The Commentariat -- August 18, 2021
Afternoon Update:
Biden, Cardona Signal Mask Bans Violate Civil Rights Laws. Bianca Quilantan of Politico: "President Joe Biden is directing the Education Department to 'use all available tools' to combat Republican governors whose state policies prohibit Covid-19 mitigation strategies like masking in the classroom. Biden, in a memo sent Wednesday to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, said the Education Department must take action to ensure governors and other officials are allowing a safe return to in-person learning and 'not standing in the way of local leaders making such preparations.... Cardona, in an interview with The New York Times, signaled that he could use the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights to prevent states from banning mask wearing in schools. The department could launch civil rights investigations for school districts if their policies impede students' access to education."
Mike Stobbe & Matthew Perrone of the AP: "U.S. health officials Wednesday announced plans to offer COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and signs that the vaccines' effectiveness is falling. The plan, as outlined by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top authorities, calls for an extra dose eight months after people get their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The doses could begin the week of Sept. 20. 'Our plan is to protect the American people, to stay ahead of this virus,' CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at the White House. People who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also probably need extra shots, health officials said. But they said they are waiting for more data."
Yuliya Talmazan & Mushtaq Yusufzai of NBC News: "Images of the Taliban cracking down on a protest and bloodied women and children beaten by fighters are contradicting the more moderate image the militant group has been trying to project as it tries to consolidate power in Afghanistan. Less than 24 hours after the Taliban spokesperson delivered security guarantees during a press conference in Kabul, the militants on Wednesday tried to stop locals from installing Afghanistan's national black, red and green flag in the eastern city of Jalalabad, according to local resident Anwar Khan. A former police official told Reuters four people had been killed in the protest and 13 injured. Afghanistan's Pajhwok news agency shared video of what it said was the incident, showing crowds running as gunfire was heard. NBC News was not able to verify the footage." MB: The idea that Taliban leadership has control over its far-flung soldiers is rather fanciful.
Henry Austin of NBC News: "Ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been 'welcomed' into the United Arab Emirates on 'humanitarian grounds,' the country's foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Ghani fled Afghanistan as the Taliban approached Kabul, the capital, on Sunday, less than 24 hours after he tried to rally his people in a televised address in which he pledged not to give up the 'achievements' of the 20 years since the U.S. toppled the Taliban."
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The New York Times' live updates of developments in Afghanistan Wednesday are here. The featured item at 5 am ET is about evacuations from Afghanistan. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live Afghanistan updates for Wednesday are here: "The United States and other countries operated military evacuation flights from Afghanistan throughout Tuesday, though not all seeking to leave the country were able to reach Kabul airport. The Taliban erected checkpoints throughout the capital and near the airport's entrance, beating some Afghans who attempted to cross and intimidating others from leaving.... President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the Taliban have agreed to allow 'safe passage' from Afghanistan for civilians struggling to join a U.S.-directed airlift from the capital, although a timetable for completing the evacuation has yet to be worked out with the country's new rulers. Sullivan said the United States is addressing reports of militants intimidating fleeing Afghans with the Islamist group.... Washington has moved some 3,200 people out so far, with an additional 2,000 Afghans relocated to the United States as special immigrants. About 11,000 people in Afghanistan have identified themselves as American, while more than 80,000 Afghans may need to be evacuated."
Ahmad Seir, et al., of the AP: "The Taliban violently broke up a protest in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, quashing a rare public show of dissent.... Dozens of people gathered in the eastern city of Jalalabad to raise the national flag a day before Afghanistan's Independence Day, which commemorates the end of British rule in 1919. They lowered the Taliban flag -- a white banner with an Islamic inscription -- that the militants have raised in the areas they captured. Video footage later showed the Taliban firing into the air and attacking people with batons to disperse the crowd. Babrak Amirzada, a reporter for a local news agency, said he and a TV cameraman from another agency were beaten by the Taliban as they tried to cover the unrest."
Mujib Mashal & Richard Pérez-Peña of the New York Times: "For the first time since retaking power in Afghanistan, the Taliban's leaders on Tuesday sketched out what their control of the country could look like, promising peace at home and urging the world to look past their history of violence and repression. 'We don't want Afghanistan to be a battlefield anymore -- from today onward, war is over,' said Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's longtime chief spokesman, in a news conference in Kabul, the capital. Mr. Mujahid, a high-ranking leader, said the Taliban had declared a blanket amnesty, vowing no reprisals against former enemies. And the group has in some places appealed to civil servants -- including women -- to continue to go to work.... But much of the world is wary of their reassurances.... Many Afghans, too, remain utterly unconvinced by the new face presented by the Taliban, and its promises of political pluralism and women's and minority rights...." ~~~
"While American troops controlled a large part of the airport, the Taliban took control of the approaches to it, and at times beat people with rifle butts and clubs to force back the crowds trying to get in. It was not always clear whether they were attempting to prevent people from reaching the airport, or simply prevent another lethal crush. The U.S. Embassy released a statement to Americans who want to leave that they should get to the airport, but added that the American government 'cannot guarantee your security' on the way there -- a vivid illustration of the confusion on the ground.... In the chaos at the airport, where U.S. troops shot and killed at least two people on Monday and others fell to their deaths trying to cling to a U.S. military transport as it took off, there were reports of several more deaths on Tuesday." A related AP story is here.
Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration on Sunday froze Afghan government reserves held in U.S. bank accounts, blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars held in U.S. institutions, according to two people.... The decision was made by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and officials in Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the people said. The State Department was also involved in discussions over the weekend, with officials in the White House monitoring the developments. An administration official said in a statement, 'Any Central Bank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Here's a transcript of President Biden's speech on Afghanistan, as delivered Monday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Video of the speech is embedded in yesterday's Commentariat.
Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Three Democrat-led Senate committees are vowing to investigate the Biden administration's bungled withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, as officials scramble to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies. Statements from the leaders of the Senate's Intelligence, Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees reflect the widespread bipartisan anger over what is widely perceived as a chaotic and poorly planned exit from America's longest war." (BTW, do you think Republicans would have vowed to investigate the Former Guy if this were his fiasco?)
Mark Mazzetti, et al., of the New York Times: "Classified assessments by American spy agencies over the summer painted an increasingly grim picture of the prospect of a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and warned of the rapid collapse of the Afghan military, even as President Biden and his advisers said publicly that was unlikely to happen as quickly, according to current and former American government officials. By July, many intelligence reports grew more pessimistic, questioning whether any Afghan security forces would muster serious resistance and whether the government could hold on in Kabul, the capital. President Biden said on July 8 that the Afghan government was unlikely to fall and that there would be no chaotic evacuations of Americans similar to the end of the Vietnam War. The drumbeat of warnings over the summer raise questions about why Biden administration officials, and military planners in Afghanistan, seemed ill-prepared to deal with the Taliban's final push into Kabul, including a failure to ensure security at the main airport and rushing thousands more troops back to the country to protect the United States' final exit." (Also linked yesterday.)
Alexander Ward of Politico: "... the [Biden] administration wasted precious time and failed to prepare to evacuate thousands in danger as the Taliban plotted their comeback.... [Some observers] aren't convinced President Biden and his team prioritized the special visa issue, saying they've long expressed political concerns that delayed their response. They 'viewed it as the worst-case political outcome for them to bring Afghans to the U.S.,' fearing the domestic repercussions if one commits a terrorist act...." MB: The article details numerous screw-ups & foot-dragging exercises. I've been listening for the past two or three days to on-air stories about how difficult/impossible it is for Afghans to get SIVs (special immigration visas) and how it can take months or years -- and that was before the Taliban took control. Joe Biden had better sign an executive order compelling every bureaucrat in every applicable federal office to get off their asses and get vulnerable Afghans to safety. Move them now; check them out later. ~~~
~~~ Claire Hansen of US News: "A bipartisan group of [46] senators is urging the Biden administration to create a specific humanitarian parole category for certain Afghan women, including leaders, journalists, activists, security forces and others who are at risk in the wake of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal. Humanitarian parole is used to bring someone who is not otherwise eligible to enter the country, or who does not have a visa, into the U.S. temporarily because of an emergency or urgent humanitarian reason. Three Republican senators -- Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma -- joined Democratic colleagues in signing the letter."
Hans Nichols of Axios: "Senior national security officials presiding over a historic foreign policy collapse are privately expressing deep frustrations about the thin Afghanistan withdrawal plans left behind by Donald Trump.... Many experienced operatives in both parties are aghast that President Biden and his team didn't ready better preparations over nearly seven months since taking office. But two Biden officials who spoke with Axios on Monday on condition of anonymity bristled at the criticism.... 'There was no plan to evacuate our diplomats to the airport,' a senior national security official told Axios about the preparations they inherited from the previous administration.... 'When we got in, on Jan. 20, we saw that the cupboard was bare,' the official said, echoing a complaint Team Biden also made about Trump's vaccine distribution plan." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I read the Trump plan & found it quite comprehensive: "Leave on a jet plane." For a $50 contribution to the Reinstate Trump PAC, you could get it with a Mary Travers CD.
Esper Blames Trump. Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that he was concerned that ... Donald Trump 'undermined' the US' 2020 agreement with the Taliban by pushing for US forces to leave Afghanistan without the Taliban meeting the conditions of the deal..... '... in the fall [of 2020] when he was calling for a return of US forces by Christmas, I objected and formally wrote a letter to him, a memo based on recommendations from the military chain of command and my senior civilian leadership that we not go further -- that we not reduce below 4,500 troops unless and until conditions were met by the Taliban.... Otherwise,' Esper continued, 'we would see a number of things play out, which are unfolding right now in many ways.' Trump fired Esper in November 2020 in the wake of the presidential election.... Following the [2020] agreement, violence in Afghanistan grew to its highest levels in two decades and the Taliban increased their control of wider swaths of the country. By June of this year, the Taliban contested or controlled an estimated 50% to 70% of Afghan territory outside of urban centers, according to a United Nations Security Council report."
Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump gushed about the prospect of a Taliban-led Afghanistan last year, predicting that once they took over the country, they would devote themselves to killing terrorists.... Last February, months after canceling a planned meeting with the Taliban that would have placed the group's leaders inside the White House on September 11th, Trump gloried in the idea of a Taliban-led Afgh[a]nistan that would become a bane to terrorists.... And as recently as late June of this year, Trump boasted that the deal he'd made for the withdrawal made it impossible [for President] Biden to reverse course -- and explicitly predicted the collapse of the Afghan government as soon as the U.S. departed." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Luis Martinez of ABC News: "A U.S. official has confirmed that human remains were found inside the wheel well of a C-17 military plane that had been swarmed by hundreds of people on the tarmac as it took off at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The discovery was made upon landing at al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday. A dramatic video taken earlier Monday showed some people clinging to the plane as it taxied down the runway in Kabul." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Meet Your Trump Backer. Julian Mark of the Washington Post: "Hours before the special Senate runoff in Georgia was called for the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock (D) in the early hours on Jan. 6, Eduard Florea [-- a Proud Boys supporter --] went on the conservative social media platform Parler and wrote: 'Warnock is going to have a hard time casting votes for communist policies when he's swinging with the ... fish.' In a later post, he wrote in reference to Warnock: 'Dead men can't pass [expletive] laws.'... In addition to making threatening comments about Warnock on Jan. 6, Florea had also written on Parler about going to Washington to incite violence.... On Jan. 12, federal agents and police ... discovered more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, plus hatchets, swords and 75 military-style combat knives [in Florea's Queens basement apartment].... Florea surrendered and was taken into custody. Now, Florea is facing up to 15 years in prison for making those threats, prosecutors announced Monday. The 41-year-old from Queens pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting threats to injure and one count of possessing ammunition after having been convicted of a felony." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here: "There are more intensive care patients in Alabama than there are ICU beds in the state to treat them.... Hospitals in the South have for weeks been overrun by covid-19 patients as cases surged across the Sun Belt. But now, health-care workers across the country are also struggling to manage the waves of cases brought on by the delta variant.
An Unusual Celebrity Endorsement. Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times: "Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 is 'an act of love,' Pope Francis says in a public service ad that will start circulating online and on television on Wednesday. Working with the Ad Council, a nonprofit group, in its first campaign to extend beyond the United States, the pope encourages people around the world to get inoculated. The ad shows the pope, speaking in Spanish with English subtitles, with church officials from the United States, Mexico, Brazil and other countries describing vaccination as a moral responsibility. 'Thanks to God's grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from Covid-19,' the pope says in the ad. 'They bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we collaborate with one another.'"
Texas. However Could This Have Happened? Dan Levin of the New York Times: "Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday, though he has no symptoms, the governor's office announced.... Mr. Abbott, who is fully vaccinated, will now be isolated in the Governor's Mansion while receiving monoclonal antibody treatment, which can help Covid-19 patients who are at risk of getting very sick.... Mr. Abbott, 63, has faced withering criticism as coronavirus cases have increased sharply in Texas and available intensive-care beds have dwindled in Austin and other cities. But he maintained his ban on mask mandates, which prohibits local officials from imposing restrictions in their communities." This is an item from the NYT's live updates Tuesday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Paul Weber of the AP: "The positive test comes a day after Abbott tweeted a picture of himself not wearing a mask while speaking indoors near Dallas to a group of GOP supporters, most of whom were unmasked.... The governor had been getting tested daily...." MB: So instead of buying a few $1 masks, Abbott gets a daily test and now special treatments -- not available to most of us -- which according to CNN cost $1,500 each. Seems reasonable. (Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
Texas. A Court Win for Abbott; a Loss for Democracy. Joshua Fechter of the Texas Tribune: "Texas House Democrats who refuse to show up to the state Capitol in their bid to prevent Republican lawmakers from passing a voting restrictions bill can be arrested and brought to the lower chamber, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The all-Republican court sided with Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan -- and ordered a Travis County district judge to revoke his temporary restraining order blocking the civil arrest of Democratic lawmakers whose absences have denied the chamber the number of present members needed to move any legislation."
Wisconsin. Mark Guarino of the Washington Post: "The family of Anthony Huber, who was fatally shot by Kyle Rittenhouse during riots in Kenosha, Wis., last summer, filed suit in Milwaukee on Tuesday, alleging that the city of Kenosha and its police and county sheriff's departments openly conspired with White militia members, which gave them 'license -- to wreak havoc and inflict injury.' In the first major federal lawsuit against the city, police and county resulting from the riots in August last year, attorneys say that Rittenhouse and other gunmen were given preferential treatment because of their race." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Way Beyond
Haiti. Anatoly Kurmanaev & Constant Méheut of the New York Times: "The death and injury tolls leapt by many hundreds on Tuesday from the weekend earthquake in Haiti's southern peninsula, as survivors soaked from Tropical Storm Grace struggled to keep safe in makeshift shelters. Haiti's National Emergency Operations Center said that as of Tuesday evening the number of dead totaled at least 1,941, with 9,900 injured, compared with the official tallies of about 1,400 dead and 7,000 injured reported 24 hours earlier."
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https://www.npr.org/2021/08/16/1028016095/taliban-takeover-reminds-afghans-of-the-brutality-of-their-previous-regime. Sarah Chayes with her take on Afghanistan.
Every once in awhile Tom Friedman writes a column worth reading. This one, in my estimation is one of them. And one of his ironclad rules about covering the Middle East is:
"When big events happen, always distinguish between the morning after and the morning after the morning after."
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/16/opinion/afghanistan-biden-taliban.html
"According to a report published last year by National Geographic
'Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change and one of the least equipped to handle what's to come'––including drought, flooding, avalanches, landslides, extreme weather and mass displacement."
I can't remember a time when we have had so many catastrophes happening at the same time––it's as though that God that the Pope evokes re: the vaccine is "willing" and able to have a go at chaos writ large––does he do this for fun or spite?
"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal. well-meaning but without understanding."
––––Justice Louis Brandeis 1928