Brooks and Capehart from 8/27/21

 

New Rules from Bill Maher: Lessons of Afghanistan

 

Biden to ISIS-K Terrorists that Launched Attacks in Kabul: "We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay"

 Earlier today (August 26,2021) terrorists reportedly from the ISIS-K group launched two suicide bomber attacks against Afghan citizens and American military personnel at and near  Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport.

Photo from Voice of America[/caption]

Thirteen American Heroes lost their lives working to evacuate American citizens and Afghans from Afghanistan. At least 15 were injured.

60 innocent Afghans also perished. At least 140 were injured.

Despite this barbarous attack, seven thousand people were still evacuated to safety so far today.

Speaking to the nation following this terrorist attack, President Biden immediately expressed gratitude to the fallen soldiers whom he called "heroes" and sympathy toward their families.

"These American service members who gave their lives, it's an overused word but it's totally appropriate here, were heroes; heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous selfless mission to save the lives of others. They are a part of an airlift and evacuation effort unlike any seen in history with more than 100,000 American citizens, American partners, Afghans who helped us, and others taken to safety in the last 11 days."
 

"Jill and I, our hearts ache like I'm sure all of you do as well, for all those Afghan families who lost loved ones including small children, or have been wounded with this vicious attack and we're outraged as well as heartbroken...We have some sense like many of you do, what the families of these brave heroes are feeling today. You get this feeling like you're being sucked into a black hole in the middle of your chest. There's no way out. My heart aches for you. And I know this, we have a continuing obligation, a sacred obligation to all of you families of those heroes. That obligation is not temporary. It lasts forever."

The President also had a message for the ISIS-K terrorists who launched the attacks, promising retribution for what they did today.

"To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay. I will defend our interests and our people will every measure at my command."

“We will respond with force and precision in our time, in a place we choose in a manner of our choosing. These ISIS terrorists will not win. We will rescue the Americans. We will get our Afghan allies out. And our mission will go on. America will not be intimidated.”

With regards to the mission, Mr. Biden relayed that their goal of ensuring the safe evacuation of every American and Afghan who worked for the United States during the war will likely go beyond August 31 but in different operational modes than the flying out of thousands from Kabul's International Airport.

He, during a question and answer session with reporters, accepted, unlike his immediate predecessor, responsibility for the recent events unfolding in Afghanistan, saying:

"I bear responsibility for fundamentally all that's happened of late. Here's the deal, you know ... that the former president made a deal with the Taliban to get all American forces out of Afghanistan by May 1. Imagine where we'd be if I had indicated on May 1, I was not going to renegotiate an evacuation date. We were going to stay there. I had only one alternative, for thousands of more troops back into Afghanistan to fight a war."

When asked if he made the right decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, the President said yes and added:

"I have never been of the view that we should be sacrificing American lives to try to establish a democratic government in Afghanistan, a country that has never once in its entire history been a united country. Our interest in going was to prevent al Qaeda from reemerging, first to get [Osama] bin Laden, wipe out al Qaeda in Afghanistan, prevent that from happening again. As I've said 100 times, terrorism has metastasized around the world. We have greater threats coming out of other countries, a heck of a lot closer to the United States. Ladies and gentlemen, it was time to end a 20-year war."

Republicans use the deaths of 13 American Heroes to Score Cheap Political Points.

Many members of the former Party of Lincoln are very vile creatures.

The bodies of the 13 American Heroes had not been identified yet when some of them, including the number three member of the House Republican leadership (Elise Stefanik) and Tennessee fringe Senator Marsha Blackburn, called President Biden unfit for office and said he and his National Security team should either resign or be impeached.

What bull fecal matter?

Where were these Republican calls for resignation or impeachment when 300 Marines were blown up by suicide bombers in Lebanon in the Regan Administration in 1983?

Or in 2001 when George W, Bush did not take the intelligence seriously enough when Al Queda launched the 9/11 attacks killing close to 3.000 Americans.

Or over the last year and a half when Donald Trump cost thousands of lives with his inept response to the Coronavirus. He also set the stage for the American withdrawal from Afghanistan with his deal with the Taliban.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was having none of it when asked at a White House Press Briefing following President Biden's remarks, commenting:

“This is a day where US service members, 12 of them, lost their lives at the hands of terrorists. It’s not a day for politics, and we would expect that any American, elected or not, would stand with us in our commitment to going after and fighting and killing those terrorists wherever they live. And to honoring the memory of service members. And that’s what this day is for.”

Flags will be held at half staff to honor the fallen who gave their lives to save others in Kabul today.

There are still five days left to evacuate the remaining Americans and as many Afghans as possible through Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport.

Let us pray that all goes well and no more American soldiers or Afghan civilians suffer.

 

 

Biden's Approval Rating should not Suffer because of Republican Stupidity and Incompetence

 It is amazing how knee-jerk the reactions of some of the American People can be without fully thinking through the scope of an issue or problem.

President Joe Biden's approval rating has slipped over the last several weeks. Some polls show him below 50 percent.

Is it because of anything he did?

With the possible exception of not fully anticipating the complete collapse of Afghanistan Security Forces within days of American and N.A.T.O. troop withdrawal, not really.

It is mystifying how some of these voters could give George W. Bush a bump in approval after his failure to read the intelligence before 9/11 that led to the deaths of almost 3,000 people and blame Biden when no Americans have died in the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Let readers also remember that the Biden/Harris Administration did not start this withdrawal process. The Trump/Pence Administration set the table for this calamity by making nice with the Taliban and negotiating a deal with them.

What else is causing the decrease Biden's poll popularity? The Delta Surge of COVID 19.

Is that Biden's fault?

No!

President Biden and his supporters should not be blamed for the actions (or inactions) of Know Nothing-Science Denying-anti mask and vaccine mandate Republican leaders (including Governors like Ron DeSantis, Doug Ducey, and Greg Abbott) and their Trump Zone flock who thumbed their noses at wearing protective masks or getting the Coronavirus vaccination.

People should be mad at the unvaccinated and the individuals who refuse to wear masks. They are the ones clogging up hospital space and threatening the lives of the nations most vulnerable, including those children under 12 years old.

If there is any polling justice, DeSantis, and Abbott is polling worse than Biden right now.

How about the situation at the Southern Border (no one ever talks about the one with Canada. I wonder why that is)?

There was a record number of attempted border crossings in July due to COVID and economic despair. What happened to most of these people? They were apprehended and turned away.

That is not to say there is not a need to enhance border security and reform immigration.

There is but it is total stupidity to blame Biden for a problem that two of his predecessors (Bush and Obama) unsuccessfully tried to solve (but could not because of the white nationalist Republican base) and another (Trump) made worse.

The Biden/Harris Administration:

• has made great progress in distributing vaccines across the country.
• made record investments in the social justice system and is on the verge of accomplishing more in that area as well as major infrastructure overhauls.
• is actively seeking ways to protect Democracy in this country from the neo-fascist Republican Party.
• is in the process of successfully airlifting all Americans and as many Afghans as possible to safety.

People need to remember that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris came into office facing a pandemic crisis, an economic disaster, an assault on our Democracy, a decapitation of our immigration system, and a 20-year war that was scheduled to end.

That the Biden/Harris Administration is working hard to put back together in less than a year what the Trump/Pence destroyed in four should warrant patience and understanding from the American People, not knee-jerk condemnation.

Think people. Do you think the Republicans can solve the country's problems? Based on what? The performance of the last two Republican Administrations.

Give me a break. Cut Joe Biden and Kamala Harris some slack.

They should not be blamed for Republican stupidity and incompetence.

 

 

 

 

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