Commentary

Just before the Pentagon’s first briefing on Saturday, I listened to Richard Grinnell, who has a decade of state department experience and served as acting director of national intelligence under President Trump, speak of the embassy staff warnings that went unheeded by the Biden administration. 

I listened to Grinnell talk about the July 13, 2021 cable sent to Secretary of State Blinken, warning of the rapid gains being made by the Taliban in Afghanistan, recommending steps be taken to accelerate evacuation.

Yet, just days later, Joint Chief of Staff Chairman General Milley said, “I’m seeing all over the news that there were warnings of a rapid collapse.  There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days.”

On August 16, 2021, President Biden told the nation that he didn’t “regret my decision,” and chose to deflect blame to others, including the Afghan army.

Evidence that Blinken didn’t brief Biden on warnings he received, Biden said that the chaos “did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.”

Appearing on ABC News on August 18, 2021, President Biden continued to deny  he received intelligence reports predicting such a rapid collapse. Further, the commander-in-chief asserted that chaos during the withdrawal was unavoidable. Is he the commander-in-chief of the world’s best fighting force or what?

It will be interesting to hear how Blinken responds to questions on his briefings for the president when he appears on Fox News Sunday.

A Reminder of Benghazi Warnings Ignored

I’ve written often about the unheeded warnings then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received prior to the September 11, 2012 attack on our Benghazi compound that resulted in the death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Six months earlier, Clinton refused to provide increased security requested.

A series of warnings followed: On April 10, 2012, an explosive device was thrown at a convoy carrying UN envoy Ian Martin; On April 24, 2012, in an e-mail from Huma Abedin, Clinton is warned of reports that hotels in Benghazi were targeted for attack; On May 12, 2012, a rocket-propelled grenade hits the office of the International Red Cross; On June 6, 2012, an IED exploded outside the Benghazi compound; On June 10, 2012, Clinton in an e-mail from Jake Sullivan, was told of a “credible threat against the hotel that our team is using,” adding that they would be moving personnel to another location.

On June 11, 2012, an RPG hits a convoy carrying the British ambassador and the U.K. closes its consulate; July 9, 2012, signs cable requesting additional security; August 2, 2012, Stevens requests protective detail bodyguard positions to fill the vacuum of security personnel, who would be leaving; finally, on the morning of the September 11, 2012 attack, Stevens cables his “growing frustration with police and security forces who were too weak to keep the country secure.”

Shortly before 10 p.m. the Benghazi compound was attacked by a rag tag group of terrorists.

What followed was a failure to respond to the attack and a sad narrative of how Clinton and administration staffers worked to quell interest in the attack as President Obama and Vice President Biden were just less than two months from seeking their election to a second term.

History Repeating Itself

With the Biden administration currently following Marxist radicals in the House of Representatives, it seems appropriate I include this quote that seems to fit the two failures – Benghazi and Kabul:

“History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, then as farce.” –  Karl Marx

In my brief review of two State Department failures, my intention was to describe the ineptness that exists there even when we are told of the years of foreign service experience embedded in that organization, as well as the names of individuals involved under Obama-Biden now having found homes with Biden-Harris.

Antony Blinken, Biden’s secretary of state, served in the state department and in senior national security positions during the Clinton administration. He was deputy assistant to Obama and national security advisor to Biden from 2009 to 2013, during the Benghazi disaster.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor, served as deputy assistant to Obama, prior to becoming Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff and policy advisor when the Benghazi attack took place.  He was involved in developing the talking points eventually given by Susan Rice on national TV Sunday programs.  (See kramerontheright.com, August 19, 2021)

There are a number of other retreads lingering in the background, whose name will surely surface, Including CIA Director William Burns, who has a 33-year diplomatic career; and Avril Haines, DNI, who served in the Obama administration and was deputy chief counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when then Senator Biden was chairman.

And, of course, there’s John Kerry, Susan Rice, Tom Donilon and Victoria Newland hanging around.

TWO NAIVE STATEMENTS TO PONDER – To Taliban officials, as if they cared. “Do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government?” – President Biden

And to the Taliban via the UN Security Council. “Through a very strongly-worded press statement from the Security Council, we expect the Taliban to respect women’s rights and to be respectful of humanitarian law.” – UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Now, more than ever … may God continue to bless the United States of America.