D) acting inspector general for an investigation into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, specifically into the reported “‘Kill List’ Given to the Taliban,” information revealing what the president knew from intelligence reports, details about the “abandoned equipment and assets” and about leaving Bagram air base, as well as information about the “effective deployment of US air force assets.”

Read the full story

Arizona Rep. Gosar Responds to Report That Biden Ignored Congressional Mandate Before Afghan Withdrawal

Peter D'Abrosca

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) responded Wednesday to a report that President Joe Biden ignored congressional mandate requiring him to brief Congress on the risks of the United States’ troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

“Biden botched President Trump’s withdrawal and must be held accountable. He is unfit to lead and has presided over the entirety of this debacle” Rep. Gosar told The Arizona Sun Times.

Read the full story

Mother of Slain Marine Suspended from Facebook, Instagram After Criticizing Joe Biden

Peter D'Abrosca
Shana Chappell

The mother of a U.S. Marine who died during the ISIS-affiliated attack on Kabul’s airport has been suspended from Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram. 

“Shana Chappell, mother of Marine Kareem Nikoui who was killed in Kabul, had her FB and Instagram accounts suspended for posts she made about her son and her feelings about the President and Vice President,” Lynn Afendoulis, former Michigan State Representative, said on Facebook. “This is horrifying. Her son GAVE HIS LIFE FOR OUR COUNTRY. She can say what she wants. Her FB account is back up. For now. God be with her.”

Read the full story

Ohio Politicians Pay Their Respects to Navy Medic Maxton William Soviak Who Died in Kabul Terrorist Attack

Brian Ball

U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, OH-9, have reacted with grief and tributes to the Sandusky area Navy hospital corpsman killed on Aug. 26 at the Kabul international airport as the American military continues to withdraw troops and civilians from Afghanistan.

The military named sailor Maxton William Soviak as one of 13 American military personnel killed in two terrorist attacks at a hotel and nearby gate of the Kabul airport where American forces and civilians are getting airlifted out in the wake of the Taliban takeover of the southwestern Asian country.

Read the full story

Commentary: Kamala Harris Backed Afghan Exit Despite Intel Warning Taliban Would Abuse Women

RealClearWire

Just 12 days before President Biden ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the U.S. intelligence community warned the White House that allowing the Taliban to control the country would put Afghan women at grave risk, according to a little-noticed intelligence assessment.

Biden nonetheless pressed ahead with the plan – with the support of his vice president, Kamala Harris, who boasted that she was the last person in the room with the president when he made the decision and felt comfortable with the plan.

Read the full story