Free Republic

The Afghan military caved to Taliban pressure, losing control of the country in a swift and devastating fashion that undermined the praise American military leaders have heaped on them over the years. For years, American generals have claimed that Afghan forces were improving and developing their ability to handle themselves against the Taliban.

The possibility to host a Catholic Chaplain within the Italian “legation” was provided by “The Agreement between Italy and Afghanistan to exchange permanent diplomatic missions” in 1921. King “Amanullah”, grateful to Italy for being the first western country to recognize formally the independence of Afghanistan, showed himself sensitive to the demand of the Catholics that were then present in the country and were asking for the spiritual assistance of a priest. Since the Arab conquest of Persia and Central Asia in the seventh century A.D. , it was the first time that a Muslim government authorized the official establishment of...

Today's Morning Joe offered the spectacle of a stunning contrast between two Democrats—one, an angry Mika Brzezinski, the other totally cynical—on the issue of Biden's Afghanistan fiasco. On the one hand, Brzezinski. As anti-Trump as ever, but passionately blaming Biden for "leaving to die" Afghans who had helped America. Brzezinski notably didn't blame what she last week lambasted as the DeSantis "death cult." Mika also said that as much as Trump can be blamed, ultimately, "Joe Biden made this decision." On the other, there was Dem hack/MSNBC analyst Adrienne Elrod [veteran of Biden and Hillary campaigns], who falsely claimed that...

American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who staunch conservatives in the Catholic Church view as something of an anti-Pope Francis, is fighting for his life on a ventilator in a Wisconsin hospital after contracting what he often referred to as the “Wuhan Virus.” The prelate was on a vacation from Rome, where he lives. The 73-year-old cardinal has shown himself to be a COVID-19 denier, publicly scoffing at Italy’s strict lockdown measures during the height of the pandemic and was even seen strolling around Rome mask-free even when face coverings were mandated outside. He was the subject of a brief Italian news...

LIVE FROM KABUL: @RichardEngel reports the Taliban has "taken over the civilian side of the airport" while the U.S. military is evacuating from the military side.

Apparently this soldier was carrying the remaining US flag out of the US embassy in Kabul today

Documents obtained from a source show DoD planning to potentially relocate up to 30,000 Afghan SIV applicants into the United States in the immediate future. — Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 16, 2021 The Department of Defense is preparing to immediately house thousands of Afghan refugees on American military installations, Fox News confirmed late Sunday. Documents show DoD plans to relocate up to 30,000 Afghan SIV applicants into the United States in the immediate future. The bases include Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Bliss in Texas. “We want to have capacity to get up to several thousand immediately, and want...

KABUL—In a last-ditch effort to halt the advance of Taliban forces rampaging through the capital of Afghanistan, the Biden Administration is sending an elite squad of America's best TikTok influencers. "I'm sorry it has come to this, but I'm left with no other choice," said Biden to a chocolate eclair in the Camp David situation room as beloved TikTok star Benny Drama and others parachuted from a C-130 into Kabul. "If anyone can influence those Gen Z Taliban youth, it's those flamboyant youngsters. Man, I'll bet they smell real good too." According to sources on the ground, Benny Drama was...

With gas prices on the rise, President Biden is pleading with foreign governments to "boost oil production and help us out of the hole we're in. Our domestic oil producers have been unable to meet our country's needs. The shortfall is blocking my efforts to build back better. Everything is becoming more expensive. Our ability to defend ourselves from hostile actors is severely weakened. My military advisors tell me that we would lose a war if one broke out under these circumstances." National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan sharply criticized OPEC "for putting their own interests ahead of those of us...

Marines Sing "The REAL Taliban Song" Who says Marines don't have a sense of humor...MOOSH-ALLAH!!!

CANBERRA/SYDNEY, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest city of Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday as troops and police set up roadblocks to limit the movement of people, while Melbourne faced a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown. Sydney, which is in its eighth week of lockdown, is the epicentre of Australia's third COVID-19 wave that threatens to push the country's A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy into its second recession in as many years. New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said seven people in Sydney had died from COVID-19 in the...

While the leader of the free world hunkers down at Camp David and his top spokeswoman is “out of office,” many of us are left wondering what to make of the horrific images coming out of Afghanistan.In lieu of an explanation from President Biden, I asked some of the most thoughtful people I could think of to answer the question: What are we to make of what just happened? What is the meaning of it for Afghanistan, for America and for the world?Some served in Afghanistan. Others made policy decisions that shaped the war. Still others have been bearing witness...

Ron Paul: “Madam Speaker, I have a few questions for my colleagues. What if our foreign policy of the past century is deeply flawed and has not served our national security interest? What if we wake up one day and realize that the terrorist threat is the predictable consequence of our meddling in the affairs of others, and has nothing to do with us being free and prosperous? What if propping up repressive regimes in the Middle East endangers both the United States and Israel? What if occupying countries like Iraq and Afghanistan and bombing Pakistan is directly related to...

New archdiocesan action plan to care for creation ‘is for all of us,’ Cardinal Gregory saysWith a new action plan, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is encouraging parishes, Catholic schools and other institutions, families and individuals to follow the guidance of Pope Francis to protect the Earth, care for all human life, and combat climate change using education and actions small and large. The “Laudato Si': Embarking On A Seven-Year Journey Promoting An Integral Ecology” action plan released by the archdiocese on Aug. 16 uses Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Sì’, On Care for Our Common...

From the floor of the Senate. Transcript from The Congressional Record:Quote: "Biden takes the easy way out of Afghanistan. The likely result is disaster." This is the morning's lead editorial from one of the Nation's most liberal newspapers.The administration has decided to abandon U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, which have helped keep radical Islamic terrorism in check, and bizarrely, they decided to do so by September 11. Apparently, we are to help our adversaries ring in the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by giftwrapping the country and handing it right back to them. Here is what this administration's own national intelligence...

President Joe Biden’s job approval dipped on Monday and is currently underwater, matching his all-time low days following the Taliban’s takeover of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. The takeover has forced the 78-year-old to cut his vacation at Camp David short as U.S. allies fume over Biden’s failure to defend the country from terrorists. According to data from Rasmussen Reports, Biden’s approval fell to 46 percent on Monday — three points down from 49 percent one week ago, on August 9. Of those, 26 percent “strongly” approve. Fifty-three percent disapprove of his performance, and of those, the vast majority, 43 percent,...

U.S. military veterans of the war in Afganistan understandably are feeling lost and upset seeing the Taliban take over the country with lightning speed after they were ousted from power nearly 20 years ago. The Taliban took the capital, Kabul, in a matter of hours without much fighting after the Afghan military and government collapsed. As a result, the U.S. military had to deploy around 6,000 troops to facilitate the evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel and citizens via Hamid Karzai International Airport. Afghan civilians have flooded the airport in a desperate bid to leave the country, resulting in stampedes and...

KABUL, Afghanistan — No U.S. troops have died in combat in Afghanistan for a year as of Monday, but the Taliban have threatened to target them again if Washington opts to keep international forces in the country after a May withdrawal deadline.

President Biden will address the nation on Monday as more U.S. forces are on their way to Afghanistan to help with the evacuation of American personnel and allies. It will be the first time Biden has spoken publicly since the Taliban moved into Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. The president, who has been following the crisis overseas from Camp David, is returning to the White House on Monday afternoon. He is planning to address the public from the East Room at 3:45 p.m. Biden's Choices In Afghanistan Were Complicated. So Is The Fallout He Faces Biden's remarks come as his top allies...

Russian mobsters, Chinese hackers and Nigerian scammers have used stolen identities to plunder tens of billions of dollars in pandemic aid, officials say.In June, the FBI got a warrant to hunt through the Google accounts of Abedemi Rufai, a Nigerian state government official. What they found, they said in a sworn affidavit, was all the ingredients for a "massive" cyberfraud on U.S. government benefits: stolen bank, credit card and tax information of Americans. Money transfers. And emails showing dozens of false unemployment claims in seven states that paid out $350,000. Rufai was arrested in May at John F. Kennedy International...