Top Commander Slams Jill Biden On Afghanistan Evacuation

[Rightguide]

This is what happens when you don't have a real President in command of his faculties. You have all of those around him thinking they can command the United States military. One can imagine the confused and overlapping interference into the military chain of command was going on when the commander on the ground has to listen to the friggin' Pope and the First lady. That's what got Americans killed and left behind enemy lines, and it's what should get Biden impeached and removed from office.

AMERICAN NEWS Feb 11, 2022 7:40 AM EST
Top commander slams White House, Jill Biden for being a 'distraction' during chaotic Kabul withdrawal
Vasely called the countless outreaches from White House officials, media outlets, members of Congress, veterans a "distraction" that "created competition for already stressed resources."

Hannah Nightingale
Washington DC
February 11, 2022 7:40 AM

A top US commander in Kabul during the chaotic withdrawal last August was recently revealed to have stated that continuous calls for help from the White House, Congress and beyond hampered US military missions to evacuate US citizens and foreign allies from Afghanistan, even calling the calls a "distraction."

Rear Adm. Peter Vasely called the countless outreaches from White House officials, media outlets, members of Congress, veterans, and even the Vatican a "distraction" that "created competition for already stressed resources," according to the Washington Post.

The Army’s lead investigator, Brig. Gen. Lance Curtis, asked Vasely whether reports were true that Pope Francis and first lady Jill Biden had requested help on behalf of specific people.

"That’s accurate," Vasely responded. "I was being contacted by representatives from the Holy See to assist the Italian military contingent … in getting through groups … of special interest to the Vatican. That is just one of many examples."

"I cannot stress enough," he added, "how these high-profile requests ate up bandwidth and created competition for already stressed resources."

https://thepostmillennial.com/top-c...g-chaotic-kabul-withdrawal?utm_campaign=64487

 

[phrodeau]

You want to blame the First Lady now? And I suppose it was Melania who took all those boxes of secret docs to Mar-A-Lago.

 

[sircumvent]

Jill wishes someone would slam her. Sleepy Joe can't twiddle the puddin' like he used to could.

 

[phrodeau]

Yeah, a Rear Admiral has more than one secretary to take care of the inboxes. A high-profile request would take fifteen seconds of his time.

 

[Rightguide]

Well now two plus years later the House has released its report on Biden's disastrous retreat from Afghanistan. It can be viewed and downloaded here:

https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp...m-Afghanistan-and-the-Chaos-that-Followed.pdf

Recall the Kamala Harris was the last person in the room when Joe Biden decided to bug out and get a lot of Americans killed.

 

[RobDownSouth]

I have no doubt that Rear Admiral Vasely was under enormous stress to wind down the Afghanistan debacle in a timely manner. Despite all the obstacles in his path, he successfully completed his mission.

I'm sure there were a number of high-profile requests to his office, as well as low-profile requests and fellow service members using back-channels to expedite their personal requests.

It was the Admiral's JOB to manage and prioritize these requests.

He understood his assignment.

If he wants to vent about Jill Biden or Pope Francis now, more power to him. It's a bit unseemly of a flag officer of the United States military, but times have changed and failed president Donald J Trump permanently altered the military/civilian dynamic for the worse.

It seems Admiral Vasely has some unresolved animosity and has chosen to lash out. *shrug*
Prediction: This story will largely be forgotten by tomorrow.

I will admit I'm a little surprised to hear that the Vatican (nominally a "foreign country" with whom the United States has established diplomatic relations with) had called him directly instead of following proper protocol and contacting the United States Embassy.

 

[Rightguide]

I have no doubt that Rear Admiral Vasely was under enormous stress to wind down the Afghanistan debacle in a timely manner. Despite all the obstacles in his path, he successfully completed his mission.

I'm sure there were a number of high-profile requests to his office, as well as low-profile requests and fellow service members using back-channels to expedite their personal requests.

It was the Admiral's JOB to manage and prioritize these requests.

He understood his assignment.

If he wants to vent about Jill Biden or Pope Francis now, more power to him. It's a bit unseemly of a flag officer of the United States military, but times have changed and failed president Donald J Trump permanently altered the military/civilian dynamic for the worse.

It seems Admiral Vasely has some unresolved animosity and has chosen to lash out. *shrug*
Prediction: This story will largely be forgotten by tomorrow.

I will admit I'm a little surprised to hear that the Vatican (nominally a "foreign country" with whom the United States has established diplomatic relations with) had called him directly instead of following proper protocol and contacting the United States Embassy.

Or Jill Biden sticking her nose into the chain of command to demand certain actions to be taken.

 

[Bray123]

The withdrawal from Afghan was announced and time-tabled by Trump before he was slung out of office. He gave in to the demands of the Taliban leaders who he met at Camp David, and released 5000 prisoners from Guantanamo one of whom is now the leader of Afghanistan Taliban.

But it's Bidens fault. Correction, Jill Biden.

 

[SevMax2]

I have no doubt that Rear Admiral Vasely was under enormous stress to wind down the Afghanistan debacle in a timely manner. Despite all the obstacles in his path, he successfully completed his mission.

I'm sure there were a number of high-profile requests to his office, as well as low-profile requests and fellow service members using back-channels to expedite their personal requests.

It was the Admiral's JOB to manage and prioritize these requests.

He understood his assignment.

If he wants to vent about Jill Biden or Pope Francis now, more power to him. It's a bit unseemly of a flag officer of the United States military, but times have changed and failed president Donald J Trump permanently altered the military/civilian dynamic for the worse.

It seems Admiral Vasely has some unresolved animosity and has chosen to lash out. *shrug*
Prediction: This story will largely be forgotten by tomorrow.

I will admit I'm a little surprised to hear that the Vatican (nominally a "foreign country" with whom the United States has established diplomatic relations with) had called him directly instead of following proper protocol and contacting the United States Embassy.

This whole business reminds me of the fictitious election between President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and Governor Conway in House of Cards, in which Conway picks as his running mate an admiral who is critical of the Underwood Administration and is played by Canadian actor Colm Feore, of all people. It was a truly bizarre situation, but not impossible, and it was a TV show. I wonder what would have happened if Trump had chosen a flag officer of some kind as his running mate.

 

[RobDownSouth]

Or Jill Biden sticking her nose into the chain of command to demand certain actions to be taken.

You know what? I'm gonna agree with you this one time. If she had an urgent request, it should've gone through POTUS ---> DOD--->Army---> Military command. It's difficult to do when "time is of the essence", but you have to respect the chain of command.

 

[Rotadom]

This is what happens when you don't have a real President in command of his faculties. You have all of those around him thinking they can command the United States military. One can imagine the confused and overlapping interference into the military chain of command was going on when the commander on the ground has to listen to the friggin' Pope and the First lady. That's what got Americans killed and left behind enemy lines, and it's what should get Biden impeached and removed from office.

AMERICAN NEWS Feb 11, 2022 7:40 AM EST
Top commander slams White House, Jill Biden for being a 'distraction' during chaotic Kabul withdrawal
Vasely called the countless outreaches from White House officials, media outlets, members of Congress, veterans a "distraction" that "created competition for already stressed resources."

Hannah Nightingale
Washington DC
February 11, 2022 7:40 AM

A top US commander in Kabul during the chaotic withdrawal last August was recently revealed to have stated that continuous calls for help from the White House, Congress and beyond hampered US military missions to evacuate US citizens and foreign allies from Afghanistan, even calling the calls a "distraction."

Rear Adm. Peter Vasely called the countless outreaches from White House officials, media outlets, members of Congress, veterans, and even the Vatican a "distraction" that "created competition for already stressed resources," according to the Washington Post.

The Army’s lead investigator, Brig. Gen. Lance Curtis, asked Vasely whether reports were true that Pope Francis and first lady Jill Biden had requested help on behalf of specific people.

"That’s accurate," Vasely responded. "I was being contacted by representatives from the Holy See to assist the Italian military contingent … in getting through groups … of special interest to the Vatican. That is just one of many examples."

"I cannot stress enough," he added, "how these high-profile requests ate up bandwidth and created competition for already stressed resources."

https://thepostmillennial.com/top-c...g-chaotic-kabul-withdrawal?utm_campaign=64487

Well now two plus years later the House has released its report on Biden's disastrous retreat from Afghanistan. It can be viewed and downloaded here:

https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WILLFULL-BLINDNESS-An-Assessment-of-the-Biden-Harris Administrations-Withdrawal-from-Afghanistan-and-the-Chaos-that-Followed.pdf

Recall the Kamala Harris was the last person in the room when Joe Biden decided to bug out and get a lot of Americans killed.

Or Jill Biden sticking her nose into the chain of command to demand certain actions to be taken.

This whole business reminds me of the fictitious election between President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and Governor Conway in House of Cards, in which Conway picks as his running mate an admiral who is critical of the Underwood Administration and is played by Canadian actor Colm Feore, of all people. It was a truly bizarre situation, but not impossible, and it was a TV show. I wonder what would have happened if Trump had chosen a flag officer of some kind as his running mate.

Now, we let the informed adults talk...

Retired generals defend Harris, blame Trump on Afghanistan withdrawal​

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/re...ris-blame-trump-afghanistan-withdrawal-report

A group of retired generals is moving to defend Vice President Kamala Harris from criticism over the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan this week.

The group of 10 former generals and admirals includes Admiral Steve Abbot, a former advisor to George W. Bush; Gen. Lloyd W. Newton, and Gen. Larry R. Ellis, who had never endorsed a political candidate until this week.

"Vice President Kamala Harris is the best—and only—presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief," the group wrote in a National Security Leaders for America letter, first obtained by Axios.

"She has demonstrated her ability to take on the most difficult national security challenges in the Situation Room and on the international stage, from rallying our allies against Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine to standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies in the Indo-Pacific against China’s provocative actions, to advancing U.S. leadership on space and artificial intelligence," the letter continued.

 

[Rotadom]

"Vice President Kamala Harris is the best—and only—presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief," the group wrote in a National Security Leaders for America letter, first obtained by Axios.

 

[Bray123]

Surely it was Hunter Biden's fault anyway that Trump ordered the release of 5000 Taliban prisoners and a rushed withdrawal plan that President Biden inherited?

 

[Saint_Ann]

The withdrawal from Afghan was announced and time-tabled by Trump before he was slung out of office. He gave in to the demands of the Taliban leaders who he met at Camp David, and released 5000 prisoners from Guantanamo one of whom is now the leader of Afghanistan Taliban.

But it's Bidens fault. Correction, Jill Biden.

If it happens on 'your watch' you get the blame or the glory.

 

[Bray123]

If it happens on 'your watch' you get the blame or the glory.

So Trump gets the blame for releasing the Taliban (one of whom is now the leader of that fine country) but he has your vote anyway.

Not much blame there.

 

[SevMax2]

Now, we let the informed adults talk...

Retired generals defend Harris, blame Trump on Afghanistan withdrawal​

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/re...ris-blame-trump-afghanistan-withdrawal-report

A group of retired generals is moving to defend Vice President Kamala Harris from criticism over the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan this week.

The group of 10 former generals and admirals includes Admiral Steve Abbot, a former advisor to George W. Bush; Gen. Lloyd W. Newton, and Gen. Larry R. Ellis, who had never endorsed a political candidate until this week.

"Vice President Kamala Harris is the best—and only—presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief," the group wrote in a National Security Leaders for America letter, first obtained by Axios.

"She has demonstrated her ability to take on the most difficult national security challenges in the Situation Room and on the international stage, from rallying our allies against Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine to standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies in the Indo-Pacific against China’s provocative actions, to advancing U.S. leadership on space and artificial intelligence," the letter continued.

"The informed adults"? Seriously? You think that because you watch Fox or CNN or MSNBC, you're informed? Someone may be an adult, but it isn't you. I'm not sure what would make him think that, but the woman is a walking, living embodiment of the Peter Principle. She's incompetent. There's a reason that she bombed in the primaries and why her staff has such a high turnover.

 

[Saint_Ann]

So Trump gets the blame for releasing the Taliban (one of whom is now the leader of that fine country) but he has your vote anyway.

Not much blame there.

Trump gets the credit for negotiating the end of the Afgahn war. You think we should have stayed?

 

[Rotadom]

"The informed adults"? Seriously? You think that because you watch Fox or CNN or MSNBC, you're informed? Someone may be an adult, but it isn't you. I'm not sure what would make him think that, but the woman is a walking, living embodiment of the Peter Principle. She's incompetent. There's a reason that she bombed in the primaries and why her staff has such a high turnover.

The article is from Fox and there are direct quotes from the adults..

Did you respond to the wrong post?

 

[SevMax2]

The article is from Fox and there are direct quotes from the adults..

Did you respond to the wrong post?

I addressed the fact that it was from Fox, and that was part of my point. Fox, CNN, and MSNBC are all propaganda machines, none of them even slightly reliable. One is the GOP/Murdoch machine and the other two present the neoliberal brand of leftist narrative. As for adults, yeah, naw, that's not you. It's certainly not the people who have blundered into one disastrous war after another...

 

[RobDownSouth]

how the trump admin deliberately scuppered refugee chances:
https://www.rawstory.com/ex-pence-a...Id=6&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s

Butters nailed the root cause of the last minute logjam waaaay back in August 2021.

• The military and the state department came up with a plan to establish a 14-step procedure to assist Afghans who assisted troops in Afghanistan to secure resident visas in the United States for their brave service.
• This was opposed at every step of the way by Trump advisor/speechwriter Stephen Miller, one of the few humans alive who hates brown people more than JoePepsiCo and Rightguide.
• He personally sabotaged the procedures in place (invoking Trump's name) which slowed the process to a crawl.
• Miller insisted that 14 steps was not enough, that it MIGHT allow "bad people" into the United States. (it didn't).

Miller's logjam created all the last-minute requests from VIPs to the commander on the ground.

Which, of course, created political fainting couch drama for Rightguide when presented with an opportunity to bash Dr. Jill Biden.

 

[SevMax2]

Butters nailed the root cause of the last minute logjam waaaay back in August 2021.

• The military and the state department came up with a plan to establish a 14-step procedure to assist Afghans who assisted troops in Afghanistan to secure resident visas in the United States for their brave service.
• This was opposed at every step of the way by Trump advisor/speechwriter Stephen Miller, one of the few humans alive who hates brown people more than JoePepsiCo and Rightguide.
• He personally sabotaged the procedures in place (invoking Trump's name) which slowed the process to a crawl.
• Miller insisted that 14 steps was not enough, that it MIGHT allow "bad people" into the United States. (it didn't).

Miller's logjam created all the last-minute requests from VIPs to the commander on the ground.

Which, of course, created political fainting couch drama for Rightguide when presented with an opportunity to bash Dr. Jill Biden.

Look, there is a massive difference between letting unvetted, potential jihadist types into the country and letting in someone like one of my co-workers who was working her first job since she left Afghanistan. The latter was a smart, helpful, enthusiastic colleague for while we worked together. I trust Miller's judgment like I trust Richard Spencer's, which is not at all. This doesn't change that there is a lot about the Afghanistan War that stinks and reeks of corruption and incompetence. That includes the Afghanistan Papers that showed years of perjury from top civilian and military brass to Congress. The evacuation needed to happen eventually. How it went down was....well, botched is putting it mildly. Trump's decisions no doubt contributed to the way that it fell apart, but Biden was at the helm when it actually did. He can't run away from this, either.

 

[Rotadom]

I addressed the fact that it was from Fox, and that was part of my point. Fox, CNN, and MSNBC are all propaganda machines, none of them even slightly reliable. One is the GOP/Murdoch machine and the other two present the neoliberal brand of leftist narrative. As for adults, yeah, naw, that's not you. It's certainly not the people who have blundered into one disastrous war after another...

What is a viable news source that you approve of? Like I pointed out, these are direct quotes from people who know way more than you or MSNBC.

 

[SevMax2]

What is a viable news source that you approve of? Like I pointed out, these are direct quotes from people who know way more than you or MSNBC.

While not perfect, I at least have some respect for Reuters, WION, sometimes Al Jazeera gets some things right, Breaking Points and Rising aren't bad, just to name some. The Hill is not perfect, either, but it's better than the mainstream media, print or broadcast.

I'm frankly surprised at his take on her, given her brazen incompetence, but to each their own. The fact is that the so-called "adults" or experts are the same people who blundered into this mess in the first place. Whatever expertise they have, their judgment is clearly not as optimal as it would first appear.

 

[Rotadom]

While not perfect, I at least have some respect for Reuters, WION, sometimes Al Jazeera gets some things right, Breaking Points and Rising aren't bad, just to name some. The Hill is not perfect, either, but it's better than the mainstream media, print or broadcast.

I'm frankly surprised at his take on her, given her brazen incompetence, but to each their own. The fact is that the so-called "adults" or experts are the same people who blundered into this mess in the first place. Whatever expertise they have, their judgment is clearly not as optimal as it would first appear.

Their judgement is more informed and respected than yours.

The end.