{"id":327446,"date":"2021-08-19T05:21:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T02:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/damning-pic-of-a-weak-leader-devine\/"},"modified":"2021-08-19T05:21:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T02:21:39","slug":"damning-pic-of-a-weak-leader-devine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/damning-pic-of-a-weak-leader-devine\/","title":{"rendered":"#Damning pic of a weak leader: Devine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Damning pic of a weak leader: Devine<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Miranda Devine\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=152 152w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=114 114w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=76 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=38 38w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png 706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>What possessed the White House to tweet out a photo of Joe Biden all alone in a conference room at Camp David as Kabul fell to the Taliban Sunday?<\/p>\n<p>Isolated, feeble, indecisive: that is the lasting image of the president of the United States as his nation suffered the worst self-inflicted humiliation of its history.<\/p>\n<p>In a polo shirt, a hippy bracelet on his left wrist and his right hand covering his mouth, the vacationing president looked every bit his 78 years as he sat alone at a vast table set for 18 absent advisers.<\/p>\n<p>He stared at a distant screen showing American officials in eight locations conducting a video conference on the unfolding catastrophe in Afghanistan. None of the people on screen seemed to address him directly.<\/p>\n<p>The commander in chief was an observer, not a leader.<\/p>\n<p>Everything was wrong with the photo. Even the world clocks on the wall in front of Biden were inaccurate, having not been adjusted for Daylight Saving Time, a sloppy detail unbefitting a superpower.<\/p>\n<p>This official White House image projected weakness at a dangerous time, when the eyes of the world are judging the extent of America\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n<p>What they saw was an old man on his own, his botched conceit in ruins at his feet. Only seven months in office, Biden had taken to inviting historians into the White House to coach him on how to pre-burnish his legacy. The Afghanistan timetable was tailor-made for the history books, a political set piece in which he would be lauded as the first president who ended the endless war on the 20th anniversary of 9\/11.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the Taliban\u2019s Islamists will raise their flag at the $1 billion American embassy in Kabul on 9\/11 and dance on American graves.<\/p>\n<p>It took three days for the White House to blast out a photo that at least gave the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earance of presidential command.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Kabul1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"A US soldier points his gun toward an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport as the military struggles to evaluate thousands of Afghans trying to escape the Taliban regime.&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-19173806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Kabul1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Kabul1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Kabul1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>A US soldier points his gun toward an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport as the military struggles to evaluate thousands of Afghans trying to escape the Taliban regime.<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It showed Biden in the Situation Room Wednesday, a black mask dangling off his ear, as he sat at the head of a table, appearing to speak to his assembled military and \u00adnational-security team.<\/p>\n<p>Vice President Kamala Harris sat to his right. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, alongside and opposite her, focussed their eyes squarely on the boss, but Harris had her head turned slightly away from Biden and her gaze fixed down at the \u00adtable. Two fingers of her left hand were pressed to her temple, blocking any peripheral view of the president.<\/p>\n<p>It was the first time she had been seen in six days, and her body language spoke volumes. Failure is an orphan and Biden stinks of it.<\/p>\n<p>Harris was conspicuously absent during Biden\u2019s mendacious teleprompter remarks about Afghanistan Monday, when he blamed everyone but himself, despite a pro forma \u201cthe buck stops with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After his speech, the president \u2014 who won an election in absentia from his Delaware basement \u2014 refused to answer questions shouted by the waiting press and went back to his Camp David vacation, leaving the rest of his administration to get on with the mess he had left them.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/KabulBeatuySalon.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"A Taliban fighter walks past a beauty saloon with images of women defaced using a spray paint in Shar-e-Naw in Kabul on August 18, 2021. \" class=\"wp-image-19174042\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/KabulBeatuySalon.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/KabulBeatuySalon.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/KabulBeatuySalon.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>A Taliban fighter walks past a beauty salon with posters of women vandalized in Shar-e-Naw in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 18, 2021.<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He seemed not to comprehend that when a presidential candidate hides in a basement, that might be smart politics, but when the president of the United States does it, that is a dereliction of duty.<\/p>\n<p>Harris was not at his side, either, when he returned briefly to the White House from vacation Wednesday afternoon for a bizarre performance in front of a teleprompter in the East Room, intoning for 16 minutes about his favorite topic, COVID-19, and threatening governors who oppose mask mandates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n<p>This is a dishonest characterization of parental choice, as favored by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the main target of Biden\u2019s ire.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the main point is that the president did not say a word about Afghanistan, where he has just returned 6,500 troops to carry out the dangerous mission of rescuing thousands of Americans he left trapped behind enemy lines.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Ron-DeSantis.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference today, to speak about a new Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Center in Pembroke Pines, FL. The treatment center will take up to 300 patients a day.&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-19174072\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Ron-DeSantis.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Ron-DeSantis.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Ron-DeSantis.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>President Joe Biden tried to divert attention away from his disaster in Afghanistan to target Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.<br \/>\n<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Michele Eve Sandberg\/MEGA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Then he turned on his heel and walked out, refusing to be held \u00adaccountable by assembled journalists for any of his decisions. It was an extraordinarily cowardly \u00addisplay.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps his advisers felt that doing a prerecorded interview with trusted Democratic operative \u00ad<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2021\/06\/03\/george-stephanopoulos-ali-wentworths-daughter-attends-prom\/?_ga=2.95846808.588800455.1629227660-1764175237.1572890003\">George Stephanopoulos<\/a> for ABC <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> would be enough to keep the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> satisfied.<\/p>\n<p>But an excerpt of the interview released Wednesday did nothing to dispel the impression of a stubborn man, out of his depth, lacking in empathy and refusing to admit he was wrong to defy military \u00adadvice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it a failure of intelligence, planning, execution or judgment?\u201d asked Stephanopoulos.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook. I don\u2019t think it was a failure,\u201d replied Biden.<\/p>\n<p>When Stephanopoulos asked about the heart-rending scenes at the Kabul airport, including Afghans falling from the sky from an American aircraft they had tried desperately to cling to, Biden \u00adinterrupted testily: \u201cThat was four days ago, five days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>No, it was Monday, two days \u00adbefore.<\/p>\n<p>The interview excerpt went from bad to worse, with Biden\u2019s voice growing more querulous, as if any criticism, even gently implied, was an outrage.<\/p>\n<p>Stephanopoulos: \u201cYou don\u2019t think it could have been handled better in any way? No mistakes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Biden: \u201cNo .\u2009.\u2009. the idea that somehow there\u2019s a way to get out without chaos ensuing, I don\u2019t know how that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Well, his <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>s and the intelligence agencies told him a better way. An orderly exit did not mean abandoning the secure Bagram Airfield with its two runways outside Kabul before every American and their trusted Afghan allies had a chance to get out.<\/p>\n<p>This ongoing debacle will define Biden\u2019s remaining time in office. But no one should be surprised by his incompetence or the self-aggrandizing fantasies and silly expectations he spun going in.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s how he\u2019s always been \u2014 only it didn\u2019t matter until he was in the driver\u2019s seat.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/08\/18\/damning-pic-of-a-weak-leader-devine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Damning pic of a weak leader: Devine&#8221; What possessed the White House to tweet out a photo of Joe Biden all alone in a conference room at Camp David as Kabul fell to the Taliban Sunday? Isolated, feeble, indecisive: that is the lasting image of the president of the United States as his nation suffered&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":327447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Biden-Afghanistan-4.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[114457,72315,93212,1545,6642,70410,78071,991,77091,54282,70376,29102,72318,42873],"class_list":["post-327446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-8-18-21","tag-afghanistan","tag-camp-david","tag-coronavirus","tag-florida","tag-foreign-policy","tag-george-stephanopoulos","tag-joe-biden","tag-kabul","tag-kamala-harris","tag-military","tag-ron-desantis","tag-taliban","tag-white-house"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}