A report card on the Biden administration

[eddiew37]

"I am a conservative Independent."

Booosh Wah You're a trumpette through and through Just afraid to admit it

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Senate further advanced a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan Friday with a bipartisan group of senators helping it clear one more hurdle and bracing to see if support can hold during the next few days of debate and efforts to amend it.

For Republicans, it is past time to get the investigation of the Trump-led Jan. 6 insurrection off the front page.

Politico reports, "The Senate advanced the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Saturday afternoon, breaking a filibuster to end debate on the deal crafted by a group of 10 senators alongside President Joe Biden.

"The vote, which was 67-27, easily cleared the 60 votes needed to move forward. It marked another significant step toward clinching a bipartisan agreement between Biden and Congress. Two Republicans who had previously voted against the bipartisan package — Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Deb Fischer of Nebraska — voted to advance the legislation.

"Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Saturday evening that he hoped senators could come to an agreement on amendments Sunday, when the Senate reconvenes. Still, the infrastructure bill appeared on a glide path to eventually clearing the chamber, which would hand a win to Biden and the cross-party group of 10 senators who negotiated the bill."

"The Senate will stay in session until we finish our work," Schumer said earlier Saturday. "It's up to my Republican colleagues how long it takes."

No doubt the Republican effort is going towards a good cause.

Now we wait and see if the progressives in the House kill the President's infrastructure plan.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Ron is right. Floridians have the right to be free. They have the right to decide not to get vaccinated, to become hospitalized, and to spread the disease to their children, friends, and co-works. They have the freedom to all that, but it is a leader's job during a deadly pandemic to discourage dangerous choices.

Some Florida school districts are defying DeSantis's highly dangerous executive order.

A record-breaking 23,903 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Florida on Friday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This marks the third time this week that Florida has surpassed its record of new daily Covid-19 cases.

ABC News reports, "This weekend, some of Florida's largest school districts have moved to require masks for students, the latest in a weeklong saga that began when Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order aimed at preventing districts from mandating face coverings for kids.

"However, the mandates -- issued by districts including Hillsborough (Tampa), Orange (Orlando), and Palm Beach -- come with a catch: parents are allowed to opt their children out of them, without providing a reason."

DeSantis is trying to salvage his ludicrous order while attempting to save face as the nation laughs at him when not crying in frustration over the menacing order.

ABC continues, "Giving the choice to opt out complies with an emergency rule issued Saturday by the Florida Department of Health, which told districts they must give parents the option.

"The state's biggest school district, Miami-Dade, has not announced whether it will mandate face coverings for students. Its latest protocols, issued July 29, require them on school buses but not inside school buildings.

"Broward Public Schools, the state's second-largest district, has not updated its guidance from Wednesday, which said masks are required for students. The guidance did not mention the choice of opting out.

"Some large school districts, like Polk, Pinellas, and Lee, are making masks optional for students, according to their most updated guidance."

Put a different way, DeSantis's order has thrown Florida school districts into a sea of confusion.

Fox News reports, "For DeSantis, a potential 2024 Republican presidential contender, the give and take with the president has a very obvious political payoff – it only increases his popularity among GOP base voters who will cast ballots in the next race for the Republican presidential nomination."

Incredible!

Is the Republican base really that stupid? We don't know. When it comes to real issues, they don't say much.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Some Florida school districts are defying DeSantis's highly dangerous executive order.

A record-breaking 23,903 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Florida on Friday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This marks the third time this week that Florida has surpassed its record of new daily Covid-19 cases.

USA Today reports, "The state "could" defund the salaries of district superintendents and county school board members who mandate mask wearing in schools, according to a statement from Gov. Ron DeSantis' office."

The operative word is "could," as opposed to "will."

Desantis is, indeed, following in the footsteps of his mentor, Donald Trump, who averaged a material threat every week of his term in office.

While we are on the subject, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order this spring prohibiting school districts from requiring masks.

The Times reports, "The Dallas Independent School District said on Monday that everyone — students, employees and visitors — must wear a mask while on school property, starting Tuesday.

"The mandate, which officials said was temporary, was imposed in defiance of an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott that prohibits school districts from requiring masks.

"The district, the second-largest in Texas according to its website, appears to be the first in the state to defy the order. The superintendent of the Houston Independent School District announced last week that he would put a similar mask mandate up for a vote before the board of education this week."

The AP reports, "The seven-day average for deaths rose from about 270 deaths per day two weeks ago to over 500 a day as of Friday."

What in the world are DeSantis and Abbott thinking?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

First in Georgia,and then by trying to wield presidential power to force the Justice Department to declare the election soiled by fraud where none existed, Trump sought to incite a coup to stay in office.

From a political viewpoint, this is strangest phenomenon I have ever seen in my 50 years of following American politics.

Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Republican candidates vie for his endorsement. He is the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 Presidential election.

And Donald Trump is in trouble.

The Times explains, "Jeffrey A. Rosen, who was acting attorney general during the Trump administration, has told the Justice Department watchdog and congressional investigators that one of his deputies tried to help former President Donald J. Trump subvert the results of the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the interviews.

"Mr. Rosen had a two-hour meeting on Friday with the Justice Department’s office of the inspector general and provided closed-door testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Saturday.

"The investigations were opened after a New York Times article that detailed efforts by Jeffrey Clark, the acting head of the Justice Department’s civil division, to push top leaders to falsely and publicly assert that continuing election fraud investigations cast doubt on the Electoral College results. That prompted Mr. Trump to consider ousting Mr. Rosen and installing Mr. Clark at the top of the department to carry out that plan."

Trump never fired Rosen, but the plot highlights the former president’s desire to batter the Justice Department into advancing his unproven claim that the election was stolen from him.

This issue is on every major network, in every major newspaper in the country, and it is plastered all over the internet.

Here is the strange part. Republican lawmakers seeking his favor are all silent on the issue. Republican lawmakers make no attempt to defend Trump. Regarding Republicans in Congress, their silence is deafening.

Republicans on this forum completely ignore Trump when it comes his foolish attempt to subvert the Department of Justice.

As if to prove my point, Republicans on this forum will not address the issue.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

President Biden's infrastructure plan is coming along just fine.

The Times reports, "The Senate gave overwhelming bipartisan approval to a $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday to rebuild the nation’s deteriorating roads and bridges and fund new climate resilience and broadband initiatives, delivering a key component of President Biden’s agenda.

"The legislation would be the largest infusion of federal investment into infrastructure projects in more than a decade, touching nearly every facet of the American economy and fortifying the nation’s response to the warming of the planet.

"It would provide historic levels of funding for the modernization of the nation’s power grid and projects to better manage climate risks, as well as pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the repair and replacement of aging public works projects.

"The vote, 69-30, was uncommonly bipartisan; the yes votes included Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, and 18 other Republicans who shrugged off increasingly shrill efforts by former President Donald Trump to derail it."

Now we wait and see if Pelosi and the progressives kill it in the House.

The Times explains, "The measure now faces a potentially rocky and time-consuming path in the House, where the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the nearly 100-member Progressive Caucus, have said they will not vote on it unless and until the Senate passes a separate, even more ambitious $3.5 trillion social policy bill this fall."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

NEW YORK (AP) — "Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations in a fall from grace a year after he was widely hailed nationally for his detailed daily briefings and leadership during some of the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic."

Then we have the famed recording of Donald J. Trump making vulgar comments about women while filming a segment for “Access Hollywood.” The tape was made public in October 2016, seemingly damning his chances at becoming President.

Mr. Trump: Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.
Mr. Bush: Whatever you want.
Mr. Trump: Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.

Cuomo is forced to resign as governor. Trump becomes our 45th President.

How can that be? What is the difference between the two men?

Democrats felt chagrined by the alleged behavior of the New York governor. The Democratic legislature was conducting an impeachment investigation, and our Democratic President urged Cuomo to resign.

Republicans were never more proud of their hero.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Now we wait and see if Pelosi and the progressives kill it in the House.

The Times explains, "The measure now faces a potentially rocky and time-consuming path in the House, where the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the nearly 100-member Progressive Caucus, have said they will not vote on it unless and until the Senate passes a separate, even more ambitious $3.5 trillion social policy bill this fall."

This is a bit confusing, and I will try my best to explain it.

The Times reports, "The Senate took a major step on Wednesday toward enacting a vast expansion of the nation’s social safety net, approving a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint along party lines that would allow Democrats to tackle climate change and fund health care, child care, family leave and public education expansion.

"The blueprint, which would expand health care, provide free preschool and community college, and fund climate change programs, passed along party lines and faces an arduous path ahead."

Why? The whole matter is in the hands of Democrats now.

The Times did not directly explain the "arduous path." Senate Majority Leader Schumer described a "long road ahead," but he didn't explain, either. The majority leader, said on Wednesday that he hoped to have the legislation completed by the week of Sept. 15. But no one was declaring victory.

The problem does not appear to be Pelosi or the progressives in the House. Essentially, they got what they wanted,

"The House will return early from its scheduled summer recess the week of Aug. 23 to take up the budget, so committees in both chambers can begin work fleshing out the party’s vision for what would be the greatest change to social welfare since the 1960s’ Great Society," the Times.

The problem is, the Senate passed a blueprint. It did not pass the legislation to put Biden's plan in motion. "The blueprint sets in motion a perilous legislative process aimed at creating the largest expansion of the federal safety net in nearly six decades," the Times explained.

Then the Times got to the crux of the matter. "Democratic unity this week could belie difficulties ahead. Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the Senate’s most vocal moderate Democrats, said they voted for the budget blueprint to keep to process moving, but they may not support the expansive legislation that the budget vote protects from a Republican filibuster."

In other words, Manchin and Sinema voted for the blueprint, but the cost conscious Democrats may not vote for the required legislation.

Then there is this. There is just a three-vote margin in the House, and a half dozen moderates are considering whether to oppose the blueprint unless they get a scheduled vote on the Senate-passed infrastructure bill — to claim a quick victory and a White House bill-signing ceremony.

Put a different way, the only ones who can screw up the Democratic President's plan is the Democrats.

Got all that?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Some Florida school districts are defying DeSantis's highly dangerous executive order.

DeSantis was talking to his gullible, intelligence challenged Republican base when he said. “Obviously, if you’re talking about the federal government coming in and overruling parents and our communities, that would be something we would fight back vociferously against.”

The reasonably intelligent observer would ask, "What is he talking about? How is the federal government "coming in" when it comes to school children wearing masks to prevent getting sick?

Ironically, DeSantis then touted his policy for putting parents in control.

Gullible and dense Republicans fail to realize that it is DeSantis who dictating to parents and communities, not the federal government.

Parents elect school board members, and superintendents of schools work for the duly elected school boards the parents chose.

DeSantis is telling school districts they cannot issue face mask mandates, essentially telling parents what their representatives can't do.

Will intellectually deprived Republicans ever understand this concept? Hell, no. They believe whatever DeSantis and Trump tell them to believe. They even believe Senator Rand Paul who said that face masks don't work.

Paul was banished from YouTube for a week for telling the obvious lie.

Are Republicans aware of any of this? No, they don't listen to responsible news sources. They listen only to phony far right web sites where DeSantis would be king.

If it weren't for Trump.

Little wonder as to why they remain silent.

 

[bripat9643]

DeSantis was talking to his gullible, intelligence challenged Republican base when he said. “Obviously, if you’re talking about the federal government coming in and overruling parents and our communities, that would be something we would fight back vociferously against.”

The reasonably intelligent observer would ask, "What is he talking about? How is the federal government "coming in" when it comes to school children wearing masks to prevent getting sick?

Ironically, DeSantis then touted his policy for putting parents in control.

Gullible and dense Republicans fail to realize that it is DeSantis who dictating to parents and communities, not the federal government.

Parents elect school board members, and superintendents of schools work for the duly elected school boards the parents chose.

DeSantis is telling school districts they cannot issue face mask mandates, essentially telling parents what their representatives can't do.

Will intellectually deprived Republicans ever understand this concept? Hell, no. They believe whatever DeSantis and Trump tell them to believe. They even believe Senator Rand Paul who said that face masks don't work.

Paul was banished from YouTube for a week for telling the obvious lie.

Are Republicans aware of any of this? No, they don't listen to responsible news sources. They listen only to phony far right web sites where DeSantis would be king.

If it weren't for Trump.

Little wonder as to why they remain silent.

Wrong, turd. Government school bureaucrats are trying to dictate policy to parents. The rest of your post is the usual garbage.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden plans to withdraw the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021.

As Biden continues his withdrawal of 2,500 troops, today he ordered 3,000 troops to Afghanistan.

Yeah, its complicated, and it has a great deal to do with the speed of the Taliban advance. The Taliban has taken over 75% of Afghanistan and thirteen provincial capitals. The capital, Kabul, could fall in a week.

It has to do with getting our people out of there as the Times explains.

"The Pentagon is moving 3,000 Marines and soldiers to Afghanistan and another 4,000 troops to the region to evacuate most of the American Embassy and U.S. citizens in Kabul, as the Biden administration braces for a possible collapse of the Afghan government within the next month, administration and military officials said.

"The sharply deteriorating situation in the country, as the Taliban rapidly advance across the north and Afghan security forces battle to defend ever shrinking territory in the south and west, has forced the Biden administration to accelerate plans to get Americans out.

"President Biden, after meeting with his top national security advisers on Wednesday night and again Thursday morning, also ordered additional expedited flights out of the country for Afghans who have worked with the United States, so that their applications for special immigrant visas could be evaluated.

"The embassy sent the latest in a series of alarming alerts, urging Americans to “leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options.'"

 

[Sandy Shanks]

As Biden continues his withdrawal of 2,500 troops, today he ordered 3,000 troops to Afghanistan.

Yeah, its complicated, and it has a great deal to do with the speed of the Taliban advance. The Taliban has taken over 75% of Afghanistan and thirteen provincial capitals. The capital, Kabul, could fall in a week.

A memo obtained by NPR lays out the emergency preparations underway by American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul — including the destruction of sensitive documents and computers — as most of them prepare to leave the country.

That kind of order is sent out by the state department when the collapse of an embassy is imminent.

NPR continued, "Most diplomats will be evacuated by 3,000 U.S. troops on their way to Kabul to ensure a safe and orderly departure. However, a very small consular staff will work in Kabul, the memo noted.

"The embassy staffers were instructed to destroy important papers and desktop computers before they leave, according to the document."

Noting the sheer desperation of the situation, the U.S. has called on the Taliban not to attack the embassy and departing U.S. diplomats.

Of course, if Americans abandon the embassy, the Taliban will have no one to attack.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

A memo obtained by NPR lays out the emergency preparations underway by American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul — including the destruction of sensitive documents and computers — as most of them prepare to leave the country.

That kind of order is sent out by the state department when the collapse of an embassy is imminent.

The headline read, "President Biden fails in Afghanistan."

Afghanistan, "the graveyard of empires."

Of course, Biden failed in Afghanistan. Twenty years, two trillion dollars, tens of thousands of dead and wounded later this should come as no surprise. After all that, not a damn thing was accomplished. Yeah, Biden failed.

As did President Bush, and he started the war by invading Afghanistan. Bush was in office for eight years. The war was in full fury mode when he left office.

President "The Right War" Obama also failed in Afghanistan. He was in office for eight years and ultimately sent in 85,000 troops to defeat the Taliban. The war was in full fury mode when he left office.

President Trump also failed in Afghanistan. He was in office for eight years and all he did was order a retreat, trusting the Taliban would hold up their end of the bargain. Instead, the Taliban ignored the gullible American President. The war was in full fury mode when he left office.

Biden has been in office for seven months and he inherited the failed Afghan war from three previous Presidents. A massive offensive against the Taliban was out of the question. Biden would either be impeached or lynched. He had no choice but to withdraw, retreat, evacuate, surrender, whatever term the reader wishes to use. They all mean the same thing -- something the White House should learn.

But why did all this happened? It happened because American Presidents completely misread the people of Afghanistan.

The Afghan security forces number over 300,000, and they have an air force. They also have billions of dollars of equipment we gave them.

They have no desire to fight the Taliban.

The Taliban are Afghans. Moreover, they are the largest ethic group in Afghanistan.

Why are the Taliban America's enemy? Why did Bush attack the Taliban?

Because the Taliban gave safe haven to al Qaeda, the terrorist group that attacked us on 9/11.

Does anyone think the soldiers and officers of the Afghan army give a rat's ass about that twenty years later?

Essentially, we trained and equipped the Afghan army to fight Afghans. Also, members of the Afghan army have more in common with the Taliban than they do with Americans.

That is why America failed in Afghanistan. The twenty-year debacle should be treated as a lesson learned.

Never again.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Biden has been in office for seven months and he inherited the failed Afghan war from three previous Presidents. A massive offensive against the Taliban was out of the question. Biden would either be impeached or lynched. He had no choice but to withdraw, retreat, evacuate, surrender, whatever term the reader wishes to use. They all mean the same thing -- something the White House should learn.

Or is mission creep in our future. I am getting a bit skeptical about all this. Yesterday, it was 3,000 troops. Today, it is 5,000. Will there be more American troops deployed to Afghanistan in the coming days?

NBC News explains. "President Biden on Saturday authorized the deployment of 5,000 troops to Afghanistan amid a U.S. pullout that has emboldened the Taliban to take over multiple cities."

"I have authorized the deployment of approximately 5,000 US troops to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of US personnel and other allied personnel and an orderly and safe evacuation of Afghans who helped our troops during our mission and those at special risk from the Taliban advance," Biden said in a statement.

“Afghan leaders have to come together,” he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “We lost thousands to death and injury, thousands of American personnel. They've got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation."

Actually, as I explained yesterday, Afghan security forces are fighting America's enemy. Why did Bush attack the Taliban 20 years ago?

Because the Taliban gave safe haven to al Qaeda, the terrorist group that attacked us on 9/11.

The Taliban is the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. We are asking the Afghan army to fight Afghans while members of that army have more in common with the Taliban then they do with Americans.

Strange the Pentagon and Biden can't see that.

Or, they do understand, and they are giving us a song and dance.

"I have ordered our armed forces and our intelligence community to ensure that we will maintain the capability and the vigilance to address future terrorist threats from Afghanistan," Biden said.

Uh-oh!

Biden on Saturday warned the Taliban that any actions that put U.S. personnel at risk "will be met with a swift and strong US military response."

Double uh-oh!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The capital, Kabul, could fall in a week.

That prediction was written on Thursday. On Sunday, Kabul fell to the Taliban, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Yeah, it didn't take a military genius to know that was going to happen.

The Times reports, "The Taliban effectively sealed their control of Afghanistan on Sunday, pouring into the capital, Kabul, and meeting little resistance as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, the government collapsed, and chaos and fear gripped the city, with tens of thousands of people trying to escape.

"The insurgents’ return to power, two decades after they were ousted, came despite years and hundreds of billions of dollars spent by the United States to build up the Afghan government and its defense forces. In a lightning offensive, the Taliban swallowed dozens of cities in a matter of days, leaving Kabul as the last major redoubt of government control.

"The Taliban’s lead negotiator in talks with the government, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, congratulated all of Afghanistan for the victory. “Now it will be shown how we can serve our nation,” he said. “We can assure that our nation has a peaceful life and a better future.'”

“There was no expectation that we would achieve victory in this war,” he said. “But this came with the help of Allah, therefore we should be thankful to Him, be humble in front of Him, so that we do not act arrogantly.”

Afghanistan, The Graveyard of Empires. This outcome was written 20 years. ago.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Is mission creep in our future. I am getting a bit skeptical about all this. Yesterday, it was 3,000 troops. Today, it is 5,000. Will there be more American troops deployed to Afghanistan in the coming days?

ABC News reports, "Another 1,000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne have been ordered to head directly to Afghanistan's capital instead of Kuwait to assist in the evacuation of U.S. personnel and Afghans who assisted the U.S. mission, a U.S. official told ABC News.

"That brings the total number of U.S. troops being sent back to Afghanistan to 6,000.

"The increase of service members to Kabul follows Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, meeting with representatives of the Taliban earlier Sunday in Doha, Qatar, to inform them not to interfere with the U.S. mission at the airport, according to a U.S. official."

Kabul is gone. The troops are not going to Kabul. They are going to the airport.

McKenzie also noted that the U.S. has the firepower to back up its defenses at the airport in Kabul, where the U.S. Embassy was also relocated.

The American embassy is moving to the airport. No one is saying they are withdrawing.

On ABC's "This Week," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that relocating the embassy to the airport was "to ensure they can operate safely and securely," but still maintain a core diplomatic presence there.

Some are wondering, does the state department have the Taliban's permission to do that? To the Taliban, America is the invading enemy. Are we to believe the Taliban is going to allow the enemy to operate at their airport?

"The evacuation of American diplomats continues with 500 from the embassy having left on flights so far," ABC.

How many diplomats did we have in Afghanistan?

Then there is this ominous statement from the Pentagon. "We're focused on the mission," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. "We are flowing forces in and protecting our operations and our people and that is what Secretary (Lloyd) Austin made clear to commanders today. We are mindful of the security environment and we're focused on the mission."

We have now moved in a few thousand military targets -- not evacuating them -- and our embassy is taking up shop at the Kabul airport. Is the Pentagon begging the Taliban to attack Americans?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

President Biden today accepted responsibility for his decision regarding Afghanistan.

"I stand squarely behind my decision," a defiant Biden said.

While admitting to the chaos, which was expected, his plan seems to be working. No American has been killed, and the Taliban seem reluctant to engage U.S. troops, a wise decision on their part.

As the media and others heap criticism on President Biden for the chaos in Afghanistan, two essential factors are being overlooked.

If the Taliban had gradually taken over Afghanistan and had retaken Kandahar and Kabul in two months as expected, the results would have been the same as they are today. In the long run, the rapidity of the Taliban successes will be inconsequential.

The second factor is a military axiom. The enemy does not always do what you want him to do.

That seems rather obvious to the average observer, yet the media is beating up on Biden because they expected the Taliban to have those successes two or three months later, assuming we are leaving.

"Assuming we are leaving?" Is that an issue to some? Which brings me around to the fact that many are critical of Biden, but they fail to explain the alternatives.

So, now I ask Biden's critics, what did Biden do wrong? What would you have had Biden do differently?

Now before one answers, consider this. So far the Afghan War has lasted 20 years. Little, if anything, has been accomplished. Over 6,000 Americans have been killed, troops and contractors. Over three times that were seriously wounded. So far the war has cost the American government two trillion dollars.

Is there anyone who wants to prolong this war? I ask Biden's critics again to answer the two questions above.

Two weeks from now, if the media allows it, Americans will have forgotten all about Afghanistan. We have our own very serious problems at home, not the least of which is the viral delta variant which is causing havoc, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Two weeks from now Americans will simply be happy the Afghan war is over.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

So, now I ask Biden's critics, what did Biden do wrong? What would you have had Biden do differently?

Now before one answers, consider this. So far the Afghan War has lasted 20 years. Little, if anything, has been accomplished. Over 6,000 Americans have been killed, troops and contractors. Over three times that were seriously wounded. So far the war has cost the American government two trillion dollars.

Is there anyone who wants to prolong this war? I ask Biden's critics again to answer the two questions above.

I have asked Biden's critics those questions multiple times in various ways on various threads for the past few days.

I have yet to get an answer. Biden's critics are avoiding the questions. They re quick to criticize, but their criticisms are meaningless without a full explanation of the alternatives available to Biden.

Of course, the reason Biden's critics are silent may be because there were no alternatives available to Biden given that the plan was to withdraw from Afghanistan and the Taliban didn't do what the Pentagon and American intelligence wanted them to do.

The enemy does not always do what you want him to do.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Another Republican has lost his mind. That seems to be happening a lot lately.

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, anxious to get the Governor DeSantis follies off the front page, has been observing events in Afghanistan and has offered this provocative suggestion.

"After the disastrous events in Afghanistan, we must confront a serious question: Is Joe Biden capable of discharging the duties of his office or has time come to exercise the provisions of the 25th Amendment?" he tweeted.

What, whaaa? A tweet? No way he would say something this stupid on the floor of Congress. Still everyone is laughing at him and his absurd suggestion.

There is no question that the images coming out of Afghanistan over the past days have been horrifying. And that Biden -- and his top aides -- were caught by surprise by the rapid capitulation of the Afghan forces to the Taliban.

But the 25th Amendment? Scott can't be serious.

Chris Cillizza explains. "Let's remember what we are talking about here. While most of the amendment is dedicated to formalizing presidential succession -- it was passed in the wake of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the ascension of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson."

Section 4 deals with an impaired President.

Cillizza continues, "While the first few sections of the 25th Amendment have been used sparingly -- most notably when Gerald Ford succeeded to the presidency following Richard Nixon's resignation -- Section 4 has never been invoked.

"The reason is simple: It's a REALLY high bar for the vice president and a majority of the presidential Cabinet to decide as a group that the president -- aka the person who chose them for their jobs -- had lost the ability to do his own job. That was, of course, on purpose. The overturning of the will of the people -- as expressed through a presidential election -- by a small group of government bureaucrats should be something that is used only in absolutely extreme circumstances.

"These are not those circumstances. Not even close.

"Rick Scott is no dummy. He knows this."

The problem? Words have consequences. When a sitting US senator throws out the idea of removing the president of the United States because a foreign policy decision has not gone according to plan, he degrades the seriousness of such as move. And for what? To score some cheap political points?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

So, now I ask Biden's critics, what did Biden do wrong? What would you have had Biden do differently?

Again, these questions appeared on multiple threads over the past few days, and many are directed at Biden's critics. No one has answered.

However, what is interesting is that Biden's critics are unable to explain what mistakes Biden made.

They simply say he screwed up. They don't say how. Some have choice words for Biden, but insulting characterizations are not an explanation of mistakes made.

Typical is the the criticism leveled at Biden by Sen. Robert Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “In implementing this flawed plan, I am disappointed that the Biden administration clearly did not accurately assess the implications of a rapid U.S. withdrawal."

In other words, Biden was unable to predict the future and what the enemy accomplished in a short amount of time.

Consider this, there is little doubt that there were intelligence reports concerning the lack of fight within the Afghan army. However, there has been no information on the evaluation of the Director of National Intelligence. There is no indication the DNI told President Biden with "High Confidence" that the Afghan army would fold at the first sign of trouble.

Then there is this. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley insisted at a Wednesday press conference that U.S. intelligence did not predict the collapse of the Afghan government in less than two weeks. “There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army in this government in 11 days,” he said, adding they were told the country could fall to the Taliban in weeks or even years.

A commander, in this case, the President of the United States, can only make decisions on the basis of the information available to him. He cannot predict the future. He cannot know the successes of the enemy at some point in time, and he doesn't base his decisions on the reading of tea leaves.

The situation in Afghanistan today is a consequence of the successes of the enemy, not American failure.

The enemy does not always do what you want him to do.

In this case the enemy did not wait "weeks or even years" to accomplish what he set out to do.