Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
September 14, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Sharing my Op-Ed, that's published in The Hill. If you have Twitter, please follow me: @rebekah0132. Thanks.
Could America's Afghanistan war calamity have been avoided? . . . Analysis by Rebekah Koffler. Could we have done something differently that would have saved the $2.2 trillion worth of blood and sweat of hard-working Americans who had little say in Washington? Did the U.S. continue a doomed project in Afghanistan no matter the costs? Could we have prevented the tragic loss of 6,200 American lives and countless other victims who were
killed, displaced as refugees, or otherwise harmed by U.S. leaders’ proclivity to get entangled in long wars? The following three approaches to the war could have helped the bureaucracy to define ahead of time achievable goals, identify a winnable warfighting strategy, and conclude America’s military campaign in Afghanistan as soon as victory was achieved back in 2001.
First, instead of obsessing over tactical brilliance — how accurately we can identify a terrorist leader and how precisely we can put “iron on target,” — the Pentagon had a choice to focus on the big picture before plunging into a protracted war. Strategic intelligence provides us with clues — the mindset and thinking of an adversary, how well it is organized, how hard it will fight, what weaponry it might use, and what tactics it might pursue against the superior U.S. armed
forces. Regretfully, during my service at the leading agency providing intelligence to our warfighters, I observed that DIA’s primary focus was on collecting tactical intelligence to populate its military intelligence database, called MIDB, which contains data on foreign militaries’ infrastructure — that is, things that are countable and represent targets to be destroyed.
Doctrines, strategies, mindsets and the “otherness” of foreign cultures are not quantifiable. Therefore, intelligence managers, whom we analysts called “bean counters,” not only de-prioritized such intel but sometimes penalized analysts who veered away from collecting and counting the “beans.” But tactical brilliance does not compensate for strategic incompetence. And it doesn’t win wars. The Hill
House Dems propose one of the largest tax increases ever to pay for Biden’s $3.5T spending bill . . . House Democrats on Monday proposed one of the largest tax increases in U.S. history to pay for President Biden’s $3.5 trillion expansion of the federal safety net. Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee released an 881-page bill outlining a series of tax hikes and one-time revenue generators they say will ensure Mr. Biden’s
big-spending domestic agenda is fully funded. As part of the proposal, Democrats are eyeing tax hikes across the board, including on individuals and corporations. The proposal calls for:
• Raising taxes on tobacco products.
• Hiking the corporate tax rate from 21% to 26.5%.
• Increasing the capital gains tax from 20% to 25%.
• Raising the top rate on individuals from 37% to the pre-Trump era high of 39.6%.
• Imposing a wealth tax in the form of a 3% surcharge on individuals with income above $5 million.
• Increasing the minimum tax on foreign income derived by corporations, from 10.5% to 16.6%. Washington Times
Biden pretends he got his first job offer from an Idaho lumber company . . . President Biden also said he and his deceased wife wanted to move to Idaho. That does not sound very likely either. President Biden said at a wildfire-focused event in Idaho Monday that his “first job offer” came from the local lumber and wood-products business Boise Cascade, but the company says it has “no record” of that being true. Biden, who is renowned
for sharing memories that did not happen, said that he regularly mentioned the job offer to his Senate colleague from Idaho, the late Democratic Sen. Frank Church. White House Dossier
Varney: California recall election is ‘referendum on one party rule’ . . . "Varney & Co." host Stuart Varney argued during his "My Take" Monday that the California recall election is a referendum on one-party rule. The Golden State has been run by Democrats for years. It is Democrat policies on taxation climate and COVID that rule the state. It’s a very stark contrast with Texas, Florida and other GOP states. The result is that
Californians "enjoy" the highest taxes in the land, the highest rate of poverty, gas prices, more than a dollar higher than the national average. Homelessness on a mass scale. And crime that has become so blatant and public! Look at this video, again, showing three women robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight in the middle of Los Angeles! Fox Business
Biden Props Up Gavin Newsom, Calls Elder A ‘Trump Clone’ At Anti-Recall Rally . . . President Joe Biden urged Californians to “vote no” on Governor Gavin Newsom’s recall while repeatedly slamming Newsom’s opponent during a rally for the incumbent Monday evening. The president arrived in Long Beach after visiting both Idaho and Sacramento to take the stage for the campaign event. Biden quickly propped up Newsom as “one of the best
governors in the country” before attacking his frontrunner opponent, Larry Elder, as being “anti-women, anti-worker” and a “climate denier.” He’s a clone of Donald Trump,” Biden said. Daily Caller
Family of American held hostage by Taliban urges Biden to fire Afghanistan peace negotiator . . . In a statement to Reuters, the family of Mark Frerichs accused U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad of forgetting about Frerichs's situation. Frerichs's sister Charlene Cakora told Reuters, "Ambassador Khalilzad needs to be fired."Frerichs, 59, is a U.S. Navy veteran who worked for a decade in Afghanistan on development projects
when he was abducted in February of 2020, shortly before Khalilzad signed an agreement with the Taliban to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan. She also told Reuters that Khalilzad "hasn't even spoken to our family since Biden took office." The Hill
Trump on 2024: ‘I don’t think we’re going to have a choice’ . . . The signs that he is going to do this are getting stronger and stronger. But still, with Trump,anything could happen. Former President Trump, teasing his plans for 2024, told Fox News that the country is “getting to a point where we really have no choice” but for him to run for president again. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the former president was
asked about his plans for a potential White House bid in 2024. “I don’t think we’re going to have a choice,” Trump told Fox News. “It is disgraceful.”
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Top Terrorism Threats Not From Afghanistan: DNI . . . Afghanistan does not currently pose the biggest terrorist threat to the United States and is further down the priority list following the U.S. withdrawal and subsequent Taliban takeover, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Monday.
The top intelligence official’s comments came on the same day that President Joe Biden acknowledged that the terrorist group al-Qaeda may attempt to reconstruct itself in the country.
Speaking at an intelligence and national security conference in Washington, Haines noted, “In terms of the homeland, the threat right now from terrorist groups, we don’t prioritize at the top of the list Afghanistan,” Haines said, adding, “what we look at is Yemen, Somalia, Syria, and Iraq for ISIS. That’s where we see the greatest threat.” Epoch Times
Washington ramps up security ahead of Sept. 18 rally . . . Capitol Police and other law enforcement officials are ramping up security measures ahead of Saturday’s rally in Washington to support the pro-Trump protesters who stormed the Capitol on January 6. Security officials and congressional leaders appeared to be blindsided by the riot. Eight months later, the Capitol’s top security officers are long gone. But their
replacements are scrambling to ensure that the tragic events of Jan. 6 don’t recur on their watch. Capitol Police have installed temporary high-tech security cameras to allow them a vaster view of the Capitol complex. The Hill
'Thousands' of lawful US residents left in Afghanistan, Blinken says in testimony . . . President Joe Biden’s administration assessed “thousands” of lawful permanent residents of the United States remain in Afghanistan following the tumultuous evacuation of Kabul, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “I think the best estimates are that there’s several thousand green card holders in Afghanistan,” Blinken told the House Foreign
Affairs Committee on Monday. That figure hints at the scale of the diplomatic and humanitarian challenge confronting State Department officials in the absence of U.S. military personnel. Washington Examiner
Trump says terrorists 'absolutely' airlifted from Afghanistan in US evacuation . . . Former President Donald Trump, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, suggested that terrorists "absolutely" were airlifted from Afghanistan as part of the U.S. evacuation effort from Kabul last month, questioning the Biden administration's vetting process. Trump warned that the individuals that the Biden administration are resettling in the
U.S. could pose a risk to national security. "The people they are resettling — it's the worst. There was no vetting," Trump said. "And it is probably a tough group of people, because they were able to get on the plane, so they were aggressive." "What does that mean? Does that mean you have terrorists there?" Trump asked. "Absolutely you do. Fox News
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North Korea Tests First Possible Nuclear Capable Missile . . . North Korea carried out successful tests of a new long-range cruise missile over the weekend, seen by analysts as possibly the country's first such weapon with a nuclear capability. The missiles are "a strategic weapon of great significance" and flew 1,500 km (930 miles) before hitting their targets and falling into the country's territorial waters during the tests on
Saturday and Sunday, KCNA said. The latest test highlighted steady progress in Pyongyang's weapons programme amid a gridlock over talks aimed at dismantling the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs in return for U.S. sanctions relief. Washington Free Beacon
Putin to self-isolate after COVID-19 cases detected in entourage: report . . . Russian President Vladimir Putin will self-isolate after cases of COVID-19 were detected in his entourage. The Kremlin on Tuesday said that Putin will not travel to Tajikistan this week for planned regional security meetings, Reuters reported. Putin called Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon and told him he could not travel because he was
self-isolating and would instead take part in meetings via a video link. Fox News
China uses anti-fraud app to track access to overseas financial news sites . . . Chinese police are using a new anti-fraud app installed on more than 200m mobile phones to identify and question people who have viewed overseas financial news sites, according to individuals summoned by the authorities. The app was launched in March by the public security ministry’s National Anti-Fraud Center and blocks suspicious phone calls and reports
malware. Police said it was needed to combat a surge in fraud, often perpetrated by overseas operations managed by Chinese and Taiwanese nationals. One Shanghai-based user told the Financial Times he was contacted by police after accessing a US financial news service. He was also asked whether he had contacts abroad and regularly visited overseas websites. Financial Times
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Nevada Dems Violated State’s Mask Mandate at 9/11 Costume Party . . . Two senior Nevada Democrats violated the state's indoor mask mandate by attending a costume party on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Photos obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show Sen. Jacky Rosen (D., Nev.) and Rep. Susie Lee (D., Nev.) decked out in boxing gear while attending a benefit gala honoring billionaire Elaine Wynn, ex-wife of casino magnate Steve Wynn. Neither politician was wearing a mask, even though Steve Sisolak, Nevada's Democratic governor, had imposed an indoor mask mandate that went into effect the previous day. Washington Free Beacon
Biden’s Vaccine Mandates Disproportionately Hurting Blacks . . . Black syndicated columnist and conservative commentator Star Parker says what Biden is doing is discrimination. “Right now a lot of Black Americans, including friends and family members, who work for the federal government or federal contractors, are concerned they could lose their jobs,” Parker explained. Black Americans have a long history of distrust of the federal
government as a result of ethnically abusive government projects that targeted black American males. According to Kaiser Health News, nationwide, the percent of white people who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose (52%) was roughly 1.2 times higher than the rate for black people (43%). Patriot
Post
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Met Gala: A look at the money behind the annual fashion event . . . Each year, when the Met Gala rolls around, fans look to the stars to see what lavish and over-the-top costumes celebrities have concocted to show off while strutting their stuff on the red carpet. The event is generally co-chaired by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and a handful of celebrities and public figures. This year, singer Billie Eilish, actor Timothee Chalamet, tennis icon Naomi Osaka and poet Amanda
Gorman took on such duties for the event held at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Each year, the attendees are expected to don jaw-dropping outfits that align with a theme that promotes an exhibit at the museum. This year’s theme is "In America." Tickets cost at least $30,000. Fox Business
Biden Declares War on Low-Income Families . . . President Joe Biden on Thursday announced an unprecedented and legally dubious federal mandate that will disproportionately harm low-income families, including many in the BIPOC community. lthough the president said last year that forcing Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine was "not the role of the federal government," the Biden administration now plans to require businesses with more
than 100 employees to have their workers vaccinated or tested weekly. The hardworking American households whose lives are most likely to be disrupted by the federal mandate are, according to science, those that earn less than $25,000 per year. Recently published Census Bureau data show that nearly one in four Americans who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine are in the lowest income bracket. Washington Free Beacon
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Facebook Company Documents Reveal a Secret Elite That’s Exempt . . . Mark Zuckerberg has publicly said Facebook Inc. allows its more than three billion users to speak on equal footing with the elites of politics, culture and journalism, and that its standards of behavior apply to everyone, no matter their status or fame. In private, the company has built a system that has exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules,
according to company documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The program, known as “cross check” or “XCheck,” was initially intended as a quality-control measure for actions taken against high-profile accounts, including celebrities, politicians and journalists. Today, it shields millions of VIP users from the company’s normal enforcement process. Some users are “whitelisted”—rendered immune from enforcement actions—while others are allowed to post rule-violating material pending
Facebook employee reviews that often never come. Wall Street Journal
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Dog steals ball during cricket match in Ireland . . . A dog stole the show during the Women's All-Ireland T20 Cup cricket semi-final match when it ran out onto the pitch and stole the ball. The cameras were rolling during Saturday's game between Bready and CSNI when the canine darted out onto the pitch and ran off with the ball. "The dog has the ball," announcer Heatley Tector can be heard saying in the footage,
before erupting into laughter.
The dog eventually gave up the ball and was led away from the play area by his owner. "I think we've retrieved the ball. It may need a clean. I think this has brought COVID regulations to a whole new standard," Tector says in the video. The International Cricket Council celebrated the incident by dubbing the dog, named Dazzle, its honorary player of the month. UPI
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Rebekah
Rebekah Koffler
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