On Sunday, August 15, at 5:33 GMT, the Taliban had entered Kabul, and the US-supported president of Afghanistan was preparing to flee the country. At that moment Reuters reported:
The State Department was contacting advocates to request names of Afghans in Kabul who have worked with the Americans and needed to be evacuated, two sources familiar with the matter said. The list of names could include journalists and human rights activists.
The language is bureaucratically measured and calm. “The list of names could include.” Yes, that would be a possibility.
But it was more than a possibility, it was a fact, that for months the plight of such people had been discussed in the public press, and the Biden administration had been urged to do something about them, fast. Long before that, all thinking people had realized that something had to be done to keep America’s friends from being trapped, tortured, and killed.
And on Sunday, August 15, at 5:33 GMT, the State Department was trying to figure out who they were.
Really, Dr. Cox? How can you be so pessimistic? NPR, today while the Afghan government was falling, the Taliban were invading Kabul, women were being forced into marriages (raped), people were hanging on to US planes and dropping like off in mid-air like unwanted remoras, was touting how the Red Cross had good relations with the Taliban. They’re not so bad, are they?
Like anyone is surprised. As many have learned during many disasters (I’m especially thinking about Hurricane Katrina right now), relying on the government for help is a *bad* thing.
It’s Rule Watch. Probably due to their judgment that the Boy Scouts of America is deplorable, they disregarded the first rule before taking an action, “Be prepared.”
Scott Robinson