Change the reality. Change the story.
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Humans understand the feeling of being trapped. We don't like it. We experienced it as infants, squirming to get free of a parent's arms, out of a crib. My son's third or fourth word was "Stuck!" Stories coming out of Kabul displayed the adult version of frustration and panic of being stuck.
Biden has an opportunity, and he is seizing it. Four days ago I wrote that Biden should do what Americans know how to do: Materials logistics. FedEx, Amazon, and the Postal Service do it. The military does it. Fly stuff from one place to another in two days.
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Moving quickly requires a destination where no governor, zoning official, or NIMBY citizen group could object, i.e. a military base. I suggested Fort Hood in Texas. The Wall Street Journal just reported that a "tent city" is being set up at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. Just as good.
Biden is making it happen. United Airlines, Delta Airlines, and American Airlines know how to transport passengers in airplanes. There is already a law in place to recruit the planes as part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. Airlines have capacity. They want to do this. American Airlines issued a statement saying the company is "proud to fulfill its duty to help the U.S. military scale this humanitarian and diplomatic rescue mission."
American Airlines is validating Biden's ideal branding and framing: It's a rescue mission. Perfect.
The ascendent GOP message has been opposition to immigration, especially from Muslim countries. Trump described immigrants and refugees as criminals, as benefit-seekers, or as job stealers. He scoffed at their claim of danger back home. He was decisive and cruel; we don't want those people here in our country. A great many people agreed with this framing. Fox's most popular host, Tucker Carlson, has amped up that description of Afghan refugees as mortal threats to America. He says some will be secret terrorists but all of them are a part of a demographic wave to outvote White Americans.
Video this week changes the optics. Stuck Afghans are sympathetic victims. The media loves the story of the Taliban threatening Americans, especially women. It is classic narrative drama: Bad-Man-Puts-Woman-in-Peril. Fox News is on board, too, especially when they can show a White Christian woman in peril, describing the horrors that await her if the Taliban has its way. It is classic Fox. GOP and Fox News are in a muddle. Mitch McConnell is urging Biden to rescue Afghans. So is the corporate side of Fox, if not its on-air hosts. Fox reported on itself: We rescued people, including Muslims.
Biden has been slow to overrule the size limits on refugees implemented by Trump. Biden's hesitation appears to be his attempt to turn down the heat on the immigration issue. He was bending in the direction of Trump, sensing, accurately I believe, that there is growing un-ease by many Americans over the rate of immigration. The issue worked for Trump. Biden noticed.
We have not seen much of the conditions in Central America that pushed immigrant refugees here, but we see the conditions this week in Afghanistan. They challenge our humanity and our sense of obligation.
Biden concludes his formal speeches with a signature phrase, "And may God protect our troops." Biden has an opportunity to prove up. Let Afghans in. They protected our troops. Trump and Tucker Carlson will criticize. Their attack is a gift to Biden because it lets Biden stand firm in the face of attacks. It gives Biden a chance to look strong and resolute. Biden needs that.
15 comments:
Peter Sage, your head is up your ass, like always.
Biden is a corrupt clusterfuck who has fucked-up America more in 7 months than any other prior president has ever. Biden makes Jimmy Carter look good.
No amount of lipstick will make Biden look good. Take your head out of your ass, Mister Propaganda. Biden sucks, and Harris is worse.
The pressure to "do something" is intense. Have we forgotten Trump and the Kurds?
It chills me to think what the situation would be if Trump had actually withdrawn rather than just pander about it. When pondering that possibility it's clear they never intended any such thing.
In my view the unreported story is the lack of international support for the mission. It appears the US is alone in responding to what has become a humanitarian crisis, leaving me wondering if US foreign relations have truly been repaired.
A quick check of headlines found that three Canadian planes have left Kabul, but didn't say who was on board...and the UK is convening a virtual meeting of the G7 tomorrow to discuss the issue.
Otherwise, not so much...
Biden sh** the bed. Doing a great job changing the linens isn’t going to cover up the stink from the mattress.
Do not get involved in a land war in Asia!
This is a landlocked country with NO allies on any of the Afghanistan's borders. Even the airspace is controlled by powers that are unfriendly to the United States. Biden's action was preordained by the "treaty" Trump made with the Taliban. This is the spillover of Trump's tilt to Russia. A useful idiot he was! Russia is now in position to intervene, once again, in Afghanistan exerting their influence . By the way, the Berlin airlift was no cakewalk either. Without Twitter, Facebook, FoxNews, One America, the 24/7 cable news cycle and the blow by blow, moment to moment events are shown in real time here. Most Americans are shocked and dismayed as they thought everything was just all peachy keen. Human rights group and foreign service officers have a unique perspective that does not augur well with the interests of America. Lastly, who said no planning took place? Why on earth would such plans be released beforehand to the talking heads thirsting for content to fill their programing and pad their ratings! No. We all need to just chill. We have too many people in harms way at the moment with little that can be done should events go downhill.
I have to disagree with the brave soul, who so courageously signed on as anonymous. It seems his head is the one misplaced, causing his anal retentive point of view concerning Mr.Putin's Puppet. Your head, Peter, is squarely attached in its proper position, thankfully giving us intelligent and thought provoking insights. From the majority of your readers, thank you.
Even in the unlikely event there are no major-casualty incidents between now and the deadline, the next big step in this catalogue of tactical woe is...the deadline itself.
Biden himself hinted and Austin all but announced we will be seeking an extension from (!) the Taliban. The Taliban in turn has already announced that a deadline is a deadline.
That means the strong chance of an even bigger Iran hostage crisis, and/or new pallets of U.S. bribe cash from Democrats to fund Islamist terrorism (along with the materiel seized).
On the Sunday morning shows, the Secretary of State said he'd been working the phone with "President Karzai"...when the now-rich weasel who cut and ran is named President Ghani.
Heckuva job, Blinky! They had better NOT find a White House, State Dept or Pentagon hack named Winken, because with the Sec. of State and Biden that makes Winken, Blinken and Nod.
Try to cut back on the coffee and booze
Try for better analogies
Thank you, Mr. Norris, for articulating my point of view so clearly.
I’m happy with the ones I come up with. You are welcome to come up with different ones if you like.
Why so interested in Afghanistan? Americans don’t even know where it is located. Big news show, optics…crying children. Bodies falling from the sky. Men in black turbans with weapons. Women with scarves and face coverings. Soldiers lifting babies over walls. News women interviewing frightened families. While floods kill here. And homes are burned. All be over in a month and then what? The next news cycle. Afghan gone. . “Until they live down the block bringing COVID and their guns and take our money and live off welfare and blow stuff up.” Heard that from my neighbor.
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This debacle is not even close. First, because Biden is bent on making a soeech on how great he is on 9/11 he is in a hurry. Second, we are most likely leaving behind Anmericans and SIV's not to mention refugees we are now responsible for.
Third, our allies are mad at us and do not trust us. This will follow America ofor years. This is what happens when the media does not do their job. They did not vet Biden and as a result no one got to see how weak he is. He has always been a liar throughout his career to the extent he makes things up.
Kurt forgot to take his meds.
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