China has been leading the chorus of authoritarian countries expressing unbridled schadenfreude over America’s humiliating and tragic retreat from Afghanistan. Its official state news agency, Xinhua, set the tone with an August 16 headline that read: The ‘fall of Kabul’ rings the funeral bell of US hegemony But its unofficial state newspaper, the Global Times,… Read more.
Archives for August 2021
US Leaving Afghanistan … a Tragic and Humiliating Mess
Podcast Episode 45: With 20 Years of Blood and Treasure Buried in Its ‘Graveyard of Empires’... Related commentaries: Afghanistan evacuation… Listen.
Anderson .Paak Tattoos My Rant Against Posthumous Albums
I have been dissing the racket of posthumous albums for years, and taking a lot of flak for doing so. This was especially the case when I wrote the following from “More Proof Michael Was Not ‘Gone Too Soon’,” June 20, 2014: _________ When producers raised the curtain on Michael Jackson’s much-hyped performance, in hologram… Read more.
Media’s Crippling Coverage of Tokyo Paralympics…
The 2020 Tokyo Paralympics get underway with the Opening Ceremony tonight. If you live in the United States, however, you probably had no clue (unless you’re related to someone from Team USA, or you experienced the Google shower of Paralympic pictograms on your computer screen). Of course, media coverage of the Paralympics is scant in… Read more.
Haiti
Over the past week, Afghanistan dominated conversations among personal friends as much as it dominated coverage on cable news networks. But I never failed to spare a thought for Haiti – as “Haitian Earthquake 2021: Déjà vu or Voodoo…?” August 14, attests. Reports abound about chronic political corruption and dysfunction making people less inclined to… Read more.
Graveyard of Empires! China, Your Turn…
Russia and China are leading the chorus of countries gloating over America’s humiliating retreat from Afghanistan. These of course are the same two countries that have been undermining elections, fomenting unrest, and even discrediting vaccines to make America look so dysfunctional and unlivable that their countries would look more attractive by comparison, respectively. But there… Read more.
America’s Evacuation from Kabul Looks Too Much Like Its Evacuation from Saigon
The United States spent 20 years trying to build Afghanistan in its image. Yet, US soldiers suddenly surrendered it to the Taliban last month by sneaking away at night. America’s evacuation from Kabul News of the retreat shocked the world. It also humiliated the United States. But, just as in Vietnam, US military leaders in Afghanistan knew for years this war… Read more.
After Betraying Pledges to Resettle Windrushes and Hongkongers, Britain Pledges to Resettle Afghans
Post-Brexit Britain has been finding itself increasingly isolated on the world stage. This might explain why it seizes any opportunity to seem relevant. This was the case when the British media hailed the fact that Britain was the destination of President Biden’s first foreign trip. And it is the case now with them hailing Prime… Read more.
Afghanistan: ‘US Officials Have Always Known This War Is Unwinnable’
Granted, it’s Tuesday, but the Monday-morning quarterbacking is head spinning. No doubt you are hearing pundits across the political spectrum decry everything from the unwillingness of Afghans to fight to the willingness of Americans to rely on WMD-style intelligence to their demise … yet again. Most people are understandably in shock and awe over the… Read more.
Biden, Seize the Narrative: Announce a Berlin-Style Airlift Now!
President Biden should command prime time on all networks tonight to announce a Berlin-style airlift of all Americans and Afghans who supported America’s 20-year war. He should also lay blame for this debacle where it belongs, namely at the feet of the Afghan soldiers who used those feet to high tail it and run when… Read more.