Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): On the Week That Was

 

  

 It was quite a week yet again as exemplified by what our team curated and we've headlined.   We hereby present an "Outsider Wall" of the week that was: 

President Joe Biden speaks about the evacuation of American citizens, SIV applicants and vulnerable Afghans in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. From left, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

With help from Oriana Pawlyk, Daniel Lippman and Lara Seligman Welcome to National Security Daily , POLITICO’s newsletter on the global events roiling Washington and keeping the administration up at night. I’m Alex Ward, your guide to what’s happening inside the Pentagon, the NSC and D.C.’s foreign policy machine. National Security Daily arrives in your inbox Monday through Friday by 4 p.m.; subscribe here. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and qforgey@politico.com. Follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @QuintForgey. By the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 11, the Afghan government’s already brittle control of the war-torn country was quickly unraveling in the face of a swift Taliban offensive coinciding with the nearly complete withdrawal of U.S. troops that President JOE BIDEN ordered in April. Most of America’s top diplomats and generals were still operating under the assumption that they had ample time to prepare for a Taliban takeover of the country — it might even be a couple of years until the group was in a position to regain power, many thought. Though some military officials and intelligence agencies had stepped up their warnings about the possibility of a government collapse, officials felt confident about the Afghan security forces’ strategy of consolidating in the cities to defend the urban population centers. The president and his top aides still had one more meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening — a pre-planned session on a classified national security matter. As word of the deteriorating situation flowed into the Oval Office that morning, Biden ordered that the early evening meeting should focus on Afghanistan. Sitting in the Situation Room were Vice President KAMALA HARRIS; Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN ; Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. MARK MILLEY; Joint Chiefs Vice Chair Gen. JOHN HYTEN; National Security Adviser JAKE SULLIVAN and his deputy JON FINER; Director of National Intelligence AVRIL HAINES; chief of staff RON KLAIN ; Deputy CIA Director DAVID COHEN; LIZ SHERWOOD RANDALL, the president’s homeland security adviser; and other White House and national security staff. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN participated by phone. Events were growing so dire that the president ordered Austin and Milley to prepare a plan for deploying additional troops to the region, where they would reinforce those put on standby months earlier to evacuate American personnel. Biden also directed the State Department to expand the evacuation of Afghan allies — those who had worked with the Americans and were now in mortal danger — to include the use of military aircraft, not just chartered civilian planes. And he also asked his intelligence officials to prepare an up-to-date assessment on the situation in Afghanistan by the following morning. After the meeting broke up, a classified email was sent to pertinent staffers to convene at 7:30 a.m. the next day. The email went out so late that the Situation Room staff also started calling those aides to make sure they would be on time. That Thursday morning, Sullivan was in the Situation Room with other White House staff while Cabinet members participated via secure hookups. The principals meeting kicked off with an intelligence briefing concluding that the situation was so “fluid” that the Afghan government’s seat of power in Kabul could fall “within weeks or days,” an official noted. Austin recommended that Biden send in troops to evacuate the embassy and protect the main international airport in Kabul. Sullivan asked each Cabinet member in the meeting to weigh in. They unanimously agreed. That was the “Oh, shit” moment, said a U.S. official. It was now officially a crisis. Sullivan walked into the Oval Office just before 10 a.m. to report to the president. Biden picked up the phone and told Austin to send troops to Kabul’s airport. Read POLITICO’s full tick-tock on how the Biden administration handled the collapse of Afghanistan, featuring Alex’s reporting, here.

ASIA / PACIFIC As it happened: Biden says Kabul airlift among 'most difficult' in history US President Joe Biden pledged on Friday to "mobilise every resource" to evacuate American nationals and Afghan allies from Kabul, calling it one of the "most difficult" airlift operations ever, as NATO leaders warned the Taliban not to hinder the evacuations. ....

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EYE ON AFRICA France has added Morocco and Algeria to its list of countries deemed high-risk Covid-19 zones. The measure means from Saturday, people arriving from either nation will be subject to stricter protocols, including self-isolating. A recent surge in cases in Morocco has meant it is almost impossible to find an intensive care bed in most hospitals.

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It Really Was 800+ Afghans on That Plane. They Forgot to Count the Kids. By Tara Copp and Marcus Weisgerber A U.S. Air Force C-17 crew that made headlines around the world for its quick decision to pack in as many panicked men, women, and children fleeing the Taliban into their cargo hold as possible flew more than 800 Afghans to safety after all. The original number did not include children. Read more »

World Abdul Ghani Baradar, a founding father of the Taliban, returns home Will the former military commander and political deal-broker’s influence last in the new Afghan administration? AUGUST 20, 2021 by Amy Kazmin

World Afghans flee the Taliban: in pictures The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has forced thousands to leave their homes AUGUST 21, 2021 by Alexis Akwagyiram and Annalee Mather My heart breaks right now for the people of Afghanistan, and for our allies who are trapped in the country and surrounded by the Taliban. This was a disaster that never had to happen, and I hope they are evacuated quickly and safely.   I'm seeing Republicans claim that Trump would have handled the situation far better—and I know for a fact that's just not true. Until 2020, I was a national security staffer for the Trump administration, until I quit after seeing just how incompetent and cruel he was. Afghanistan was no exception.    I sat in cabinet meetings about getting Americans and our Afghan allies out of the country. In them, Stephen Miller would peddle his racist hysteria. He and his enablers across the government undermined anyone who worked on solving the issues in getting special immigrant visas (SIVs) for our Afghan allies by undermining the system at Homeland Security and the State Department.   I tracked this issue personally in my role at the White House. I met with many refugee advocate organizations who pleaded for help in getting U.S. allies through the process.   But we got nowhere because Trump and Miller had watchdogs in place at the Justice Department, Homeland Security, State and other agencies that made an already cumbersome SIV process even more challenging.   The system wouldn’t budge, no matter how much we argued in National Security Council meetings. The Pentagon weighed in, saying we needed to get these allies through the process. Mattis and others sent memos trying to help. We all knew the urgency, but we were blocked at every turn.   Good people within the Trump Administration tried to counter Miller's obstruction, but their fear of retaliation was palpable. Numerous closed door meetings were held, strategizing how to navigate this issue.   Trump had four years to develop a plan. We could have used that time to lay the groundwork to evacuate our Afghan allies. They were the lifelines for many of us who spent time in Afghanistan.   They’d been waiting a long time, all the while under the threat of death at the hands of the Taliban. The process slowed to a trickle for reviews and “other priorities.” Ultimately, they came to a halt.   I have one thing to say to Trump's defenders who are making blanket statements and pushing false narratives about Afghanistan: please, just stop. Some of you were actively involved in making it harder to get our Afghan allies to safety. Your comments are uninformed and hurtful. And we see right through you.   I’m grateful for everyone now advocating the urgency of getting our allies out of Afghanistan ASAP and those who are doing everything they can to help. This is a matter of national security.   Most importantly, it’s the least we can do for these individuals. The world is watching.   Olivia Troye Director, Republican Accountability Project Economy Xi Jinping takes aim at the gross inequalities of China’s ‘gilded age’ The president’s reforms are designed to ease social tensions and bolster the legitimacy of Communist party rule AUGUST 20, 2021 by James Kynge Capitalism is good, not bad, for the environment Every year, the Heritage Foundation ranks countries around the world on their economic freedom. It's a kind of capitalism index. Read the full story here.