Since August 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 95,700 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 101,300 people.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 26, 2021
“In fact, it didn’t take 2 weeks to evacuate 50,000. It took 10 days,†Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted in response to Ward. “Lots of work still to do, but it might be time for a bit of a reassessment by the media of this operation given the actual results.â€
Don’t hold your breath waiting for journalists to acknowledge that their assessments of Kabul have been badly undercut by the stunning evacuation success.
For the first 10 days of the refugee crisis, the media obsessed over "optics" and how they were "disaster" for Biden. Suddenly though, the press shows little interest dwelling on the optics of successfully extricating nearly 100,000 people without a single U.S. casualty. Instead, the press remains married to its narrative. (snip)
Eventually addressing the historic evacuation campaign, the Times seemed to downplay the success, framing the airlift as a “public relations†tool being used by a White House “eager to shift the narrative.â€
Buried in the article’s final paragraph was the revelation that during the collapse of Saigon in 1975, the U.S. evacuated just 7,000 people, as the South Vietnamese capitol famously fell. That’s telling because at the beginning of the Kabul story 13 days ago, news outlets were obsessed with making the historical connection with Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Turns out the U.S. has evacuated 100,000 more people from Kabul than the U.S. did in 1975. Suddenly, those Saigon comparisons don’t make sense.
Evacuation operations in Kabul will not be wrapping up in 36 hours. We will continue to evacuate as many people as we can until the end of the mission. #HKIA
— John Kirby (@PentagonPresSec) August 26, 2021
BREAKING:
— Maajid أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) August 26, 2021
The Pentagon press office has confirmed a large explosion at #Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate
Be safe Afghanistan 🤲ðŸ¼
Quote by Raine:
F*ck
I was afraid of this as I wrote the blog.BREAKING:
— Maajid أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) August 26, 2021
The Pentagon press office has confirmed a large explosion at #Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate
Be safe Afghanistan 🤲ðŸ¼
Quote by wickedpam:
Morning
Heard Ben Sasse on MSNBC this morning just ranting and raving about how much of a failure this has been with no one correcting him as to what's already been accomplished. It was disgusting
To all our #Afghan friends: If you are near the #Kabul airport gates, get away urgently and take cover. A second explosion is possible - #French ambassador to #Afghanistan https://t.co/trtw9cdawo
— Barzan Sadiq (@BarzanSadiq) August 26, 2021
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed that two explosions took place outside Kabul’s airport on Thursday, part of a complex attack that came after repeated warnings of a threat by the United States and its allies.
According to Kirby, the first blast took place right outside the airport’s Abbey gate with the second at the nearby Baron hotel. Scattered gunshots were heard after the blasts.
Quote by livingonli:
Will there ever be sanity again in this world?
JUST IN: Third Explosion near #Kabul airport, Afghan local media reporting.
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) August 26, 2021
US deaths from first two is up to 10 troops, Fox reported. Many Afghan casualties. A grim day.
Breaking- (Exclusive) the video of fifth explosion in #Kabul, Smokes can be identified. #KabulAiport pic.twitter.com/E7Bq0eucuZ
— Kabul Live (@live_kabul) August 26, 2021
Quote by Raine:
"To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm:
We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay."
POTUS, just now.
I have chills
Biden hangs his head in exasperation during a back-and-forth with Fox News’ Peter Doocy.
— The Recount (@therecount) August 26, 2021
Biden turns the question back to Doocy, asking if he remembers the deal Trump made with the Taliban in 2020. pic.twitter.com/mWEd6CDMK7