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You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / President Speaking + White House Press Conference (Now!) + Pentagon News Conference LIVE (below)

President Speaking + White House Press Conference (Now!) + Pentagon News Conference LIVE (below)

by WaterGirl|  August 26, 20212:55 pm| 198 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action

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A news conference originally expected at 12 p.m. on Aug. 26 was delayed after two explosions in Kabul killed U.S. service members.

President Biden speaking now!

Two news conferences, this one is in progress.  Starts around the 19-minute mark.

I’m not sure whether this next one will be Jen Psaki or someone else.  I’ll change the post title as soon as it starts.

Update: It looks like the Jen Psaki press briefing will start in the neighborhood of 4:45 pm.  Correction: 5:45 pm!

.

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Reader Interactions

198Comments

  1. 1.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 3:04 pm

    The Jan. 6 committee is certainly requesting lots of records from people high up the trump chain.

    Should be interesting…

  2. 2.

    Hildebrand

    August 26, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    The stupid is running deep in the response to the bombing, I can only imagine the hair on fire nature of today’s press knavery.

  3. 3.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    There’s a press conference at the Pentagon now as well.

    https://www.defense.gov/Watch/Live-Events/#/?currentVideo=26972

    Getting a connection may be a problem – I assume that half of the world is trying to see it.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    August 26, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    @germy:

     

    They should have added Virginia Thomas to that group.

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 3:14 pm

    @Another Scott: Thanks, Scott!  I added that one up top, also.  Starts at the 19-minute mark.

  6. 6.

    Rusty

    August 26, 2021 at 3:14 pm

    Less than an hour after the airport attack, the Google news feed had an article with this headline: “Joe Biden’s terrible August just got worse  What the Kabul airport attack portends for the president”  They must had it already written before the attack to get it out so quickly.  Our news media is so broken.

  7. 7.

    Roger Moore

    August 26, 2021 at 3:16 pm

    @Rusty:

    They must had it already written before the attack to get it out so quickly.

    I’m amazed they were able to find a copy that wasn’t covered in semen stains.

  8. 8.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 3:17 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Yes, she spent some money for that day.

  9. 9.

    zhena gogolia

    August 26, 2021 at 3:18 pm

    Trump laid this trap for Biden and it’s working beautifully.

  10. 10.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 3:19 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Trump doesn’t have enough planning ability to lay traps.  And Trump did not believe he was going to lose the election.

  11. 11.

    piratedan

    August 26, 2021 at 3:22 pm

    @Rusty: it’s like watching the plot from Tomorrow Never Dies unfold in slow motion…

    There are plenty of bad actors in play here, ISIS obviously thinks the Taliban are too warm and fuzzy, and we already have an idea on what a significant portion of the media is looking for.  We’re not conspiracy theorists here, but we can all agree that the GOP is more than willing to take any event, turn it on its head and attempt to take advantage of it (bad faith being already part and parcel of the MOO).

  12. 12.

    James E Powell

    August 26, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    @Baud:

    Agree completely. Almost nobody press/media gave a rat’s ass about Afghanistan and the handful that did just assumed that Biden would kick the can to the next president.

  13. 13.

    Cermet

    August 26, 2021 at 3:26 pm

    So they are reporting that 12 service members were killed; damn, because greedy amerikan contractors decided to hang on as long as possible to collect those sweet bucks as long as possible.

  14. 14.

    Hildebrand

    August 26, 2021 at 3:28 pm

    @James E Powell: Yep.  It’s a combination of wanting the forever war to continue, a chance to bloody Biden’s nose after far too many months (as far as the press is concerned) of not being able to lay a glove on him, and, well, it’s August, and the press is bored.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 3:29 pm

    @James E Powell:

    As I mentioned in the Covid thread, there’s a general sense out there that Dems will always cave to emotional appeal simply because we have empathy for people whereas the GOP does not.  A lot of the pro-war media is angry that their emotional appeals to Biden aren’t working.

  16. 16.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    @Cermet:   Twelve?  That’s very sad.

  17. 17.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    H.R. McMaster: Kabul blasts are what happen 'when you surrender to a terrorist organization' @LTGHRMcMaster @MSNBC https://t.co/G3SzxLrBJx— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) August 26, 2021

  18. 18.

    OGLiberal

    August 26, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    @Baud: I remain convinced that the deal Trump made with the Taliban involved some sort of monetary grift that put cash in his pockets, Pompeo’s, Jared’s, MBS’, etc.  Also, the idiots who go to his rallies love the “America first!” BS, which I always found strange because they also seem to love killing brown people from other nations with our military toys.  I agree that he had no “let’s make this blow up in Biden’s face in case we lose” strategy.  Way too forward thinking.  Whatever the reason it had to be purely transactional and what he thought was going to benefit him that day.

  19. 19.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    @Cermet:

    Mercenaries.

  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:32 pm

    @Roger Moore:  I agree about the semen stains.  Sometimes, I wonder how they keep it from dribbling out of their mouths, too.

    Hard on for Republican framing, and Republicans, and the permanent war contingent.  Every single, solitary time.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 3:32 pm

    @germy: Hawks gotta hawk.

  22. 22.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:32 pm

    @germy:  Mrs. Greenspan. I have noticed semen stains on her for a long, long, long time now.

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    August 26, 2021 at 3:33 pm

    @rikyrah:

    That would definitely amuse my bouche. “It’s Ginnytime!”

  24. 24.

    OGLiberal

    August 26, 2021 at 3:34 pm

    @germy: Wait, wait.  Did anybody know who ISIS-K was before like a few hours ago?  The likely bombers were ISIS-K, who hate the Taliban.  When did we surrender to them.  Heck, there were probably Taliban folks killed in the bombings.

    I’ll say it again – pretty soon the story will be that we need to stay in Afghanistan to help the Taliban defeat ISIS-K.

  25. 25.

    JPL

    August 26, 2021 at 3:35 pm

    How long will it take trump to pose with some of the parents of the marines who died?   It will happen, but I’m not sure when.

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    August 26, 2021 at 3:35 pm

    @germy: Christ, stenograph much, lady?

    “U kn rn gd $ EZ lrng shrthnd.”

  27. 27.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    Thread on McMaster:

    I hope someone followed up by asking about previous terrorist attacks. During Trump's term, there were at least 560 causalities from ISIL attacks in Afghanistan. 141 of these occurred under McMaster's watch. 98 more were killed in the 3 weeks after McMaster's resignation https://t.co/Ax4pDf47Li

    — Mangy Jay (@magi_jay) August 26, 2021

  28. 28.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    @trollhattan:   Technically, it should be “mitchellrepeats.”

    And repeats, and repeats, and repeats.

  29. 29.

    trollhattan

    August 26, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    @OGLiberal:

    I’ll say it again – pretty soon the story will be that we need to stay in Afghanistan to help the Taliban defeat ISIS-K.

    Lord, you’re right. They can twist themselves into spewing that w/o even a trip to the chiropractor after.

  30. 30.

    Betty Cracker

    August 26, 2021 at 3:38 pm

    Did HR McMaster specify who did the surrendering, i.e., his former boss Donald J. Trump? I assume not. The snippets I’m seeing here and on Twitter increase my resolve to continue avoiding news coverage of the shit going down in Afghanistan.

    That said, getting out with all possible speed was the right thing to do, and I’m grateful that Biden had the guts to do it. It was always going to be a massive clusterfuck because all the players on the ground have agency, not just the US.

  31. 31.

    Woodrow/asim

    August 26, 2021 at 3:38 pm

    @OGLiberal: pretty soon the story will be that we need to stay in Afghanistan to help the Taliban defeat ISIS-K.

    More like “we need to take ’em both on!”, I fear.

    And yeah, the vast majority of Americans didn’t know of ISIS-K before 2 weeks ago, much less really cared. We’re being told to care, by people and companies desperate for the money and power that comes from fear-mongering.

  32. 32.

    Yarrow

    August 26, 2021 at 3:38 pm

    @Baud:

     there’s a general sense out there that Dems will always cave to emotional appeal simply because we have empathy for people whereas the GOP does not.

    Lack of empathy is one of the defining characteristics of Republicans.

  33. 33.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 3:38 pm

    The media loves scolding liberals because liberals respond to it and that makes the media feel powerful, whereas scolding right-wingers makes them feel impotent because they ignore it or return fire. https://t.co/JyGXU16kTK

    — Mass for Shut-ins (Podcast) (@edburmila) August 26, 2021

  34. 34.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 3:39 pm

    @OGLiberal:

    Biden is ending the war, but I suspect special forces will be used there and throughout the world if they have actionable intel about terrorists.

  35. 35.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    August 26, 2021 at 3:39 pm

    @Hildebrand: Some of the deep thinkers were saying we need someone like Commander Kain from Battlestar Galactica, you know the character who got his ship killed in a futile head on charge against a superior force. More proof TV rots people’s brains.

  36. 36.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 3:40 pm

    Joe Biden needs to either address the country and take questions from every single journalist from the press corp or resign.

    Resigning might be simpler for everyone at this point. https://t.co/NU4RLGbexW

    — Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) August 26, 2021

    People kept telling you to quit The View but you stayed for five years, and you were way less qualified for that job than Biden is for his. https://t.co/kW9by2WEYR

    — Roy Edroso (@edroso) August 26, 2021

  37. 37.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 3:41 pm

    @Yarrow: No question.  And I’m glad we have empathy.  But most of us recognize that empathy isn’t the only consideration in decisionmaking.  And people who are not us get offended when we don’t prioritize their empathy in our decisions.

  38. 38.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:44 pm

    @germy:  STFU Meghan.

  39. 39.

    trollhattan

    August 26, 2021 at 3:44 pm

    @JPL:

    Their families will be brought to a meeting with Ashli Babbitt’s family. “We have gathered here families of the first victims of Biden’s fecklessness.”

  40. 40.

    trollhattan

    August 26, 2021 at 3:45 pm

    @germy: ​
     I had no idea doing pressers was the main presidential responsibility, more important even than, you know, doing his job.

  41. 41.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    August 26, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    Looks like I picked the wrong week to go bar hopping in Kabul

  42. 42.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    I’m watching the YouTube feed.  It’s interesting to see the reporters staring at their phones, gossiping, and the occasional loud crashes of thunder.  (There a few isolated, intense thunderstorms in the DC area now.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  43. 43.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    August 26, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    @germy: Yes, that’s just what we need to have a leadership change in the middle of crises, my god is that woman a total idiot.

  44. 44.

    cain

    August 26, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    I hate this timeline – just trying to read the avalanche of shit from right wingers and their dumb takes. Seriously they should shut the fuck up – so many people have died under their watch both American servicemen and people thanks to sheer incompetence.

    Biden is going to survive this because nobody really gives a shit about Afghanistan. Nobody is going to remember by the time 3 years are up.

  45. 45.

    cain

    August 26, 2021 at 3:47 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    They are all saying that – like any of their politicians have resigned for anything.

  46. 46.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 26, 2021 at 3:48 pm

    Wasn’t McMaster supposed to hold the line during the Orange one’s reign of error? I remember reading something to that effect on this very blog, on the front page no less.

  47. 47.

    The Dangerman

    August 26, 2021 at 3:48 pm

    I live in a neighborhood with several Trumpers. I keep hearing sounds from their places like Quagmire’s Giggity repeatedly, which I assume is the sound they make when they have another happy ending. Their sofas, chairs, TV sets, etc., are going to need industrial strength cleaning.

  48. 48.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    It’s called trolling.  There’s bad news so they have a window to let their freak fly.

  49. 49.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 26, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    Are the media drama ? ? still in Kabul?

  50. 50.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:50 pm

    I trust President Biden and his team.

    I have never trusted the press corpse less.  I guess the “emails, emails, emails!!” shit occurred over a lot of days.

    Go President Joe.  You know he will have a hard time sleeping tonight, for thinking of the servicemembers killed, and their survivors and other loved ones.  I will hurt whoever says “Hey, it’s a trip back to Delaware.”

  51. 51.

    Subsole

    August 26, 2021 at 3:50 pm

    @JPL:

    Depends.

    Were the marines white?

  52. 52.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    @trollhattan:   Stop it.  Please.  Not funny.

  53. 53.

    Hildebrand

    August 26, 2021 at 3:52 pm

    What really fries my cookies is that all this outrage is purely performative.  These people don’t give a shit about the people of Afghanistan, or the troops.  This is all a grand game to them and it turns my stomach.

  54. 54.

    sab

    August 26, 2021 at 3:52 pm

    @germy: Right wingers are often armed.

  55. 55.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Lester Holt will be interviewing the officer who shot Babbitt.  Tonight on NBC.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    @Hildebrand: Agree.

  57. 57.

    zhena gogolia

    August 26, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Why is it that when there’s a Republican president we’re all supposed to stand behind him, but when it’s a Dem it’s open season?

  58. 58.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    @Yarrow:   Hello!  Good to see you.  Have you been about and I just did not notice?

    On another topic, I am going to call the White House comments line with a thank you for President Biden, and that I am thinking of him and his team as they work through this.  He made the best decision available to him.

  59. 59.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 3:56 pm

    @zhena gogolia:   That moron rambling on about Dunkirk the other day.

    I think these weasels should also study up on the concept of “Fifth Column.”  Because they are that.  Trying to weaken from within because — ratings!  Drama!

    I suspect the Columbia Journalism Review is going to have a lot to say about this episode, after the fact, and it has not been media’s finest hour.

    It’s so obvious how much they’ve been captured by those they profess to be covering.  Kind of.  Except, not very much before this recently about Afghanistan because — boooo-ring.

    They are pack animals.  Lemmings.

  60. 60.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 4:00 pm

    @Elizabelle:  It’s so obvious how much they’ve been captured by those they profess to be covering.

    They’re imbedded.

    That’s what the military learned after Vietnam.  Keep the press inside the tent.

  61. 61.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 4:01 pm

    Meanwhile, …

    ALERT: Seven US Capitol Police officers file federal civil suit against Donald Trump, key Trump allies & high-profile Jan 6 defendants .. in connection with US Capitol Insurrection

    Citing series of Trump tweets/statements, alleging conspiracy, assault, battery, seeking damages pic.twitter.com/yV6gRR5wZC— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) August 26, 2021

    (via Popehat)

    I hope they’re getting pointers from Dominion Voting Systems’ lawyers.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  62. 62.

    raven

    August 26, 2021 at 4:01 pm

    @Betty Cracker: A few days ago he definitely blamed Trump and Pompeo.

  63. 63.

    raven

    August 26, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    @germy: embedded

  64. 64.

    Subsole

    August 26, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    @Hildebrand:

    Truth to tell, they don’t give a shit about America either, except as an extension of their own sense of self-worth.

  65. 65.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    Interesting. The YouTube feed from the WH just froze.

    [eta] Maybe they turned it off because the text now says it’s starting at 5 PM ET.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  66. 66.

    CaseyL

    August 26, 2021 at 4:04 pm

    @Elizabelle: Excellent idea!  I just submitted a note on the Contact WH site saying exactly that.

  67. 67.

    Gravenstone

    August 26, 2021 at 4:06 pm

    @germy: I’d be curious if the current general staff might want to have a few quiet words the LtG (ret) McMaster about how “helpful” he’s being at the moment. Granted, he’s very much wanting to preserve his own (failed) legacy wrt Afghanistan. So not exactly an unbiased observer.

  68. 68.

    Roger Moore

    August 26, 2021 at 4:07 pm

    @trollhattan:

    They can twist themselves into spewing that w/o even a trip to the chiropractor after.

    I don’t think invertebrates need chiropractors.

  69. 69.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 4:07 pm

    @CaseyL:   Thank you!  Good for you!  We have his back.

  70. 70.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 4:08 pm

    @Another Scott:  I am going to change the link out up top.

    This link is new from the White House and it says the press briefing will start in 97 minutes.

    edit: Now saying 4:45 explicitly. ?‍♀️

  71. 71.

    Kropacetic

    August 26, 2021 at 4:08 pm

    I’d like to say I can’t remember the last time I was so dissapointed in our media* but, unfortunately, I can; the run-up to the Iraq War.

    *Transcended utter disspointment to anger beyond dissapointment.

  72. 72.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 4:10 pm

    @Kropacetic:   Yes.  That’s right.  It was Iraq, which just about all of them swallowed.

    They’re up against a braver and stronger president this time, though.  More honest, too.

  73. 73.

    Betty Cracker

    August 26, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    @germy: Armchair wingnut sleuths at outlets like Real Clear Politics (and worse) outed a USCP cop months ago, IIRC. They seemed especially tumescent because the man they identified as the shooter is black. I have no idea if they were right, but if so, the cop’s name has been known to white supremacists for a while now, so I guess going public won’t endanger him any more than he already is.

  74. 74.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 4:14 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    They’re up against a braver and stronger president this time, though.  More honest, too.

    And they hate it.

  75. 75.

    Cacti

    August 26, 2021 at 4:15 pm

    Isn’t McMaster part of the brain trust that couldn’t defeat the Taliban in 20 years.

  76. 76.

    dmsilev

    August 26, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    Never mind all that. Conservative apparatchiks Judicial Watch have uncovered the *real* scandal of the Biden administration:

    BREAKING: Judicial Watch announced today that it received 36 pages of records communications from the Secret Service that show the Bidens’ dog Major was responsible for numerous biting incidents of Secret Service personnel (1/3). https://t.co/mNCPgSpcY0
    — Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) August 26, 2021

  77. 77.

    Kristine

    August 26, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    @CaseyL: I just sent a note as well.

  78. 78.

    Betty Cracker

    August 26, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    @raven: Good for him then. If there were bad decisions on the ground or from the White House during Biden’s term — and maybe there were, I have no idea — I’ve got no problem with the media criticizing Biden and the current commanders over it. I hope they do; that’s their damn job. But it irritates me when people pretend like the pre-withdrawal status quo could have been maintained. That shit was already over.

  79. 79.

    Gravenstone

    August 26, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    @dmsilev: Not the Onion? Can anyone tell the difference from here?

  80. 80.

    Yarrow

    August 26, 2021 at 4:19 pm

    @Elizabelle:  Thanks. Yes, I’ve been about, I guess. Pretty much no one notices when I leave or when I return. I’m used to it. Story of my life.

  81. 81.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 26, 2021 at 4:19 pm

    @dmsilev: Majorgate!

  82. 82.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 26, 2021 at 4:21 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Pretty much no one notices when I leave or when I return.

    Not true, we just might not say anything.

  83. 83.

    VeniceRiley

    August 26, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    @germy: Then Joy Ann Reid ate Andrea Mitchell for lunch.

  84. 84.

    Kropacetic

    August 26, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    @Elizabelle: Well, with Iraq they were supporting a (P)resident.

  85. 85.

    Spanky

    August 26, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    Sigh. Today’s news and its fallout require a respite. Go read Alexandra Petri, and find out what happened to Kurt.

  86. 86.

    Kropacetic

    August 26, 2021 at 4:23 pm

    @Yarrow: Come now, I don’t notice when anyone comes or goes. I’m working on this.

  87. 87.

    Yarrow

    August 26, 2021 at 4:25 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:  Unless something is said, results are the same.

  88. 88.

    Gravenstone

    August 26, 2021 at 4:25 pm

    @VeniceRiley: Seems like Mitchell would more than a tad tough and gristly.

  89. 89.

    Spanky

    August 26, 2021 at 4:26 pm

    McMaster is still living off the fame from the Battle of 73 Easting. Everything is tactical to him.

  90. 90.

    PJ

    August 26, 2021 at 4:26 pm

    @cain: ​
      Nobody’s going to remember Afghanistan in three months, and the press will have moved on to another stick to beat Biden with (“Biden was elected on the promise of being compassionate, but does passage of both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Democrats’ Reconciliation Bill in the face of Republican intransigence mean that he’s turned his back on the heartland?”)

  91. 91.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 26, 2021 at 4:28 pm

    @Yarrow: In my case, I usually get to threads after they’re dead a buried due to being on the West Coast and job.

  92. 92.

    OGLiberal

    August 26, 2021 at 4:28 pm

    @Baud: I have no doubt about that and if it means a special op to take out some ISIS-K threat in Afghanistan my guess is that the Taliban won’t step in our way and may even assist on the down-low.

    But that model – like what we did to get Bin Laden (after a full blown invasion of the country he was residing in failed to accomplish that goal) – isn’t good enough…..need boots on the ground, forward bases, a nice airstrip with some fast food joints, etc.  If Congressperson A has a company in his/her district that manufactures latrines for the Army and that manufacturer is the second largest employer in the district you can be sure he/she will be all for whatever results in latrines being built.  And Andrea Mitchell will support because it will give her the appearance of being relevant again because she’ll be on TV asking inane “gotcha” questions.

  93. 93.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 26, 2021 at 4:30 pm

    @Cermet: You don’t know that these people were greedy contractors and not aid workers.  Also, why do always spell America, etc., with a k?

  94. 94.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 4:31 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Dog bites man. Slow news day at Judicial Watch?— Jerry kalin (@Jerrykalin1) August 26, 2021

  95. 95.

    Ken

    August 26, 2021 at 4:31 pm

    @PJ: “Biden was elected on the promise of being compassionate, but does passage of both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Democrats’ Reconciliation Bill in the face of Republican intransigence mean that he’s turned his back on the heartland?”

    Only if they add the amendment I would prefer, which is that no funds go to any state unless at least one of their Senators voted for the bill, and no funds go to any district whose Representative voted against the bill.

  96. 96.

    raven

    August 26, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Because he’s fucking asshole who drops stupid drive-by’s and leaves.

  97. 97.

    Raoul Paste

    August 26, 2021 at 4:37 pm

    @Hildebrand: This

    Yes it’s a game to these DC press monsters.  They bring to mind the Peter O’Toole movie The Ruling Class

  98. 98.

    leeleeFL

    August 26, 2021 at 4:40 pm

    @germy: I hope Meghan gets beaten like a rug over her BS.  She makes me nauseous.  So very, very Full of S—!

  99. 99.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 26, 2021 at 4:40 pm

    @Spanky: Actually, I don’t think you are far off.  He built his reputation as a combat leader at the regimental combat team level.  And as a critic of upper leadership practices.  I said in the thread below that I wonder what MAJ McMaster would think of LTG(ret) McMaster.  I am not sure it would be favorable.

  100. 100.

    Captain C

    August 26, 2021 at 4:41 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Maybe they can show us how, freelance.

  101. 101.

    leeleeFL

    August 26, 2021 at 4:41 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: The question answers itself!  Meghan McCain is an idiot of the first order.

  102. 102.

    OGLiberal

    August 26, 2021 at 4:43 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: He caved and quit – was a non-factor.  Couldn’t stand up to the big, wussy manchild.

  103. 103.

    James E Powell

    August 26, 2021 at 4:46 pm

    @germy:

    Does she realize that would make Kamala Harris president?

  104. 104.

    leeleeFL

    August 26, 2021 at 4:46 pm

    @Elizabelle:  Supposedly, swallowing goes with loving.  Never was sure it was true.

  105. 105.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 4:46 pm

    @James E Powell:

    Fresh meat for Meghan and Ben.

  106. 106.

    OGLiberal

    August 26, 2021 at 4:46 pm

    @Elizabelle: I know Dunkirk was technically a “retreat” but it was also a huge, impressive accomplishment…historically hailed as a “miracle”.  Maybe not the comparison they want to use?

  107. 107.

    James E Powell

    August 26, 2021 at 4:48 pm

    @germy:

    It’s also what the press/media learned during the Reagan years and especially the first Gulf War.

  108. 108.

    Soprano2

    August 26, 2021 at 4:50 pm

    @dmsilev:  Judicial Watch

    My mother left 35% of her estate to these morons. *bangs head on desk* It makes me furious, at least she could have kept it in the community but no she’s giving a significant amount of money to these jokers whose only function is to give right-wingers a thrill up their leg. She might as well have lit that money on fire. There’s nothing I can do about it, either.

  109. 109.

    Kay

    August 26, 2021 at 4:51 pm

    Matthew Yglesias
    @mattyglesias
    1h
    This perfectly captures the premise of the misguided media narrative on Afghanistan — that somehow nobody was dying and nothing was going wrong during the prior nineteen years of warfare.

    He goes on to list all the terrorist attacks during McMaster’s term. It’s not a numbers game and it’s not one-upmanship. It’s simply what happened, so to draw a conclusion and announce “this is what happens…” is wrong. It’s incorrect.
    They need to start telling the truth about this war. I say “truth” because I know he knows there were many, many terrorist attacks in Afghanistan during that period where hundreds of people were killed so why continue to present this as a consequence of getting out? If it’s a consequence of getting out it’s also a consequence of staying in. We know that because we’ve now had both.

  110. 110.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 4:52 pm

    @Soprano2: I’m sorry.  If it’s any solace, although Judicial Watch is awful, there are much worse right-wing organizations she could given her money to.

  111. 111.

    Martin

    August 26, 2021 at 4:52 pm

    @germy: This is an investigation into a coup.

  112. 112.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 4:54 pm

    @Soprano2:

    Does Judicial Watch solicit estate donations?  My local PBS station does that.  They run commercials encouraging seniors (childless, I assume) to leave their money to their station.

    I wonder if your mother received a similar request.

  113. 113.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 4:54 pm

    @WaterGirl: Looks like the new time is 5:45 PM ET.

    Why, it’s almost as if the White House has nothing better to do today!!1

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  114. 114.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 4:55 pm

    @Martin:

    Yes, they’re looking at everyone in the Trump family (except Tiffany) and a bunch of other players up in the food chain.

  115. 115.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 4:55 pm

    @germy: Lots of organizations solicit estate donations.

  116. 116.

    germy

    August 26, 2021 at 4:56 pm

    @Baud:

    My offspring are devouring my estate while I still walk the earth.  There’ll be nothing left for my local PBS station or Judicial Watch.

  117. 117.

    rikyrah

    August 26, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    @Baud:

     

    As I mentioned in the Covid thread, there’s a general sense out there that Dems will always cave to emotional appeal simply because we have empathy for people whereas the GOP does not.  A lot of the pro-war media is angry that their emotional appeals to Biden aren’t working.

     

    Democrats have had the attitude of GTFU for a long time. Now that 46 is actually doing it, we’re happy.

  118. 118.

    JPL

    August 26, 2021 at 5:01 pm

    Osama was a one hit wonder 

    trump told Hugh Hewitt that his terrorists kills were big, because when you think about it, Osama had one hit.

    what a fking idiot trump is

  119. 119.

    Kay

    August 26, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    If terrorist attacks in Afghanistan are “because” we’re leaving, then terrorist attacks in Afghanistan can also be “because” we were there.

  120. 120.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 5:03 pm

    White House/Oval Office outside door. Marine at the ready.

    Video says “Live”. If one looks very closely, one can see the Marine shift his weight on his legs.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tBR5cMoiOA

    That says the Biden address starts at 5 PM. Other things say press briefing at 5:45 PM. Who knows…

    [eta:] The Marines just changed shifts.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  121. 121.

    rikyrah

    August 26, 2021 at 5:03 pm

    @germy:

     

    People kept telling you to quit The View but you stayed for five years, and you were way less qualified for that job than Biden is for his. https://t.co/kW9by2WEYR

    — Roy Edroso (@edroso) August 26, 2021

     

    BWA AH AH HA HA HA HA HA HA

  122. 122.

    gvg

    August 26, 2021 at 5:04 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: He did. All anyone expected IMO was Trump not using nuclear bombs. That is what terrified people the most then. We knew he was going to do stupid and bigoted stuff and that is what happens when our citizens elect a stupid bigot plus a GOP majority Congress. No mushroom cloud was all we could hope for. He didn’t start any new wars either which was better than I hoped honestly.

    No idea if McMaster actually deserves any credit, but that was the reason people were glad several generals were on his staff. We thought he would mostly pick only a bunch of whackos.

  123. 123.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    @Another Scott: oops!  that’s my mistake.  it says 4:45 but I am central time.  I get so used to times being announced as Eastern time that I didn’t translate.

    Fixing now, thanks.

  124. 124.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    @OGLiberal: Truly. And which side ended up winning that war?

    History can be instructive, media. You should read more.

  125. 125.

    cintibud

    August 26, 2021 at 5:07 pm

    @OGLiberal:
    When people mention Dunkirk, consider this

    While more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued, British and French military forces nonetheless sustained heavy casualties and were forced to abandon nearly all their equipment; around 16,000 French soldiers and 1,000 British soldiers died during the evacuation.

    : sourc

     

    ETA – I also saw that over 200 ships were lost and while no British solders were left on the beach many were left elsewhere in France and of course, thousands of French troops were left behind as well

  126. 126.

    JPL

    August 26, 2021 at 5:11 pm

    Latest report ninety people died in the terrorist attach and there are 150 wounded.

  127. 127.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 5:11 pm

    @leeleeFL: believe yesterday was third anniversary of John McCain’s death?  Meghan should find a better reason to come to our attention. I don’t think her father would agree with the resign suggestion.

  128. 128.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    @gvg:

    Yep, that’s where I was.  No nukes.

  129. 129.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 26, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    @cintibud: In most retreats, there are people whose job is to cover the retreat.  In a withdrawal like Dunkirk, there were always going to be those who held the perimeter as the the last boats left.  By those lights, this withdrawal is going unbelievably well.

  130. 130.

    rikyrah

    August 26, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    @Hildebrand:

     

    What really fries my cookies is that all this outrage is purely performative.  These people don’t give a shit about the people of Afghanistan, or the troops.  This is all a grand game to them and it turns my stomach.

     

    Tell that truth.

  131. 131.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 26, 2021 at 5:13 pm

    @gvg: They bolstered his lies and gave him credibility. They didn’t hold the line.

  132. 132.

    zhena gogolia

    August 26, 2021 at 5:13 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Ian MacEwan’s Atonement gives a harrowing description of Dunkirk.

  133. 133.

    cintibud

    August 26, 2021 at 5:14 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Exactly. And there is no beach with hundreds of friendly boats who can ferry Afgans to safety.

  134. 134.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 26, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    @Baud: Any expectation of a good result from Trump was insane. Merely blundering through with bad to awful was the best to be hoped for.

  135. 135.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    John McCain was born August 29 , 1936 and died August 25, 2018.

    Do better, Meghan. The lucky sperm club (actually egg club, here) only gets you so far.

  136. 136.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 26, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: It really does depend on what you mean by hold the line.

  137. 137.

    Hildebrand

    August 26, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    I imagine most of the right-wing freaks blowing a gasket about all of this are actually jealous of the way the Taliban subjugates women and forces everyone into their narrow, violent, and wrong interpretation of their religion.

  138. 138.

    catclub

    August 26, 2021 at 5:17 pm

    @Kay: he knows there were many, many terrorist attacks in Afghanistan during that period where hundreds of people were killed so why continue to present this as a consequence of getting out? If it’s a consequence of getting out it’s also a consequence of staying in.

     

    It is also a consequence of ISIS-K having a beef with the Taliban, which is almost completely unrelated to the US.

  139. 139.

    namekarB

    August 26, 2021 at 5:17 pm

    Lots of hand-wringing noted about the military casualties. From media reports you would think there were no civilians. Had to do some serious googling to discover that 40-60 civilians killed and many more injured in that explosion.

  140. 140.

    raven

    August 26, 2021 at 5:17 pm

    @zhena gogolia:
    Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ Broke the Rules by Ignoring Spielberg and Hiding Tom Hardy

  141. 141.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    August 26, 2021 at 5:17 pm

    I am just thinking the kind of pants crapping and screaming that must have happen in WWII over Pearl Harbor and the surrender of the US army in the Philippines.

  142. 142.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    August 26, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    @catclub: Explains why the Taliban are playing nice then. It’s not just the money they want, it’s the US intelligence support against Special K Isis.

  143. 143.

    raven

    August 26, 2021 at 5:20 pm

    @namekarB: Oh bullshit, quit whining.

     
    At Least 12 U.S. Troops, 60 Afghans Dead In Explosions Outside Kabul Airport

  144. 144.

    zhena gogolia

    August 26, 2021 at 5:21 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Well, Pearl Harbor was a bit of a news story.

  145. 145.

    raven

    August 26, 2021 at 5:21 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: When Dugout Doug got the Medal of Honor for deserting his post?

  146. 146.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 5:21 pm

    @germy: Do you have a link?  That might be cheery news on a day like today.

  147. 147.

    zhena gogolia

    August 26, 2021 at 5:22 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Choose Your Fighter https://t.co/hupCv9QQMP— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 25, 2021

  148. 148.

    cintibud

    August 26, 2021 at 5:25 pm

    @cintibud: My link is blocked. It’s just Wikipedia. I did my google search on Dunkirk causalities.

  149. 149.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    August 26, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    @raven: He didn’t desert, Roosevelt ordering him out. But the main point was the Right made Macarthur the hero of the disaster even though his own air force, that was considered the primary target of the Japanese airforce and were everyone expected the surprise attack to happen, was caught on the ground eight hours after Pearl Harbor and his awesome plan to defend the Philippines collapsed like a  house of card.  And the Right kept it up after Macarthur rushed the US army into a death trap on the Chines border in Korea.

  150. 150.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 26, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    @raven: I haven’t seen Dunkirk but wasn’t one of the criticisms that Nolan whitewashed who the evacuated soldiers were. They was a sizable contingent from the British Indian Army IRL but not in Nolan’s movie

    IIRC Pakistani-British historian Yasmin Khan wrote about it.

  151. 151.

    Ksmiami

    August 26, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    @Spanky: when all you have is a hammer…

  152. 152.

    Bill Arnold

    August 26, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    Don’t recall where I saw it pointed out, but

    Republicans are killing more Americans than Jim Jones did, every day.

  153. 153.

    Ken

    August 26, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Choose Your Fighter

    Can we just have a battle royale where they all kick one another in the face for three hours?

  154. 154.

    gene108

    August 26, 2021 at 5:29 pm

    @James E Powell:

    Does she realize that would make Kamala Harris president?

    A President Harris would be far easier to tear down than President Biden.

    She’s black and a woman.

    All the racial animosity Obama triggered, with all the misogyny Hillary triggered.

  155. 155.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 26, 2021 at 5:29 pm

    Dammit, Joe. Making me cry.

  156. 156.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 26, 2021 at 5:30 pm

    And now Fierce Joe. I love this man.

  157. 157.

    J R in WV

    August 26, 2021 at 5:31 pm

    Well, I’m glad Biden decided to get out, regardless of the damage he knew he would take from the Beltway Press Club.

    I’ve had no truck with Andrea Mitchell Greenspan since the last couple of Democratic National Convention, when she and I could watch a speech together (me on TV, her live at the convention), and then she would lie to me about what we had both had just seen. Most amazing set of fabrications I have ever seen.

    I was against the first Iraq war, the Second Iraq war, the invasion of Afghanistan, the occupation of Afghanistan, etc. So the more troops we remove from the scene of the war crimes, the better.

  158. 158.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 5:32 pm

    Meanwhile, …

    To listen to a significant number of the American press the Taliban have won and that’s that. They have not won. The knives are out on all sides. Civil war is imminent. China is this second leaning on Pakistan to call in all its cards and press for stalemate.

    — Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) August 26, 2021

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  159. 159.

    Josie

    August 26, 2021 at 5:33 pm

    @germy: ​
     I can relate. Just getting mine educated pretty much wiped me out. I’m just thankful for my teacher’s pension. It’s not much, but it does pay the bills.

  160. 160.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 5:33 pm

    Biden’s speaking now.  Psaki is later.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRxMiM17KJE

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  161. 161.

    Bill Arnold

    August 26, 2021 at 5:37 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:
    No nuclear weapons were used by the Trump administration.

  162. 162.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 26, 2021 at 5:42 pm

    @Bill Arnold: That is a low bar.

  163. 163.

    J R in WV

    August 26, 2021 at 5:43 pm

    @Bill Arnold: ​
     

    No nuclear weapons were used by the Trump administration.

    That we know of right now….

  164. 164.

    Cacti

    August 26, 2021 at 5:43 pm

    Biden has promised “revenge” on ISIS.

    Thank God.  I was afraid for 30 seconds that we might be getting out of a war.

  165. 165.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 5:43 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Wow, that will be like Christmas if they get records from all those hideous people.

  166. 166.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 5:45 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: where are you seeing that?  For me it hasn’t started yet.

  167. 167.

    Subsole

    August 26, 2021 at 5:45 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    The second-best thing that ever came out of Korea was that it finally sank that overpuffed piece of shit’s ambitions once and for all.

     

     

    The best thing, of course, being South Korea.

  168. 168.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    @Another Scott: Video up top.  thanks.

  169. 169.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 5:49 pm

    100,000 already taken out of Afghanistan.  Wow.

  170. 170.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 26, 2021 at 5:50 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Yes, it is.  But, as I said above, Trump was always going to be bad.  Avoiding catastrophic is an accomplishment of sorts.  I am not being flippant.  

  171. 171.

    Subsole

    August 26, 2021 at 5:50 pm

     

     

    @Cacti: Revenge can be much more localized than a full-scale war.

    A more flip answer would be that we just said we’re getting out of Afghanistan. Never said nothing about getting outta the war.

  172. 172.

    MomSense

    August 26, 2021 at 5:51 pm

    @germy:

    I had a run in with her in person in 1989.  She tried to bully me to give up my spot at an event that HW had to say thank you to the people in K’Port and I got there early.  She tried to waltz in at the last minute and make me move so she could broadcast from my spot.  I told her no.  She didn’t like it.  She was really mean.

  173. 173.

    Lyrebird

    August 26, 2021 at 5:54 pm

    @Another Scott: Thanks!!!

  174. 174.

    japa21

    August 26, 2021 at 5:55 pm

    I so admire this man. How he handled Doocey was masterful.

  175. 175.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    Good resolve.  Let the talking heads whine.

  176. 176.

    MomSense

    August 26, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    The lowest bar and that was the best possible outcome with him.

  177. 177.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    Raise your hand.

    Yeah. I thought so.

  178. 178.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 5:57 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Not a low bar for the people who would have been on the receiving end.

  179. 179.

    Ken

    August 26, 2021 at 5:59 pm

    @Subsole: Revenge can be much more localized than a full-scale war.

    For example, identifying sources of funding and cutting them off.

  180. 180.

    Baud

    August 26, 2021 at 6:02 pm

    @Ken:

    It’ll be airstrikes or special forces if they know who’s responsible and where they are.

  181. 181.

    Yutsano

    August 26, 2021 at 6:11 pm

    @zhena gogolia: ​

    Worst fuck, marry, kill game in history. ?— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) August 25, 2021

  182. 182.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 6:16 pm

    Excellent, President Biden.  Just excellent.

  183. 183.

    raven

    August 26, 2021 at 6:22 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Bah, my old man was in MacArthur’s Jungle Navy and he hated him with a passion. Dugout Doug!

  184. 184.

    raven

    August 26, 2021 at 6:24 pm

    @Subsole: He never spent one night in Korea. He flew back to his palace every night.

  185. 185.

    Doug R

    August 26, 2021 at 6:30 pm

    @Baud: Most of this was put into place after the election.

  186. 186.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    August 26, 2021 at 6:33 pm

    Looks like I picked the wrong week to rollout my new breakfast cereal ISIS-K

  187. 187.

    Immanentize

    August 26, 2021 at 6:37 pm

    @raven: Can you remind me about LBJ’s silver star?

    (hee hee hee)

  188. 188.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 26, 2021 at 6:38 pm

    @raven: My dad felt the same way.

  189. 189.

    Ken

    August 26, 2021 at 6:41 pm

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: Could be worse, you could be Corona beer or Delta airlines.

  190. 190.

    cain

    August 26, 2021 at 6:45 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: ​
     
    That’s some special shit when even the Taliban can’t stand those ISIS fellas.

  191. 191.

    Elizabelle

    August 26, 2021 at 6:47 pm

    @J R in WV:   I remember Andrea Greenspan giving us her recap of Obama’s speeches, right after we’d just watched the thing in full on MSNBC.

    It was like she was reporting on an entirely different speech, with all her confidence and crisp report.

    What a crapmeister.

  192. 192.

    HalfAssedHomesteader

    August 26, 2021 at 6:49 pm

    Still grateful to have Jen Psaki on team Biden.

  193. 193.

    WaterGirl

    August 26, 2021 at 6:53 pm

    @HalfAssedHomesteader:

    Still grateful to have Jen Psaki on team Biden.

    Yes!!!

  194. 194.

    Another Scott

    August 26, 2021 at 7:05 pm

    It is leverage. [Afghan Taliban leader] Baradar is happy to let us destroy who did this. We buy current and future cooperation.

    — Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) August 26, 2021

    Yup. Or at least to some extent. We will continue to need to be clear eyed.

    Biden made the point that the Taliban is acting in their own best interests and he expects them to continue to do so. That doesn’t mean that they’re a partner or that he trusts them or that they’re good people. At the moment there’s little risk of us becoming the Taliban’s Air Force, but we must be on guard. And Biden clearly is on guard.

    “… beware of foreign entanglements…”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  195. 195.

    Ken

    August 26, 2021 at 7:15 pm

    @Another Scott: At the moment there’s little risk of us becoming the Taliban’s Air Force

    Although when you think about it, that would be one way to keep a permanent presence in Afghanistan, and thereby make the press and the defense industry happy.  There may be a NYTimesPitchBot tweet lurking here.

  196. 196.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 26, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    Is there any evidence to back up the fact that it was the presence of the generals in the cabinet that was kept nuclear missiles being launched by the Orange Man? Or do we take that on faith?

  197. 197.

    Gvg

    August 26, 2021 at 8:29 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: No. No evidence.
    Trump talked about it like nukes were toys with no consequences to us before the election, which is why people were so freaked out about it. We hoped it would work. I am fairly sure they tried to put a damper on anything he wanted to do with the military because every idea we heard about was a bad idea.

    All we know for sure is he didn’t use them, and in fact didn’t do a lot with the military after all.

    I kind of think some of it was because Trump liked money more than wars. He may actually have been kind of scared of getting into conflicts though that isn’t the way he talked.

    I also think Trump is kind of extremely American centric. He just doesn’t care about the rest of the world as much as here and mostly wanted us to worship him.

    We hoped the generals would stop nukes. He didn’t use nukes. We don’t know that they were responsible.

  198. 198.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 26, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    @Gvg:  It is always difficult to prove a negative.

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