A Gold Star mother who met President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> on the Memorial Day following her son’s death from the terrorist attack at the Kabul airport said that Biden responded by suggesting she take a photo with him when she wept during their meeting.
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Christian Knauss was killed when a bomber detonated a bomb at Kabul&#8217;s international airport on August 26, 2021, killing 13 American soldiers. His mother, Paula Knauss Selph, the executive director of the Respect and Remember Foundation, met Biden in the Oval Office at an event for Gold Star families in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day 2022.
“There&#8217;s been a lot of grief, a lot of grief,” she told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12422089/Afghanistan-Gold-Star-mom-says-President-Biden-asked-photo-op-wept-Oval-Office-heartbreaking-loss-son-killed-Kabul-bombing-two-years-ago.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail.</a> “There&#8217;s nothing like watching your child die in front of you, in front of the world.”
She recalled when she met Biden, he said, “I can understand if you&#8217;re angry.”
“I stood face-to-face with him, eyeball-to-eyeball. I began to weep,” she said, adding that she told him, “It should have never happened this way.”
“He stood there stoically,” she remembered. “Nothing out of his mouth except  — well would you like to get a photo with me?”
Selph told Biden that the only picture she would take with him was if he stood with her at her son&#8217;s tombstone at Arlington National Cemetery. She said Biden answered, “I can&#8217;t do that because Secret Service won&#8217;t let me do that.”
“It&#8217;s a moral disgrace for a president not to have mercy on the people that he serves. It is a moral disgrace,” Selph said, adding that Biden thought the “sad occasion” was a “photo op&#8217;” rather an opportunity to comfort a grieving mother.
“He had the chance to make a difference for my child. On not making decisions and indecisions that cost him his life. And I do hold him accountable,” she concluded.
“Ryan, all of his life was quite certain he wanted to go in the armed forces,” Selph said of her son, who was a member of the JROTC cadet program before serving in the military. “And it is a pleasing thing to me. But throughout his life, he kept that focus. He was so disciplined. He was so smart. &#8230; He was protecting and giving us the opportunity for many people to live out the American dream. That&#8217;s what will long outlive all of us.”
The Respect and Remember Foundation says it has <a href="https://r2factor.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three goals</a>: To encourage JROTC and ROTC Cadets with merit scholarships as they graduate and go directly into the military; to support active duty military stationed abroad with care packages and welcome home baskets and provide vacations for active military personnel and families, and to partner with veteran-led organizations connecting veterans together to help combat the high suicide rate among veterans and the adjustments to civilian life needed by veterans encouraging other veterans.

President Biden And VP Harris Attend DNC Event With Reproductive Rights Groups In D.C.

Afghanistan Gold Star Mom: I Wept, Wanted Comfort From Biden. He Suggested A Photo With Him Instead.

Afghanistan

Gold Star

Joe Biden

Taliban

Terrorism

A number of Gold Star family members laid into President Joe Biden and members of his administration, calling them out over the disastrous exit from Afghanistan that took the lives of their loved ones.
At an event in Escondido, California — hosted by Mayor Dane White and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) — relatives of the thirteen service members killed by the suicide bomber at the Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, joined together to speak publicly about their experiences.
Issa introduced the event, billed as the Afghanistan Gold Star Families Public Forum, saying that while they had officially allotted five minutes for each family member who wanted to speak, no one was going to enforce time limits as long as the families had something to share.
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RIGHT NOW: I am in Escondido where Mayor <a href="https://twitter.com/Dwhite1904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dwhite1904</a> is hosting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/C48?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#C48</a>’s <a href="https://twitter.com/repdarrellissa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@repdarrellissa</a> for an Afghanistan Gold Star Families Public Forum, where family members of those killed during Biden’s chaotic withdrawal are speaking jointly for the first time
(1/xx) <a href="https://t.co/jbRpV73IPG">pic.twitter.com/jbRpV73IPG</a>
&mdash; Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1688597811062087680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Issa also made it clear that the ultimate goal was to make sure that such a tragedy never happened again: &#8220;Did they have to die? Could we have done something different? &#8230; I only apologize that we didn’t do it sooner.&#8221;
Then the family members began to speak, and they had little if anything positive to say about Biden and the military leaders who had been a part of the decision-making process during the troop drawdown and withdrawal — and most were absolutely furious that the administration had then insisted the withdrawal had been a &#8220;success.&#8221;
SSG Taylor Hoover&#8217;s mother was among those who spoke, and she said that the blame for her son&#8217;s death rested on Biden, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and others. &#8220;Incompetent, cowards, evil,&#8221; she said.
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Taylor’s concern was immediately apparent when he got to Afghanistan, Kelly says. He warned her of:
“Chaos, lack of communication, no leadership.” “Command cares nothing for us.”
“What kind of disrespect, what kind of hatred for our military, what kind of mess” would have made…
&mdash; Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1688604531519795206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Hoover&#8217;s father spoke as well, saying that the Biden administration &#8220;did not uphold their end of that contract.&#8221;
&#8220;This didn’t need to happen in the manner that it did,&#8221; he added, saying that leadership had &#8220;made a conscious decision that made a chaotic and frantic withdrawal from Afghanistan.&#8221;
He went on to call out those leaders, saying that it was &#8220;nothing short of disgusting and ignorant&#8221; that they had turned around and claimed that the withdrawal had been a success. &#8220;I’m calling out Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, General Milley &#8230; and ultimately, the president, and do what our son did: and be a grown ass man &#8230; You all need to resign immediately. Our sons and daughters have more integrity in their little toes than all of them combined.&#8221;
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“I’m calling out Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, General Milley,” Whited (who did not give the call to take out the bomber), and “ultimately, the president, and do what our son did: and be a grown ass man.”
“You all need to resign immediately. Our sons and daughters have…
&mdash; Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1688609003725799424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Nicole Gee&#8217;s mother said she knew no forum would ever bring her daughter back, but her goal in speaking was to make sure that the service members who came afterward would be treated with the respect earned by the 13 who lost their lives that day in Kabul.
&#8220;When our leaders, include the secretary of defense and our commander in chief, called this a ‘success,’… it’s like a knife in the heart,&#8221; she said. &#8220;These deaths were preventable. My daughter could be with us today. To call it a success is the ultimate disrespect. There were 13 avoidable deaths &#8230; This was not a success. What we’re asking for it to stop the insanity and make it better for the next group.&#8221;
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“These deaths were preventable. My daughter could be with us today.”
“To call it a success is the ultimate disrespect.”
“There were 13 avoidable deaths,” not to mention the wounded. 
“This was not a success.”
“What we’re asking for it to stop the insanity and make it better…
&mdash; Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1688610971160625152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Dylan Merola&#8217;s mother called Biden &#8220;heartless,&#8221; saying that he had claimed to know how she felt but never once mentioned her son&#8217;s name. &#8220;If they had closed the gate, my son would be alive today,&#8221; she added.
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“How could a worldwide event” just vanish from coverage, she asks
“Everything, even the way my son died, was being covered up.”
A colonel told her she wouldn’t want to see the drone footage. “I had already seen my son’s lifeless body,” who is he to say that?
(18/xx)
&mdash; Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1688615068999757828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The commander in chief failed in the oath he took … he failed everybody,&#8221; Humberto Sanchez&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1688617438957699072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mother said</a>. &#8220;I want the answers, I want the truth &#8230; I want to know this type of failure will not repeat itself again &#8230; I will fight til my last breath to get the truth.&#8221;
Hunter Lopez&#8217;s mother said that she believed there was more to the story — and objected to the notion that it was time to &#8220;turn the page.&#8221;
&#8220;If fault was to be found in someone wearing fatigues and not a suit, they would have been on trial a long time ago,&#8221; she said, adding, &#8220;We do not want a partial truth or truth told in a book release…as Americans, we want this truth. As Gold Star families, we deserve this truth. We deserved it two years ago, and we deserve it today.&#8221;
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“We do not want a partial truth or truth told in a book release…as Americans, we want this truth. As Gold Star families, we deserve this truth. We deserved it two years ago, and we deserve it today.”
(26/xx)
&mdash; Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1688619804490608643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Rep. Issa has promised to get to the bottom of the issue, saying, &#8220;The Biden Administration lied to every one of these Gold Star families. That’s why we brought them forward. These are the words the White House doesn’t want you to hear.&#8221;
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The Biden Administration lied to every one of these Gold Star families.
That’s why we brought them forward. These are the words the White House doesn’t want you to hear.
&mdash; Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) <a href="https://twitter.com/repdarrellissa/status/1688656144817180673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Dignifed Transfer Held For 13 Service Members Killed At Kabul Airport

‘The Ultimate Disrespect’: Gold Star Families Trash Biden Admin Over Afghanistan Withdrawal

Gold Star Families Trash Biden Admin Over Afghanistan Withdrawal

Mark Milley

Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier who was captured in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/afghanistan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Afghanistan</a> and later traded for five <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taliban</a> leaders in a prisoner exchange, has had his desertion conviction vacated after a federal judge said the original case could have been clouded by a conflict of interest. 
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton <a href="https://apnews.com/article/bowe-bergdahl-court-martial-overturned-12da397af78384788a6a09d6499936c0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vacated</a> the desertion conviction for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bowe-bergdahl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bergdahl</a> this week. Under President Barack Obama, Bergdahl was traded for five Taliban leaders who had been detained in Guantanamo Bay. 
According to Walton, because military judge Jeffrey Nance did not disclose his application to be an immigration judge under then-President Donald Trump, Nance’s presiding over Bergdahl’s trial could be construed as a conflict of interest because Trump had been vocally critical of Bergdahl. 
The judge <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/bergdahl-decision/f32af7e7e7307b1f/full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that Nance’s neutrality was “undermined” because “he might be inclined to appeal to the president’s expressed interest in the plaintiff’s conviction and punishment when applying for the immigration judge position.” 
“Namely, the military judge in this case submitted a writing sample along with his application, consisting of an order in which he denied the plaintiff’s [Bergdahl] unlawful-command-influence motion which was based on President Trump’s statements, and ruled against the plaintiff — both actions that a reasonable person might view as serving the president’s interest in this case,” Walton’s ruling said. 
Bergdahl was imprisoned and tortured by the Taliban for five years after walking away from his post in 2009. He said that he was going to report poor leadership in his unit, according to the Associated Press. 
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After the Obama administration negotiated for a trade with the Taliban, Bergdahl returned to the U.S. where he was tried and pled guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Bergdahl escaped jail time but was made to forfeit $10,000 in pay and was dishonorably discharged. 
While campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination, Trump <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-defense-bergdahl-trump/bergdahl-lawyer-slams-candidate-trump-over-traitor-comments-idUKKCN0QP29X20150820" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Bergdahl a “dirty rotten traitor.” Trump also said that Bergdahl’s sentence was not strong enough, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-blasts-bergdahl-decision-complete-and-total-hank-berrien" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that it was “a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military.”
Four of the five Taliban members <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/four-taliban-members-released-from-gitmo-in-trade-for-bowe-bergdahl-now-part-of-hardline-afghan-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> in exchange for Bergdahl joined the Taliban’s hardline government in Afghanistan after the group took over in the fall of 2021.

Bowe Bergdahl’s Sentencing Continues, After He Pleaded Guilty To Desertion And

Bowe Bergdahl Has Desertion Conviction Vacated By Judge

Bowe Bergdahl

Donald Trump

U.S. Army

The Taliban in Afghanistan have carried out the second known public execution since the terror group took control of the country two years ago, according to a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-public-execution-f224fd940a8ce347bc89eb08f7d77325" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Associated Press.
The man, known only as &#8220;Ajmal&#8221; from Kabul, was convicted by the Supreme Court of murdering five people last year in two separate cases. He was executed Tuesday by the son of one of the five men he was convicted of killing. It took place outside of a mosque in the Laghman province using a rifle, the outlet notes.
&#8220;Due to the seriousness of the case, the supreme leader also undertook a final investigation and after discussion with scholars confirmed the execution,&#8221; a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghanistans-taliban-administration-executes-man-murder-five-2023-06-20/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the Supreme Court said.
Family members of the four other victims were reportedly in attendance. According to the AP, Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered the execution after the case was brought to the country’s Supreme Court, and three different courts reportedly upheld the death sentence.
Last year, Akhundzada told judges in the country to carry out punishments in accordance with sharia law, Reuters reported. The high court also announced last year a return to some of the practices of the Taliban of the 1990s, including public floggings for crimes like adultery and robbery, the outlet adds.
The country took heavy criticism in December from the international community when it carried out its first known public execution since the takeover. In that case, a man was executed in front of a crowd of hundreds, including senior Taliban officials, after he was convicted of murder. A United Nations Human Rights spokesperson <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/12/1131487" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> the event “deeply disturbing.”
In August 2021, President Biden began the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-working-hard-to-not-do-anything-stupid-during-afghanistan-withdrawal-anniversary-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">withdrawal</a> of American military personnel from Afghanistan after a presence in the country for 20 years. Critics called the withdrawal &#8220;disastrous,&#8221; saying it was one of the worst moments in his presidency. Many Americans and allies were left in the country, along with billions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment.
On August 26, 2021, 13 American servicemembers were killed during the Kabul airlift.
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Since the Taliban’s takeover, over 200 news organizations have had their doors closed, women have largely been prohibited from attending school, the economy shrank by 30% as of October 2022, and almost all Afghans were living in poverty, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/taliban-afghanistan#:~:text=In%20an%20October%202022%20report,some%20form%20of%20food%20insecurity." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Persecution against Christians has also been rising. According to a November <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/persecution-of-christians-rising-in-at-least-18-countries-of-particular-concern-report-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Catholic group Aid to the Church In Need, the rise of the Taliban has been “driving Christians underground,” where they “live in fear of arrest, torture, and execution.”

Taliban Carries Out Second Public Execution In Afghanistan Since Takeover

Crime

Death Penalty

World

The Biden administration claimed on Tuesday that the extremist Islamic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taliban</a> government that runs Afghanistan killed the leader of the ISIS affiliate who was responsible for orchestrating the attack at the Kabul airport in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. soldiers and nearly 200 Afghan nationals.
Administration officials claimed that the Taliban led a recent a ground offensive against ISIS-K that resulted in the death of the leader, who they refused to name, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/us/politics/isis-leader-killed-kabul-airport-bombing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/25/taliban-isis-abbey-gate-afghanistan-bombing/aba0dd52-e3b0-11ed-9696-8e874fd710b8_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that neither the U.S. nor the Taliban was initially aware that the leader had been killed until days after the offensive.
U.S. officials said that they had “high confidence” that the leader had been killed from intelligence that was likely based on &#8220;informants, electronic intercepts or information from allied spy services,&#8221; the Times added.
The report was careful to note that officials provided &#8220;no evidence to support that conclusion or other details about his purported death.&#8221;
The administration began reaching out to American families whose loved ones serving in the U.S. military were killed during the attack.
“They couldn’t give me his name; they couldn’t tell me the details of the operation,” said Darin Hoover, the father of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover of the Marine Corps, adding that the call left him “frustrated, again.”
“I want the administration to take some accountability and responsibility for this,” Hoover said. “Say, ‘We screwed up. It’s not going to happen again.’ It can’t happen again. He gave his life for this. This is what he wanted to do, and this is what happened — and now we’re all being treated like garbage.”
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In a separate interview, Hoover said, “Whatever happens, it’s not going to bring Taylor back and I understand that. About the only thing his mom and I can do now is be an advocate for him. All we want is the truth. And we’re not getting it. That’s the frustrating part.”
Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marine</a> sergeant during the U.S. withdrawal from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/afghanistan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Afghanistan</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-marine-breaks-down-recounting-afghanistan-pullout-terror-attack-that-killed-13-u-s-soldiers-catastrophe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down</a> last month in front of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs while recounting his experience watching 13 U.S. troops killed by a suicide bomber.
A Marine sniper at the time, Vargas-Andrews and his team were ordered from Saudi Arabia to Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021 to oversee the final weeks of the U.S. withdrawal.
On August 22, either ISIS or Taliban militants conducted a “test run” for a terror attack with an improvised explosive device (IED). On August 26, Vargas-Andrews’ team received a description of the suspected terrorist bomber and, later that day, identified a man near the Abbey gate who fit the description and “consistently and nervously” kept looking at the Marines stationed near the gate.
Vargas-Andrews said his team asked twice for permission to take out the suspected terrorist. The first time, he was denied. The second time, the battalion commander, who came to Abbey Gate to see the suspect himself, replied, “I don’t know” if they had the authority to take out the suspect.
“Myself and my team leader asked very harshly, ‘Well, who does? Because this is your responsibility, sir,’” Vargas-Andrews told Congress. The commander responded that he would find out.
“We received no update and never got our answer. Eventually the individual disappeared,” Vargas-Andrews said. “To this day, we believe he was the suicide bomber.”
Tim Pearce contributed to this report.

Biden Admin Claims Taliban Killed ISIS Leader Behind Suicide Bombing That Killed 13 U.S. Troops

Biden Administration

ISIS

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. 

Taxpayers Funding Taliban?
On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/afghanistan-inspector-general-warns-u-s-may-be-funding-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko</a> warned before a House hearing that U.S. taxpayers may be aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan. Here with more is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearce.
<blockquote>Sopko told Congress that since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the U.S. government has sought to support the Afghan people without providing benefits for the Taliban. Those efforts have failed, however. Sopko said, “it is clear from our work that the Taliban is using various methods to divert U.S. aid dollars.”</blockquote>
&#8220;Unfortunately as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban,&#8221; he said.
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🚨 John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction: &quot;As I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/D4PIlzUVZ7">pic.twitter.com/D4PIlzUVZ7</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1648698013014175746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Sopko said one of the hurdles to a solution is that key U.S. Agencies, such as USAID, don’t comply with oversight requests.
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Inspector General John Sopko torches the Biden administration for their &quot;unprecedented&quot; refusal to cooperate with investigators over Biden&#39;s botched Afghanistan withdrawal <a href="https://t.co/nkbTCW6ndy">pic.twitter.com/nkbTCW6ndy</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1648699560892702722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
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GOP Debt Ceiling Offer
The U.S. House Republicans will propose lifting the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. The proposal comes after months of stalemate between Congress and the Biden White House. The president has demanded that the GOP offer a compromise, but has refused to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to discuss any potential action to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt.
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Pentagon Throws Cold Water On Critics Of Classified Docs Leaker’s Age
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin threw cold water on critics who question why the alleged classified documents leaker, National Guard Airman Jack Teixeira, would have access to U.S. secrets, given that he’s only 21  years old. Austin said that age is not a concern, as evidenced by the average age of military members.
&#8220;The vast majority of our military is young,&#8221; he said, <a href="https://justthenews.com/videos/defense-sec-austin-age-suspect-pentagon-leaks-case-not-issue?utm_source=mux&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=tw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Just The News. &#8220;It’s not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military. That’s really not the issue.&#8221;
Teixeira was arrested last week in Massachusetts after being identified by The New York Times and The Washington Post as the Discord leaker. He has been charged on two counts, and now a U.S. court is determining whether the Airman should be kept in jail as he awaits trial.
Alabama Shooting Update
Authorities have arrested two suspects <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dadeville-alabama-shooting-birthday-sweet-16-a1ec4438d75a19dd2d36ca88eb28dc2f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> with killing four and leaving 32 injured at an Alabama Sweet 16 party Saturday night in Dadeville. The two suspects are ages 16 and 17 and will be tried as adults. The two teenagers from Tuskegee are charged with four counts of reckless murder each. Dadeville’s Police Chief promised justice for the victims while speaking to the press.
New York City Parking Garage Collapse Kills One Person
A Manhattan parking garage <a href="https://abc7ny.com/parking-garage-collapse-pace-university-financial-district-lower-manhattan/13153122/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapsed</a> on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring five others. According to the City Department of Buildings records, the financial district area garage had six open building violations, three of which were classified as “hazardous.” Officials say they believe it was a structural collapse, but the local district attorney has not confirmed. A witness says she first thought the noise was coming from a freight elevator.
Florida Bans Sexuality And Gender Identity Teaching For All Grades
The state of Florida has expanded its ban on teaching about sexuality and gender identity to all grade levels in public schools. The decision comes <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/politics/florida-bans-teaching-gender-identity-sexual-orientation/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after</a> a law signed last year by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis banned such topics for K through third-grade students. The board <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/04/19/florida-bans-teaching-gender-identity-sexuality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> Wednesday to adopt a new rule that says Florida teachers in grades 4 through 12 “shall not intentionally provide classroom instruction … on sexual orientation or gender identity” unless it is required by the state or a part of a sexual education course that requires parental permission, according to The Washington Post.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Wednesday

Wednesday Afternoon Update: Taxpayers Funding Taliban? Plus, GOP Debt Ceiling Offer And Alabama Shooting Update

Alabama

Florida

General

Morning Wire

Podcast

U.S.

A government watchdog told Congress on Wednesday the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taliban</a> may be stealing money from the billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers meant to help the people of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/afghanistan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Afghanistan</a>.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko issued the warning during a hearing before the House Oversight Committee alongside other inspectors general.
&#8220;Unfortunately, as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban,&#8221; Sopko said in his opening remarks.
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🚨 John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction: &quot;As I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/D4PIlzUVZ7">pic.twitter.com/D4PIlzUVZ7</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1648698013014175746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, which are the poor Afghan people,&#8221; he added.
The focus of the hearing, as described by the GOP-led panel, was the Biden administration&#8217;s <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/the-biden-administrations-disastrous-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-part-i-review-by-the-inspectors-general/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;disastrous&#8221; withdrawal</a> in 2021 when <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/afghanistan/2022/08/26/biden-commemorates-heroes-killed-1-year-ago-in-kabul-airport-attack/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13 U.S. service members</a> and more than 100 Afghan civilians were killed in a blast outside the airport during the evacuation.
After 20 years of war, the Taliban quickly toppled the U.S.-backed Afghan government and regained control of the country. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/27/politics/afghan-weapons-left-behind/index.html#:~:text=Approximately%20%247%20billion%20of%20military,of%20Defense%20viewed%20by%20CNN." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Billions of dollars</a> in military equipment, which the U.S. sent to Afghan security forces that were fighting the Taliban, were left behind. The Taliban recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taliban-releases-photos-of-the-u-s-equipment-they-seized-from-bidens-disastrous-pullout" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released photos</a> showing hundreds of U.S. military vehicles it claims to have commandeered.
In written testimony for the hearing, Sopko <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SIGAR-Testimony-23-22-TY.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced his team planned</a> to release a 2023 High Risk List report that outlines &#8220;five serious risks to the more than $8 billion the United States has provided or otherwise made available to the Afghan people since the U.S. withdrawal.&#8221;
The testimony outlines several ways the Taliban may be diverting funds intended for the Afghan people to itself, including imposing customs charges on shipments coming into the country, charging taxes and fees directly on NGOs, and diverting funds away from groups &#8220;the Taliban considers hostile and toward groups they favor.&#8221;
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-79158">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
In addition to criticizing opacity from the United Nations, Sopko accused the State Department and United States Agency for International Development of refusing to cooperate with audits and other inquiries, which he says is hampering SIGAR&#8217;s ability to oversee funds spent on Afghanistan.
&#8220;In sum, due to the refusal of State and USAID to fully cooperate with SIGAR, I cannot report to this Committee or the American people on the extent to which our government may be funding the Taliban and other nefarious groups with U.S. taxpayer dollars,&#8221; he wrote.

John F. Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction

Afghanistan Inspector General Warns U.S. May Be Funding Taliban

Congress

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/afghanistan">Afghanistan&#8217;s</a> extremist Taliban government released photographs late last week of some of the U.S. military equipment that it seized in the wake of President Joe Biden&#8217;s disastrous pullout from Afghanistan.
The photos come after Biden&#8217;s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 left up to a maximum of <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:IyXKxd0hbHMJ:https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/31/no-taliban-did-not-seize-83-billion-us-weapons/&amp;cd=3&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=us&amp;client=safari">$24 billion</a> worth of weapons and equipment in the hands of the Taliban.
&#8220;300 destroyed vehicles in the 205th Army Corps were restored,&#8221; Afghanistan&#8217;s Ministry of Defense wrote on Twitter. &#8220;As many as (300) types of intermediate military vehicles that were destroyed and unusable were restored and ready for use by the technical team of the Abu Dojaneh Brigade of the Badr Army.&#8221;
&#8220;Repaired vehicles include 150 International Kamaz trucks,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;125 Arada Humvee, 2 assault tanks, 4 Aradeh Taylor, 10 Aradeh Purcliff, and 15 are Humvee ambulances.&#8221;
&#8220;It should be mentioned that hundreds of other vehicles have been restored due to the efforts of the engineering and technical teams of the Ministry of National Defense,&#8221; the statement said.
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وسایط ترمیم شده شامل ۱۵۰ عراده انترنشنل کاماز، ۱۲۵عراده هاموی، ۲عراده تانک ضربتی، ۴عراده تیلر، ۱۰عراده پورکلیف و۱۵ آمبولانس هاموی می باشد. گفتنی است صد ها واسطه نقلیه دیگر نیز در اثر سعی و تلاش تیم های انجینیری و‌تخنیکی وزارت دفاع ملی دوباره ترمیم شده اند.
 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA_%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9_%D9%85%D9%84%DB%8C?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#وزارت_دفاع_ملی</a> <a href="https://t.co/KG8GSs4WjV">pic.twitter.com/KG8GSs4WjV</a>
&mdash; د ملي دفاع وزارت &#8211; وزارت دفاع ملی (@MoDAfghanistan2) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoDAfghanistan2/status/1639158480270499841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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د ۲۰۳ منصوري قول اردو د ۴۱ عرادې ډول ډول پوځي وسایطو بیا رغونه
ترمیم ۴۱ عراده واسطه مختلف النوع نظامی در قول اردوی ۲۰۳ منصوری<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%AF%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A_%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9_%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#دملي_دفاع_وزارت</a> <a href="https://t.co/FqwiS9vlvy">pic.twitter.com/FqwiS9vlvy</a>
&mdash; د ملي دفاع وزارت &#8211; وزارت دفاع ملی (@MoDAfghanistan2) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoDAfghanistan2/status/1639510189228343296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;41 different vehicles were repaired in 203 Mansouri Corps,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;In the second brigade of 203 Mansouri Corps, 41 different types of vehicles were prepared for repair and use by the technical team.&#8221;
<a class="c-link" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-1306">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;In these vehicles,&#8221; the statement concluded. &#8220;Includes (30) Arade Humvee tanks, (6) Arade International vehicles and (5) Arade Ranger vehicles. The commander of the second brigade of the said corps praised the efforts of the technical team, thanked them and added that they will use the repaired vehicles if necessary.&#8221;
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په ۲۰۳ منصوري قول اردو کې ۴۱ عرادې بېلابیل وسایط ترمیم شول
د ۲۰۳ منصوري قول اردو اړوند په دوهمه لوا کې د تخنیکي ټیم له لوري ۴۱ عرادې بیلابیل ډول وسایط ترمیم او ګټې اخيستنې ته چمتو شول.
په دغه وسایطو کې&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/IwpaCQge69">pic.twitter.com/IwpaCQge69</a>
&mdash; د ملي دفاع وزارت &#8211; وزارت دفاع ملی (@MoDAfghanistan2) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoDAfghanistan2/status/1639485128983343104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The images sparked a reaction of comments online:
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Your tax dollars at work. <a href="https://t.co/7JVsiGkvU0">https://t.co/7JVsiGkvU0</a>
&mdash; Mark Krikorian (@MarkSKrikorian) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkSKrikorian/status/1639962402849472513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Remember how Team Biden got journos to run interference for them and downplay what a catastrophe this was?
&quot;The Taliban won&#39;t be able to use them.&quot; &quot;Where are they going to get spare parts?&quot; &quot;They already had some of these anyway.&quot;
Anything to get out of the news cycle. <a href="https://t.co/9XJ2mNYsl4">https://t.co/9XJ2mNYsl4</a>
&mdash; Omri Ceren (@omriceren) <a href="https://twitter.com/omriceren/status/1639667934380343302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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No one was fired for this. No one resigned. Biden should be impeached, and his team of so-called &quot;experts&quot; should be ashamed. <a href="https://t.co/pXFkpE13Jm">https://t.co/pXFkpE13Jm</a>
&mdash; Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMaryMiller/status/1639989478801436672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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INCONCEIVABLE: Billions of dollars in operational US military equipment left behind by the Biden mis-administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Outrageous and treasonous. <a href="https://t.co/sA12PM67jL">https://t.co/sA12PM67jL</a>
&mdash; Fernando Amandi Sr.🌐 (@FernandoAmandi) <a href="https://twitter.com/FernandoAmandi/status/1639798508969402368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden&#39;s gift to the Taliban. This president has been a disaster. <a href="https://t.co/ywmSCZCnSU">https://t.co/ywmSCZCnSU</a>
&mdash; Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) <a href="https://twitter.com/NileGardiner/status/1639786049806139394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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U.S. equipment

Taliban Releases Photos Of The U.S. Equipment They Seized From Biden’s Disastrous Pullout

Military

Keep your eye on Karen Decker for secretary of state if <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-searches-university-of-delaware-for-biden-docs-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Joe Biden</a> wins a second term. She’s his kind of diplomat.
Decker is the United States’ “charge d’affaires” for Afghanistan, which is the closest thing we have to an ambassador in that God- and U.S.-forsaken country. You remember Afghanistan, the eternally ungovernable land where about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watchdogs-damning-report-on-war-in-afghanistan-details-two-decade-debacle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2,500 of the brave men and women of our military died,</a> and we spent trillions of dollars over 20 years, only to leave and put the terrorists back in charge.
Decker loves to communicate with Afghans through Twitter because people in a nation with a per capita income of about $500(!) are obviously obsessed with social media. And she really likes to help jumpstart rollicking conversations about history and culture by posing provocative questions that, truth be told, are more Kamala than Kissinger.
“Super Bowl LVII,” she tweeted on February 13. “Two elite quarterbacks who happen to be Black made history in epic showdown. Congrats to Chiefs for thrilling victory! Afghans – what’s the most exciting sports match you remember?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Biden’s ambassador to Afghanistan. <a href="https://t.co/clVvidaoF6">pic.twitter.com/clVvidaoF6</a>
&mdash; Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1626078150424764416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Imagine being an Afghani father contemplating selling your prepubescent daughter to a connected creep five times her age just so you could feed the rest of your family. Somehow, you happen to have a smartphone, and you follow this numbskull on Twitter. You might reply to Decker’s tweet with something like this:
“Great question!” you tweet. “I really miss watching football now that your boss has put the Taliban back in control of our country and they use our stadiums for <a href="https://8am.media/eng/taliban-invites-outlookers-to-farah-football-stadium-to-watch-public-executions/#:~:text=The%20Taliban%20called%20on%20the%20residents%20of%20Afghanistan%E2%80%99s,today%2C%20sources%20in%20Farah%20confirmed%20to%20Hasht-e%20Subh.">mass public executions</a>. Also, thanks for the update on the Super Bowl, as we don’t have a television. Or electricity.”
The U.S. doesn’t currently maintain an embassy in Afghanistan, having moved operations to Qatar after the disastrous August 2021 pullout that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and the return of the Taliban terrorist regime. Decker, who works out of the Qatari embassy in Doha, is the top-ranked U.S. diplomat assigned to Afghanistan because she apparently drew the shortest straw in the history of the State Department.
A career foreign service officer whose State Department bio says she specializes in “conflict resolution and crisis management,” Decker was only scratching the surface of social media stupidity.
“Are Afghans familiar with #BlackGirlMagic and the movement it inspired?” she tweeted on February 15. “Do Afghan girls need a similar movement? What about Afghan women? Teach me, ready to learn.”
Afghan girls were also “ready to learn” back when the U.S. was around to prop up a feckless and corrupt government. But alas, Karen, under the Taliban government the Biden administration restored to power, girls can’t go to school, and women can’t show their faces outside. Maybe a leftist podcast and some ‘girl power’ bromides are all that’s needed for Afghan women to put these medieval meanies in their place. America could even send a few social justice warriors over to help them make signs and practice chanting slogans. We could send all of them, come to think of it.
Here is Decker’s patronizing attempt to share a little of our own history. Note the glowing homage to perhaps America’s greatest president.
“Abe Lincoln born today in 1809,” she tweeted on February 12. “He did some stuff. It’s also NAACP Day – home of grassroots activism, inclusive communities, and making sure Black voices are heard. What does that look like for Afghans struggling to be heard?”
Decker seems to have wandered into Afghanistan from a writers’ meeting at Disney+, but she is actually no stranger to the war-ravaged nation. She was director for Afghanistan Operations for the Afghan Relocation Effort from 2021-2022, deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul from September 2018 to September 2020, and served other stints in the country on behalf of the U.S. going back as far as 2006. You would think she knew better, and perhaps she does.
As ridiculous as Decker’s tweets may seem to you, and to Afghans, if they actually ever saw them, maybe neither is the intended audience. Decker might be spewing this woke claptrap purely for the Biden administration’s personnel department. They’ve undoubtedly got big plans for her come 2024.

Karen Decker

Our Top Afghanistan Diplomat Is Just Joe Biden’s Type Of Tone-Deaf Twit

Our Top Afghanistan Diplomat Is Just Joe Biden's Type Of Tone-Deaf Twit

Global Politics

Politics

State Department

Once again, this author is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-satanic-temple-opens-telehealth-abortion-clinic-to-defend-its-religious-ritual-of-killing-unborn-babies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forced to clarify</a> to The Daily Wire audience that they are not reading The Babylon Bee.
On Wednesday, the United States Chargé d’Affaires Karen B. Decker posed what might be the greatest question of our time, and the response to it could hold the answer to peace in the Middle East.
&#8220;Are Afghans familiar with #BlackGirlMagic and the movement it inspired?&#8221; the woman who &#8220;<a href="https://af.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/our-ambassador/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specializes in conflict resolution and crisis management</a>&#8221; in Afghanistan on behalf of the State Department tweeted. &#8220;Do Afghan girls need a similar movement? What about Afghan Women? Teach me, ready to learn. @Beyonce @lizzo @ReginaKing.&#8221;
The obvious answer is that, no, Afghans are not familiar with &#8220;#BlackGirlMagic.&#8221; Most people probably are not. A cursory glance shows that the hashtag was popularized in 2016 as part of a global effort to promote positivity amongst black females.
&#8220;We&#8217;re using it to celebrate ourselves because historically black women haven&#8217;t had the type of support that other groups have,&#8221; Cashawn Thompson, a caregiver from Washington, D.C., <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35263240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the BBC</a> at the time. &#8220;Black Girl Magic tries to counteract the negativity that we sometimes hold within ourselves and is sometimes placed on us by the outside world.&#8221;
The phrase has since been shared hundreds of thousands of times across social media.
On Wednesday, when this author clicked on the hashtag for more detail, the top result was a video of a curvaceous black woman bending on all fours on the ground, posing in suggestive manners while looking at the camera. The user who shared that tweet observed, &#8220;The hips spread out when she takes backshots #BlackGirlMagic.&#8221; 
Admittedly, this author has no idea what that means, but it isn&#8217;t tough to guess that it is about something pornographic. In the words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, &#8220;You know it when you see it.&#8221; Needless to say, that post in question will not be shared.
It is probably safe to assume that is not what Decker envisioned in Afghanistan. Instead, it seems likely that she is inquiring about how to start a new hashtag movement to support the women facing ultimate oppression under Islamic Extremist totalitarians.
In reaction to Decker&#8217;s idea, the conservative writer and editor Christoper Bedford bluntly observed, &#8220;We are not a serious country.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We are not a serious country. <a href="https://t.co/MbOEFS6Bdc">https://t.co/MbOEFS6Bdc</a>
&mdash; Christopher Bedford (@CBedfordDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBedfordDC/status/1625908088288030720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Popular Twitter user @ComfortablySmug tweeted, &#8220;We are ruled by administrative class paper pushers like this, who think every problem can be solved by listening to a Beyonce song.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We are ruled by administrative class paper pushers like this, who think every problem can be solved by listening to a Beyonce song
Is it a mystery why the Taliban took Afghanistan in a week?
Or why China sends balloons over America?
Because their opponent is literally a Karen <a href="https://t.co/ZfNG5cWqux">pic.twitter.com/ZfNG5cWqux</a>
&mdash; Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) <a href="https://twitter.com/ComfortablySmug/status/1625913850498277376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Is it a mystery why the Taliban took Afghanistan in a week? Or why China sends balloons over America? Because their opponent is literally a Karen,&#8221; he added.
Indeed, since the Taliban took over the country in less than three days after Biden botched U.S. troop withdrawal, women have faced a living hell.
In early January, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-struggles-to-respond-to-taliban-crackdown-on-women-dissent-in-afghanistan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the terror group has enacted a series of strict laws, especially restricting women&#8217;s freedom. In December, Taliban leaders banned women from attending universities in the country. Women are also under other strict regulations, such as a rule banning them from traveling outside their homes without a male guardian.
At the time, State Department spokesman Ned Price told the media, “We are working with our partners throughout the government and also with like-minded partners around the world to devise an appropriate set of consequences that register our condemnation for this outrageous edict on the part of the Taliban, while also protecting our status as the world’s leading humanitarian provider for the people of Afghanistan.&#8221;
It now seems the big solution might be a hashtag. What doesn&#8217;t really make sense is calling on Lizzo for this job. The larger-than-life singer has claimed she is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-did-lizzo-go-from-being-oppressed-to-playing-james-madisons-flute-while-twerking" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oppressed</a> in America as a female. So what would her message be to women who actually have no freedoms?
One should hope we never find out and that the U.S. government creates a better solution than #BlackGirlMagic for the situation at hand.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

US Gov/Taliban/Lizzo

U.S. Official Calls On Lizzo To Help Teach ‘#BlackGirlMagic’ To Afghan Women Subjugated By The Taliban

U.S. Official Calls On Lizzo To Help Teach '#BlackGirlMagic' To Afghan Women Subjugated By The Taliban

A suicide bomber targeted police at a crowded mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, killing at least 47 people and injuring more than 150 others.
Most of the people who died were police officers, The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-peshawar-mosque-bombing-e632e0afcf948bc0502f5dfbd19359c1">reported</a>, in what is the latest attack against law enforcement in the city by Islamist militants. Hospital officials <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/blast-mosque-pakistans-peshawar-70-injured-2023-01-30/">told</a> Reuters that many of the wounded were in critical condition.
A Pakistani Taliban commander, Sarbakaf Mohmand, reportedly took responsibility for the attack on Twitter, the AP reported. His group, officially known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), comprises Sunni and sectarian Islamist groups dedicated to overthrowing the Pakistani government and imposing Islamic rule, Reuters reported. The group is separate from the Afghan Taliban but remains a close ally of the terrorist group that seized power in Afghanistan following the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from the region.
Mohmand said the attack was revenge for the killing of Abdul Wali, also known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, who was killed in Afghanistan in August 2022, the AP reported.
The attack occurred during noon prayers and was strong enough to cause a wall to collapse on top of people who were worshiping. It is unclear how the bomber was able to get into the building, which is located inside a fortified compound that includes the Sunni mosque as well as the headquarters for the provincial police force and a counter-terrorism department, Reuters reported.
&#8220;We&#8217;re getting that the terrorist was standing in the first row,&#8221; Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said, according to the outlet.
More than 300 worshipers were inside the mosque for noon prayers, with even more coming in, when the bomber detonated his explosives vest, the AP reported. Police told the outlet that rescuers worked quickly to remove debris to reach worshippers trapped under the rubble.
The latest attack was the city&#8217;s deadliest since March 2022, when Islamic State militants committed a suicide bombing at a Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Peshawar during a prayer service, killing at least 58 people and injuring nearly 200, Reuters reported.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif vowed “stern action” against the group behind the attack and traveled to Peshawar to visit those injured. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also spoke out against what he referred to as a “terrorist suicide attack” on Twitter, the AP reported.
“My prayers &amp; condolences go to victims (sic) families,” Khan wrote. “It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering &amp; properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”
Khan lost power last April when he received a no-confidence vote in parliament, leading to Sharif taking control of the government.

PAKISTAN-UNREST-BLAST

Suicide Bomber Targeting Police Kills 47, Injures More Than 150 During Prayer Service

Mosques

Pakistan

Twitter appeared to take away verified check marks from Taliban accounts that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/17/twitter-blue-verified-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">purchased</a> them.
In the past, Twitter only provided the “verified” marks to groups that were “active, notable and authentic accounts of public interest,” according to The Guardian. However, Elon Musk’s new plan has been to allow people to pay money for the check marks. The Twitter Blue verification system, outlined in December, costs $8 each month, with a greater price of $11 charged to people who use the social media app on Apple electronic devices. 
It is a way to “get priority ranking in search, mentions, and replies to help lower the visibility of scams, spam and bots,” according to <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterBlue/status/1602426811656413189?s=20&amp;t=kpMNq63QYJVRG96AAyK-9g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>.
Twitter also <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/about-twitter-verified-accounts#:~:text=A%20blue%20checkmark%20may%20mean,%2C%20notable%2C%20and%20authentic)." target="_blank" rel="noopener">clarifies</a> that a blue check could mean that &#8220;the account has an active subscription to the new Twitter Blue subscription service and has met our eligibility criteria,&#8221; or &#8220;the account was previously verified under the legacy verification criteria.&#8221;
The system was re-<a href="https://nypost.com/2023/01/17/twitter-removes-blue-checks-bought-by-taliban-officials/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=NYPTwitter&amp;utm_medium=SocialFlow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> in December, but the first introduction had been unsuccessful after people tried to pose as organizations or political figures. Musk then paused the verification plan in order to make sure that such issues wouldn’t come up again in the future. 
As of Monday, the accounts for the leader of the Taliban’s department for “access to information,” Hedayatullah Hedayat, and its top media watchdog at the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, Abdul Haq Hammad, each had blue marks. Four other major backers of the terrorist group also were utilizing the verification markers. Last month, Hammad&#8217;s blue check mark was taken off, local media reportedly noted, but it was back. 
The BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64294613" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on the fact that the Taliban members were utilizing the method of buying the verification. The terrorist group also took control of verified Twitter accounts that had been used by the prior administration. 
After the report came out, it appeared as if Twitter stopped the blue check subscriptions for the members of the Taliban. On Tuesday, Hedayat’s and Hammad’s Twitter accounts didn’t have the blue check marks anymore. It wasn&#8217;t entirely obvious what had caused the blue check marks to no longer be on the accounts.
Musk has taken to keeping some users off the platform, while allowing others to come back on after he took over control of the company. The Babylon Bee was <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2022/03/21/the-babylon-bees-twitter-account-was-suspended-but-that-made-its-story-go-viral/?sh=6b0c0c06209d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kicked</a> off of the platform for making the joke that its “Man Of The Year” award was going to Rachel Levine, a biological male who is the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
At the time, Twitter said in a statement regarding The Babylon Bee, &#8220;The account you referenced has been temporarily locked for violating our hateful conduct policy. The account owner is required to delete the violative Tweet before regaining access to their account.&#8221;
The Bablyon Bee was put back on Twitter after Musk took over.

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