Jeff Schogol is the senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. DMs open. jeff.schogol
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JUST IN from
@PentagonPresSec
: “We are aware of social media reports which claim Russian forces deployed a potential chemical munition in Mariupol, Ukraine. We cannot confirm at this time and will continue to monitor the situation closely."
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Today is the first day in 20 years that the US is not at war. Dangers and challenges abound and we will always meet them in the moment. But Joe Biden has chosen to end forever war. A powerful new chapter for America.
"These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia’s potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.”
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When Kabul fell, a group of veterans and other volunteers launched their own evacuation, known as Digital Dunkirk. Veterans spent their 401ks to save Afghans with whom they fought. They fought the last battle of America’s longest war.
I have been trying to help an Afghan interpreter in danger of being killed get to safety and the State Department just told him he needs to submit a letter from his HR department! How is this accelerating the application process?
@ABlinken
@JakeSullivan46
Matt Zeller spent years battling to get a visa for his Afghan interpreter, who saved his life. Now he’s nominated for a CNN Hero award. Hear from his translator:
UPDATE: Here is what we know about North Korea. Kim Jong Un is still alive, or he's not. He may or may not be at Wonsan. His medical condition could be critical, serious, fair, or good. His sister may or may not be in charge.
Attention political operatives: If anyone trolls me by saying my Afghanistan coverage is overheated, I will gladly forward you all the messages I am getting from Afghans begging for help.
An Afghan interpreter who I've been in contact with had his SIV application denied because the U.S. government doubted the authenticity of the letter from his former employer, which his supervisor spent weeks writing to explain how his company was bought out and no longer exists.
This is an outright lie. The Trump administration accelerated the withdrawal from Afghanistan as the Taliban launched an offensive against Afghan troops and police -- and the Taliban never broke with Al Qaeda. This one is on you too, Mike.
There is a clear difference from the way our Administration dealt with American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the way the Biden Administration is handling it.
Top Gun: Maverick ends with Tom Cruise unable to land his F-35C because a flaw in his helmet makes it impossible to see the carrier’s landing lights. He ditches the $100 million plane and the Navy vows a software update will fix the glitch, which has existed since 2012.
I just got a voicemail from an Afghan who worked as an interpreter for U.S. troops and for a U.S. construction company. He was crying. Someone threw a molotov cocktail at his home. I believe one of his children suffered a burned hand.
When Gen. Hertling led troops in Northern Iraq, he kept 104 wallet-sized photos of soldiers who died while under his command. Each picture included biographical data. He kept the pictures in his uniform pocket which was closest to his heart:
The Digital Dunkirk folks helped people who would have been left behind. The White House can be annoyed as it wants. Veterans and other advocates had to adult for the administration.
I know that State Department officials are working tirelessly and quietly to help the people who were left behind, but it feels like the process is not working.
Just so we’re clear: President Biden has not activated 450 members of the Individual Ready Reserve. He’s authorized calling up that many 450 IRR members in the future if needed. He did not order a deployment to Europe today.
The Philippines campaign in 1944 and 1945 does not get the attention it deserves. Manila was completely destroyed. Warsaw was the only allied capital city to have been more severely damaged. The jump onto Corregidor was hard fighting.
Like so many, my dad was plagued by PTSD and nightmares after the war. In college he switched his major to language and literature because, as he said, "I needed to get it out of my gut...write it down. This is the way it began for me."
Image: Rod Serling 1943 & 1974
@DanLamothe
@JeffSchogol
I would gladly pay the bus fare for you and Jeff to Fort Lee to see one, just one, story about a saved Afghan interpreter and their family.
For the past 18 days, I have tried to help Afghans trying to escape the Taliban. Only one Afghan man made it out. Even by the most generous of college curves, that's an F.
#UPDATE
: A decision about re-deploying active-duty troops in the Washington, D.C. region has been delayed, a defense official said. Those troops are staying put for now.
White House aides and Biden allies say this week's news coverage is overheated and out of step with the American public's views of the matter. Biden critics say the coverage is appropriately channeling moral outrage...
UPDATE: The Air Force has issued a statement. "We are appalled and deeply sorry for what Senator McSally experienced and we stand behind her and all victims of sexual assault."