{"id":706827,"date":"2021-09-01T15:06:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T19:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=706827"},"modified":"2021-09-01T15:06:10","modified_gmt":"2021-09-01T19:06:10","slug":"the-5-toughest-comments-the-biden-administration-faced-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-5-toughest-comments-the-biden-administration-faced-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Toughest Comments The Biden Administration Faced This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-5-toughest-comments-the-biden-administration-faced-this-week%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=706827&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1234986785-scaled-1.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The media have become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/the-medias-10-most-brutal-criticisms-of-bidens-afghanistan-debacle\">uncharacteristically critical<\/a> of the Biden administration during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Over the last two weeks, the media posed serious, often scathing questions to administration officials.<\/p>\n<p>Here are five of the toughest comments or queries the Biden administration has faced:<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cYou\u2019re telling me we should trust what the Taliban said.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week\u201d guest host Martha Raddatz called Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the carpet when he cited the promises of the Taliban as a reason those trying to flee the war-torn country could rest easy. \u201cYour spokesman said the airport will not be open on September 1, and the Taliban obviously can\u2019t secure safety even when U.S. forces are present. So, how do you realistically think any American citizens or Afghan partners who are left behind will be able to fly out?\u201d Raddatz asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst, just about 24 hours ago, a very senior Taliban leader spoke on television and on the radio throughout Afghanistan and repeatedly assured the Afghan people that they would be free to travel after August 31,\u201d Blinken replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut, Secretary Blinken, they do not trust them,\u201d Raddatz interrupted. \u201cI mean, I know you say you don\u2019t trust the Taliban, but now you\u2019re telling me we should trust what the Taliban said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Secretary Blinken said that he was \u201cnot saying we should trust the Taliban on anything\u201d but \u201csimply reporting what one of their senior leaders said to the Afghan people.\u201d He included another reason the post-August evacuation will go smoothly: \u201c114 countries have made very clear that it is their expectation that the Taliban will permit freedom to travel going past August 31 \u2014 so, that is a clear expectation \u2026 across the entire international community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the administration has \u201csignificant leverage \u2026 to incentivize the Taliban to make good on its commitments,\u201d and that officials are \u201cactively planning\u201d for ways either to reopen the airport after Tuesday passes or to use other forms of transportation to remove those stranded in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cHow can you be sure any list you share of Afghans who helped Americans won\u2019t be used for horrendous reasons?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To secure their safety, the Biden administration reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/breaking-biden-admin-gave-taliban-list-of-american-citizens-green-card-holders-and-afghan-allies-that-needed-to-get-into-airport-report\">gave a list<\/a> of Americans and Afghan allies to Taliban officials, according to a report late last week in Politico. On Sunday\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d Chuck Todd asked Secretary Blinken about the topic. \u201cI know that you think some of this has been a bit over-reported or exaggerated,\u201d he said. \u201cBut given the Haqqani network\u2019s ties to the Taliban, how can you be sure any list you share of Afghans who helped Americans won\u2019t be used for horrendous reasons by the Haqqani network or others?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blinken replied that \u201cthe idea that we shared lists of Americans or others with the Taliban is simply wrong.\u201d But he went on to say that U.S. officials shared lists of credentials with Taliban officials to expedite the removal of U.S. citizens. President Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/biden-doesnt-deny-report-of-u-s-handing-over-names-of-americans-to-taliban-theyre-may-have-been\">admitted<\/a> \u201cthere may have been\u201d lists exchanged with Islamist officials last week. At a minimum, administration officials turned over the names of students who attended the American University of Afghanistan, a target of Taliban attacks, the New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/29\/world\/taliban-american-university-of-kabul-afghanistan.html\">reported<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThe<\/strong><strong>y have been describing something that isn\u2019t reality.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After Raddatz\u2019s interview with Secretary Blinken, one of her panelists claimed the administration had pushed falsehoods. Raddatz began by saying, \u201cListening to President Biden and his top national security advisers before the horrible bombing, they were making this sound like a smashing success. But you heard what Secretary Blinken just said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah. I mean, they have been describing something that isn\u2019t reality,\u201d Jon Karl replied. While he said the airlift had been \u201cincredible,\u201d the evacuation as a whole had been \u201ca disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClearly, Thursday was the worst day of the Biden presidency, and we don\u2019t really know, Martha, how bad it really is,\u201d he said. \u201cThe big question is, \u2018Does Afghanistan once again become a safe haven for terrorist attacks on U.S. interests around the world or at home?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Karl was not the only other person on the news magazine to be unimpressed with Secretary Blinken. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) said, \u201cThat interview was disgusting, and the American people have a right to be livid about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cDo you really believe that we have \u2018enormous\u2019 leverage over the Taliban?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On \u201cFox News Sunday,\u201d anchor Chris Wallace opened his interview of Jake Sullivan by playing a video clip of White House spokesperson Jen Psaki saying the U.S. government has \u201can enormous amount of leverage\u201d over the Taliban, including \u201ceconomic leverage.\u201d Those forms of leverage included reopening an airport in Kabul.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you really believe that we have \u2018enormous\u2019 leverage over the Taliban?\u201d a clearly skeptical Wallace pressed Sullivan. \u201cDo you really believe that? And do you really believe that there\u2019s a chance that we might be able to re-set up a U.S. embassy in Kabul?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan replied, \u201cThe answer is emphatically yes; we do believe that the United States of America possesses substantial leverage to ensure that American citizens and others get safe passage.\u201d That included possibly unfreezing \u201cbillions\u201d of dollars in Afghan assets for the Taliban regime and \u201cworking in a united way\u201d with \u201cthe international community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cDoes the president acknowledge any mistakes having been made with withdrawal or evacuation?\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As criticism has mounted, the Biden-Harris administration has essentially portrayed the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan as a necessary consequence of ending the 20-year-long war. CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper tried to peel apart that difference with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.<\/p>\n<p>Tapper said that he does not \u201cdispute the talking point\u201d that Sullivan \u201cand the president keep saying, that this was going to be messy and ugly no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut does the president acknowledge any mistakes having been made with withdrawal or evacuation?\u201d he asked. &nbsp;\u201cI mean, there are Democrats who are calling for hearings to find out what went wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks (D-NY) have <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/joe-biden-business-afghanistan-f38addbf2fa0b2867f23121fa732f6ce\">vowed<\/a> to investigate the Afghanistan troop pulldown, which Menendez characterized as the \u201cBiden administration\u2019s flawed execution of the U.S. withdrawal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan bristled that the administration\u2019s defensive tactic is \u201cnot a talking point. It\u2019s a reality.\u201d While Sullivan said that \u201call of us who work on these issues lie awake at night and wonder, \u2018What could we have done differently?\u2019\u201d his \u201coverriding focus is on getting the remaining American citizens out of the country and making sure that our troops get home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He acknowledged no specific mistake or failure on the part of the administration\u2019s withdrawal efforts, nor did he say that the president personally&nbsp;recognized any flaws inherent in his strategy.<\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The media have become uncharacteristically critical of the Biden administration during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Over the last two weeks, the media posed serious, often scathing questions to administration &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-706827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=706827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}