Commentary
As I watched President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden stand there on the Dover Air Force Base tarmac Sunday as the bodies of the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan passed in front of them during the precision transfer of the caskets from the C-17 to awaiting hearses, I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through their minds.… read more
Commentary
One by one, as President Biden and each member of his administration brain trust have appeared in daily press briefings – Blinken, Sullivan, Generals Milley and McKenzie, Maj. Gen Taylor, Kirby and Psaki – attempting to deflect the finger-pointing of blame for miscues by saying there will be time for that later, when this mission is over.… read more
Commentary
Every now and then, during my research for this blog, I discover a writer who I have never heard of before. He’s David Solway, 80, a Canadian poet, who is also known for his essays and critical pieces. Although he has been in print since the mid-seventies, sadly, only now have I discovered his talent.… read more
Commentary
“YOU’RE FIRED!” – President Biden isn’t inclined to fire any senior national security officials over the chaos in Kabul, according to the left-leaning AXIOS. “Why it matters: Dismissing national security advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin or CIA Director William Burns would be tantamount to admitting a mistake, and the president stands by his decision.”… read more
Commentary
“JOE BIDEN’S TERM as president began on January 20th, this week marks the beginning of the end of that presidency, at least in any meaningful fashion,” wrote the columnist Chris Barron in the Political Insider.
“It is difficult to imagine how President Biden can rebound from this disaster especially given the absolute tone-deaf response from the White House over the last few days.… read more
Commentary
What is it about retired generals and bureaucrats who can’t just take their pensions, honorary degrees, and Washington think tank board positions and enjoy life out of the limelight?
Former general, CIA director and National Security Advisor Michael Hayden is the latest. He simply couldn’t resist responding to a fellow Twitterer, @PSHredmen, who wrote, “Can we send the MAGA wearing unvaxxed to Afghanistan, no use sending that plane back empty?”… read more
Commentary
I ask for your indulgence with this blog piece as I focus on Arizona politics. I wouldn’t do it, however, if it didn’t have national meaning and consequences.
Our two senators, Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, need no introduction. They’ve been in the news lately because they hold the key votes if the Democrats are going to pass the $3.5 trillion bill.… read more
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.… read more
Commentary
“Unlike the policy of the last few years (the Trump era), we will be able to rally the rest of the world behind us on key foreign policy and national security issues.” – Jake Sullivan, November 2020
Along with the criticism of President Biden’s botched withdrawal of Afghanistan, comes questions of the advice provided him by Secretary of State Blinken, National Security advisor Sullivan and Generals Austin and Milley.… read more
Commentary
As I read remarks critical of President Biden’s Afghan withdrawal failure, now by Democrats and the leftist media, I recalled the red flags about his Washington experience raised during the 2020 presidential campaign.
“For millions of Americans, Mr. Biden was the closest thing to a conventional, confidence-inspiring authority figure in the 2020 race next to Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump,” wrote Wall Street Journal columnist Holman W.… read more