“Will It Go Round in Circles?” is a rock song from the 70s written and sung by Billy Preston. It was appropriate back then, but it certainly fits the insanity emanating daily from the Potomac Valley.
In Washington D.C. in general, and this administration specifically, bad things seem always to be “put on the back burner” when NEW bad things that dominate a news cycle or two show up. It appears that the art of implementing “forgetfulness” in the American people works well, but only if an administration is successful at deflecting angst among the people by quickly creating some new debacle to capture the attention of all. The hope is always to help the people forget about the “old” bad thing by substituting a “new bad thing.”
Think through the chronology of devastatingly mishandled things by the Biden folks going all the way back to the beginning:
First, it was the coronavirus pandemic and the vaccine rollout. Then it was the border crisis. Then it was the economy.
And then Afghanistan, where the Taliban hung people by the neck from U.S.-supplied Blackhawk helicopters, and the U.S. withdrawal has left behind a reported one thousand Americans and perhaps thousands of Green Card holders in what now amounts to the largest hostage crisis in American history.
The administration is stumbling from one disaster to the next, with no end in sight and public opinion plummeting on nearly every major issue. In each case, the disaster has been entirely of the Biden administration’s own making. Events are not overtaking Biden. His own rank incompetence is.
The events in Afghanistan, where the Taliban control about $83 billion worth of U.S. military equipment, 13 Americans were killed by an ISIS-K bomb while an unknown number of U.S. citizens are hiding from the Taliban are by far the most dramatic and disturbing display of incompetency and horrible policy from the Biden administration, which recent polling reflects. But the Afghanistan disaster follows a train of incompetence that left the station on day one of this presidency.
As soon as Biden came into office, he signed executive orders that guaranteed we would have a migrant crisis on our southwest border. By reversing a raft of Trump-era policies that had managed to control illegal immigration amid a worsening pandemic, Biden effectively opened the borders, sending the message to would-be asylum seekers that if they could manage to get across the Rio Grande with at least one child in tow, they could stay — and if they sent their child alone, they would definitely stay.
The results were predictable: a 20-year record surge in illegal border crossings that worsens by the day. Corporate media largely stopped covering the border crisis — at least until the flood of Haitian asylum-seekers in the Del Rio Sector of the Texas border. The combined humanitarian southern border crisis added to the thousands of non-vetted Afghan refugees now in the U.S., and the Biden Administration finds itself in the “perfect storm.” It entirely falls at the feet of Joe Biden
This historic migrant surge wasn’t inevitable. It was a direct result of Biden’s policies, which played out in an entirely predictable manner. The same holds regarding Afghanistan. A detailed plan for withdrawal handed to Joe Biden by Donald Trump had virtually eliminated illegal crossing at the southern border. Biden, in consultation with his spineless State Department minions together with a batch of military leaders, determined to spurn the Trump deal and do it “right.”
“Right” hasn’t worked out so well for them, has it?
The same goes for the administration’s COVID-19 response. Biden campaigned on having a plan to “shut down” the virus and end the pandemic, but so far, there seems to be no plan at all — or even a coordinated and consistent message from the White House. Contradictory and ever-shifting policies and recommendations on everything from school closures to mask and vaccine mandates have sown confusion and mistrust among Americans desperate to get back to work and their children to school.
Uncle Joe finds himself really often trying to explain these travesties by coming up with one excuse after another. And he’s swift to pass responsibility for each of these on to others.
Afghanistan
CENTCOM commander Gen. Frank McKenzie apologized after an investigation revealed that the U.S had killed an innocent man, Zemari Ahmadi — and nine other civilians, including seven children — rather than ISIS-K terrorists Aug. 29 in that drone attack.
Though McKenzie accepted responsibility for what he called a “tragic mistake,” he did not resign. Instead, he explained the circumstances for the strike, suggesting that the Pentagon believes it was legal under international law.
McKenzie told the media that the military had acted on intelligence that a “white Toyota Corolla” — one of the most common automobiles — would mount an attack. At no point did the military know who was driving the targeted vehicle.
As explained last week: “International law permits the use of such targeted killings, under restricted circumstances. The target must be an enemy combatant; the target generally must pose an imminent or ongoing threat, and the attack must minimize the risk to non-combatants.”
Mistaken identity, or other mistakes, do not by themselves constitute violations of international law, but if the strike was negligent or improperly motivated, there could be legal consequences.
Under customary international law, the U.S. is required to investigate alleged violations of international law. The Pentagon appears to think it has satisfied that requirement. But several questions remain about the Aug. 29 strike:
1. What did President Joe Biden know, and did he authorize the strike? White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden had delegated authority to the military but was “regularly briefed.” What did he know? Did he give the green light?
2. Were there political motivations behind the strike? Did the White House pressure the Pentagon to come up with some response to the Aug. 26 suicide bombing to provide political cover for the administration’s bungled withdrawal?
3. Why would the military launch an airstrike against an unknown person, absent compelling evidence of imminent threat? The most shocking aspect of the strike was that the Pentagon did not know who was in the vehicle.
4. Was the U.S. fed bad intelligence by the Taliban or other bad actors? There has long been suspicion that different groups in Afghanistan feed false information to the U.S. to take out their rivals. Is that what happened in the Kabul strike?
5. What does taking “full responsibility” mean? Where are the hearings, resignations, prosecutions, demotions, or firings? McKenzie did not rule out further consequences in his Pentagon press briefing but declined to lead by example.
6. Why was the U.S. public fed a false story by the Pentagon and the White House for several weeks? The Pentagon said on Aug. 30 there was a high degree of confidence in the target; the White House said much the same. Were they lying?
7. Why would the U.S. military settle for an evacuation where it had to rely on airstrikes? The Kabul airport, guarded by the Taliban, was defenseless and left the U.S. few options; given the risks, why did the U.S. abandon Bagram airbase?
8. How inaccurate is the U.S. military in general when it comes to airstrikes? The fact that this mistake happened ought to prompt an immediate review of U.S. airstrikes, to determine whether their accuracy can be improved in the future.
9. Will this compromise national security by discouraging legitimate, accurate targeted killings? The use of targeted killings — like President Donald Trump’s strike on Qasem Soleimani — is an important tool against terror. Have we lost it?
10. Will the Biden administration apologize to the new Taliban regime and pay reparations? McKenzie dodged a press question about reparations, but if the Taliban regime presses the U.S. to apologize, it may find international support.
Economic Devastation
“Build Back Better:” that’s Joe’s mantra he’s been sharing since his campaign. In the first eight months of his presidency, the “better” part remains a mystery. In fact, “building back” really won’t happen until he lets go of his totalitarian-style lockdowns and mandates.
But there IS something really new in the Biden Economy. Oh, we’ve seen it before in the U.S. But nothing like we’re experiencing now: “BidenFlation.” As a direct result of Biden’s executive orders that shuttered the XL Pipeline project with simultaneous attacks across the board on the carbon energy sector of our economy, high-paying jobs were lost, people were out of work in every economic class, and the response to this cut the goods supply chain in every sector of our economy — even toilet paper again! The result? Massive inflation.
Example: Election day 2020, in Shreveport, Louisiana, I filled my car tank for $1.65/gallon for gas. Today I filled the same car at the same station for $2.69/gallon. Pundits preach that “rise and fall in fuel prices are seasonal.” Biden’s fuel prices have NOT been seasonal. They were at this same level for the summer rush, which normally drives fuel prices up.
Groceries, building supplies, auto parts, restaurant prices (if you can get a seat), and all types of service have all skyrocketed in price. This is not a “seasonal” occurrence. It is the direct result of “BidenFlation.” And it’s just getting started.
Summary
Jen Psaki, or “Pippi Longstockings,” as some refer to her, is known for her “circle-back” statements when asked a question for which she has no ready answer in press briefings. That term, “circle-back,” happens to fit
across the gambit of Biden Administration policies as we watch the administration implode.
Americans would love it if Preston’s song would actually be answered with a “circle-back” to the administration of four years ago — at least the economic, foreign policy, military, and immigration environment of the Trump Administration.
If Joe Biden is the smart cookie he’s made himself out to be in his 50 years in Washington, one would expect for his awakening to his self-destruction in the White House. Not only does it seem that none of the things detailed above will ever be rolled back, but it also appears that Mr. Biden has no clue exactly what they are or what they’re doing to the American people. And if he really DOES know what they are and what they’re doing and continues to press forward to ensure their damage will be perpetuated throughout his term in office, Americans better lookout. That would mean we have a real totalitarian in the White House.
If he is NOT cognizant of what is happening, that would confirm he IS in cognitive decline and must leave office.
I know: that means Kamala Harris would become President, and a Vice President would have to be named and confirmed by the Senate to replace her. I cannot imagine what a Harris Administration would look like. A Biden continuation assures U.S. decline in every area even worse than seen now. At least Harris could be somewhat harnessed and slowed a bit.
No matter the name of the person piloting the ship, the ship’s in trouble. Let’s hope we can keep the boat afloat, at least through the 2022 midterms.
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