Sunday shows – Afghanistan dominates

by The Hill staff - 08/15/21 11:29 AM ET

The Taliban’s advance into the capitol of Afghanistan dominated the Sunday morning talk shows, with multiple guests discussing the apparent imminent fall of the government.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken argued that the group would’ve launch the offensive even if U.S. troops had stayed in the nation.

Comparisons to the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam were also debated.

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

Blinken argues Taliban would have launched offensive even if US had stayed in Afghanistan

By JOSEPH CHOI

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday defended the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan even as a Taliban takeover appears to be imminent, arguing that the current offensive would have occurred even if the U.S. had stayed.

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Blinken acknowledged that Afghan security forces have been unable to defend the nation and that the Taliban offensive has progressed faster than was expected.

Read the full story here

Blinken on Afghanistan: ‘This is not Saigon’

By JOSEPH CHOI

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday asserted that the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan “is not Saigon.”

Read the full story here

Scalise: ‘This is President Biden’s Saigon moment’

By JOSEPH CHOI

“It’s a very dire situation when you see the United States Embassy being evacuated. In fact you just had President Biden a few days ago saying you wouldn’t see helicopters evacuating the embassy like Saigon, and yet here we are. This is this is President Biden’s Saigon moment and unfortunately it was very predictable,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said.

Read the full story here

Pompeo says Trump administration ‘never trusted the Taliban’

By CAROLINE VAKIL

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that the Trump administration “never trusted to Taliban” despite its efforts to negotiate its own withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Read the full story here

McCaul: Biden’s ‘gonna have blood on his hands’ over Afghanistan withdrawal

By JOSEPH CHOI

“This is gonna be a stain on this president and his presidency. And I think he’s gonna have blood on his hands from what they did,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) while appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

Read the full story here

Cheney: What we’re seeing now in Afghanistan is actually the opposite of ending war

By ARIS FOLLEY

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) criticized President Biden on Sunday over his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan in the wake of reports that the Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday, arguing the move by the president is “not ending the war.”

Read the full story here

Fauci asks people to ‘put aside’ concerns of personal liberty and recognize ‘common enemy’ of COVID-19

By JOSEPH CHOI

Chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday called on vaccine-hesitant individuals to “put aside” their concerns about personal liberty and recognize the “common enemy” of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story here

Top researcher: Current virus surge could sustain itself for another six weeks

By CAROLINE VAKIL

A top U.S. infectious disease expert said on Sunday that a surge in the COVID-19 virus could sustain itself for at least another four to six weeks if certain states continue to see cases increase.

Read the full story here

NIH director: COVID-19 infections among children ‘very worrisome’

By CAROLINE VAKIL

“That’s very worrisome,” NIH Director Francis Collins said. “More than 400 children have died of COVID-19. And right now we have almost 2,000 kids in the hospital, many of them in ICU, some of them under the age of four.”

Read the full story here

Hochul: ‘It won’t be difficult’ to move on from Cuomo’s legacy

By JOSEPH CHOI

New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who will soon become her state’s first female governor, said on Sunday that “it won’t be difficult” for her to move on from the legacy that so many officials like outgoing Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) have left behind.

Read the full story here