The LuLac Edition #4,568, August 19th, 2021

 JOE BIDEN DIDN’T LOSE THE WAR

 

Photo: LuLac archives)

This week the inevitable happened when Afghanistan fell back into place with the Taliban’s resurgence. The 20-year experiment of nation building ended when we as a country once again tried to impose our idea of self-governance on a society ill equipped to function. Keep in mind we invaded this country to blunt terrorist threats. It is true that there has been no terrorism attack on this country in two decades that was the damage that happened on 911, but it is also true that the actors on that fateful September day came from Saudi Arabia. To my knowledge we never waged war on the Saudis in the intervening years.

Most of us are empathetic human beings who are moved when we see a human tragedy unfold. We look at the desperation of people trying to hold onto an airplane as it takes off. We hurt for those women in Afghanistan who got a taste of freedom that might be cruelly taken away. In the emotional moment, we want to channel our pangs of regret and cast blame. Since his speech on Monday President Biden has been accused of losing the war and had his competence questioned by those right wing Boppsie twins of Florida, Rubio and Scott. The richest criticism comes from the Truumpanzees who have the nerve to beat their breasts over a war their party began.

The truth though is the pull-out from Afghanistan would not have looked any different under Trump  who handled the coronavirus pandemic so well that he cost us 400,000 lives!  He and his wing man Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proclaimed they were going to end the "forever wars". They would get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan once and for all. Plus, what about the deal he was going to make with the Taliban that was supposed to lead to a peace with the Afghan government when the American troops withdrew?

In a weird sort of way, the Taliban victors made a stark comparison with our own transfer of power. These guys sauntered through the Presidential palace in Kabul calmly demonstrating what a peaceful transition was while a Trump mob stormed the Capitol in a fit of pique that nearly brought our election process as we knew it for over 244 years to a halt. You’ll hear GOP officials talk about the promises that Biden broke to Afghan partners. But all Biden did was carry out the policy set forth by Trump who was chomping at the bit to do it last December.  But Trump was talked out pf it and was sidetracked by trying to steal the election. The deal was we would pull all our troops out. We wouldn't engage Taliban fighters and they wouldn't fight us. The hope was the Taliban would pledge not to turn the country back into a stronghold for terrorist groups like al-Qaida.

It was an easy deal for the Taliban because they KNEW their own adversary better than we knew our own ally. Afghanistan wasn’t functioning as a government but a collective of people with titles who took their marching orders from us. We armed men with M-16s and had no long-term trainers in place. People may not remember this; but expensively trained Afghan soldiers shot and killed Americans on a regular basis. Some were Taliban wolves in sheep’s clothing, others took the best deal. When the going got rough, the Army quietly blended into the woodwork and went home. We should not have expected bravery for a cause.

This was not a war of independence like the American Revolution or an event for a conflict like Vietnam. It was a payback police action that began the day after we won Kabul and proclaimed, we drove the terrorists out of Afghanistan.  Biden having seen Vietnam firsthand as a lost cause knew when he was Vice President that this day would come. Could there have been better planning earlier in the year? You bet but when you are trying to deal with a Pandemic and two Senators of your own party trying to stop your agenda cold, sometimes you get distracted.

The bottom line is this. We stayed in a region way too long with the same result. We became the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and getting the same outcome. Biden is taking heat from the power brokers and talking heads. Whether the American support for getting out will remain as robust in the polling will only be a guess. But my estimateIs that COVID, masks and voting rights will take center stage after the evacuations have ended.

This was a tragedy and a misadventure. But Joe Biden did what Presidents have to do. Make a decision; and stick by it. In his first year Biden has tried to reshape the way government takes care of its people by proposing FDR like programs. That domestic policy is a work in progress and the comparisons are valid. Biden’s first Foreign policy decision was made with a look to the past twenty years which assessed the investment vs. the outcome. He wanted a future President to be free of Afghanistan, a nation content to live in the 15^th century with those values. It was decisive and in some quarters unpopular.

In a word, it was Trumanesqe.  

 

W WEIGHS IN

 

Former President George W. Bush (Photo: AP)

Hours after President Joe Biden addressed the nation, asserting he stands by his decision to withdraw military forces from the country, Bush released a statement late Monday through his presidential center focusing on the humanitarian situation and evacuations that follow a war he initiated nearly 20 years ago to root out al Qaeda following the 9/11 terror attacks.

"Laura and I have been watching the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan with deep sadness," Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, said in the joint statement. "Our hearts are heavy for both the Afghan people who have suffered so much and for the Americans and NATO allies who have sacrificed so much."

Bush, the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009, made only one mention of Biden and did not discuss former President Donald Trump, who set the pullout in motion last year, albeit with a plan of his own.

 

WHAT DOES AMERICA SAY ABOUT BIDEN’S DECISION?

48% of Americans support the withdrawal by September, while 26% say they oppose it. Another 26% of Americans say they "neither support nor oppose" Biden's decision

 

CASEY: U.S. MUST EVACUATE ALLIES FACING TALIBAN RETALIATION IN AFGHANISTAN

Senator Bob Casey (Photo: LuLac archives) 

Following reports that Taliban forces have entered Kabul, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Lloyd Austin, urging him to keep U.S. troops in the city and ensure the safe evacuation of Afghans facing Taliban violence.

“Now that the Taliban has entered Kabul and has taken control of the government, our allies and defenders of democracy in Afghanistan are in grave danger, particularly women’s rights activists and leaders. This is not the time for the usual Washington finger pointing and pontificating; our immediate priority must be to safely evacuate the Americans, women leaders, activists and human rights defenders who are being targeted by the Taliban. Once we have secured a safe evacuation for as many of our allies as possible, Congress should conduct a full review of mistakes made in Afghanistan over the course of 20 years,” said Senator Casey.

In his letter, Senator Casey called on the Department of Defense to ensure the continued presence of U.S. security forces at Hamid Karzai International Airport to allow Afghans to safely board planes and evacuate. He asked that U.S. troops coordinate with other forces in the region to secure the airport in order to facilitate evacuation plans organized by humanitarian groups.

 

REP. CARTWRIGHT STATEMENT ON AFGHANISTAN

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives) 

, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright made this statement on the situation in Afghanistan:

“In the course of two decades in Afghanistan, American forces have diminished al-Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for the September 11 attack on our nation, along with the threat they posed to our national security. In this time, we have also sent hundreds of thousands of American soldiers into harm’s way to fight, while spending billions of dollars working to prepare Afghan security forces to protect their country. In the absence of those security forces’ will to fight, the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan was not unexpected, although it is deeply unfortunate still. The President faced a hard decision this year, but he reached it with a respect for the American people’s desire to end America’s longest war and bring our brave troops home.

“In light of Sunday’s events, it is critical that the administration take the necessary steps in this rapidly evolving situation to provide for a safe drawdown of our remaining servicemembers and diplomats, along with all the Afghans who partnered with our military in this mission. Equally important for our national security, we need to ensure Afghanistan does not again become a haven for terrorists who seek to attack America and our allies. Going forward, Congress and the White House should work together to make sure we have the proper intelligence and security infrastructure in place to monitor threats to our nation during the instability in the region.”

 

REP. CARTWRIGHT ANNOUNCES $10.7 MILLION IN COVID-19 RELIEF FUNDS APPROVED FOR LOCAL VENUES

REP. CARTWRIGHT HELPED PASS AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN TO SAVE JOBS AND CREATE OPPORTUNITIES AT LOCAL VENUES

Congressman Matt Cartwright (Photo: LuLac archives)

U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) announced 12 venues in Pennsylvania’s 8th District will receive a total of $10.7 million from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants (SVOG) program. Rep. Cartwright voted to establish the program through COVID-19 relief compromise passed in December 2020, then enhance it by helping pass the American Rescue Plan. The fund supports businesses in the music and entertainment industries that had to shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have a rich culture of arts and music here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but many of the businesses in those industries are hurting because of the pandemic,” said Rep. Cartwright. “Establishing the fund specifically for venue businesses was a critical first step, and now businesses are starting to see that money hit their bank accounts. I’ve been working hard to ensure that the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants program gets people in the music and entertainment industry back in good-paying jobs so they can put food on the table and take part in our economic revitalization.”

The Small Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program was established through the bipartisan COVID-19 relief package passed in December 2020. In March 2021, Rep. Cartwright passed the American Rescue Plan to secure an additional $16 billion for shuttered venues in order to keep businesses afloat and employees on the payroll.

The American Rescue Plan also instituted a fix to ensure shuttered venues that received Paycheck Protection Program loans after Dec. 27th, 2020 can also receive a Small Venue Operators grant, as long as the grant is reduced by the amount of PPP funds provided. Applying for both grant programs was previously prohibited.

The following businesses were awarded SVOG funding in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District:

Hoosier Daddy Entertainment - $51,216

F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts - $1,624,537

Encore Wilkes-Barre - $225,422

Luzerne County Convention Center Authority - $6,550,459

Cinema & Drafthouse, Inc. - $124,995

Music Box Players - $94,673

Broadway Theatre League of Scranton, Inc. - $663,867

Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple - $679,385

Mountain Sky LLC - $17,352

LIGEND, Inc. - $298,758

Joey Casella Productions, Inc. - $175,425

Pocono Environment Education Center - $244,504

 

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1987 

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Michael Jackson releases his seventh studio album, Bad, in the United States…………."Dirty Dancing" film directed by Emile Ardolino, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey opens in the US…….15-year old boy hijacks KLM B737, demands $1 billion……..Violent rainfall and floods in Bangladesh, kill 100's of people…….Announcement of possible Martian tornadoes…..the Dow Jones industrial stock avg reaches record 2722.42………..Paul Molitor goes 0-for-4 ends hitting streak at 39 consecutive games in still another run at Joe DiMaggio’s record of 56 and this week in 1987 the number one song in LuLac land and America was "La Bamba" by Los Lobas.