{"id":79546,"date":"2021-08-15T13:39:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-15T17:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=79546"},"modified":"2021-08-15T13:39:19","modified_gmt":"2021-08-15T17:39:19","slug":"the-most-infamous-devastating-press-conference-ever-held-by-an-american-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=79546","title":{"rendered":"<b>&#8220;The Most Infamous &#038; Devastating Press Conference Ever Held By An American President&#8221;<\/b>"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Former CIA Officer: &#8220;The Most Infamous &amp; Devastating Press Conference Ever Held By An American President<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->ZeroHedge.com<\/p>\n<p>Kabul&#8217;s streets are clogged with panicked civilians fleeing the Taliban onslaught of the Afghan capital, American chinook helicopters are hovering above the US Embassy with an emergency evacuation in progress, and the national government propped up for two decades by US money and power is negotiating surrender with barely a fight.<\/p>\n<p>One former CIA officer has observed looking back to Joe Biden&#8217;s July 8 Afghan policy speech:\u00a0<strong>&#8220;This may become the most infamous \u2014 and devastating \u2014 press conference ever held by an American President,&#8221;<\/strong>\u00a0wrote CIA foreign operations veteran Bryan Dean Wright on Sunday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1426710333264179214&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fformer-cia-officer-most-infamous-devastating-press-conference-ever-held-american&amp;sessionId=7388cb9371de473539fecbdef6fa8f954201d96e&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=1890d59c%3A1627936082797&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1426710333264179214\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"Advert_desktop__1J5vD Advert_tablet__3QEBr Advert_mobile__1rlLc Advert_placement__1I4yb Advert_align__N0_fw\"><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;When I announced our drawdown in April, I said we would be out by September, and we\u2019re on track to meet that target,&#8221; Biden had said.\u00a0<strong>&#8220;Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31st.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Clearly the Taliban are on the cusp of declaring victory in Kabul\u00a0<em>far ahead\u00a0<\/em>of that date marker, and certainly very far ahead of the initially conceived September 11 symbolic &#8216;mission accomplished&#8217; date (without doubt whatever plans were laid for an optimistic sounding 9\/11 &#8220;we&#8217;re out of Afghanistan&#8221; or even &#8220;mission accomplished&#8221;\u00a0speech will be scrapped).<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the exchange from a bit over a month ago:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>REPORTER:\u00a0<strong>Is a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now inevitable?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0\u00a0<strong>No, it is not.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>REPORTER:\u00a0 \u00a0Why?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 Because you \u2014 the Afghan troops have 300,000 well-equipped \u2014 as well-equipped as any army in the world \u2014 and an air force against something like 75,000 Taliban.\u00a0<strong>It is not inevitable.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Perhaps this utter failure to grasp or predict anything close to reality on the ground in the conflict is a failure also shared by US intelligence, given that it was only in June that a widely reported intel assessment forecast that\u00a0Kabul could fall within six months.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1426602525873029127&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fformer-cia-officer-most-infamous-devastating-press-conference-ever-held-american&amp;sessionId=7388cb9371de473539fecbdef6fa8f954201d96e&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=1890d59c%3A1627936082797&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1426602525873029127\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>But just last week that assessment was significantly revised to say within &#8220;one month to 90 days&#8221;. Merely the last 48 hours has\u00a0obviously proven this completely off the mark as well.<\/p>\n<p>US intelligence is now\u00a0<strong>giving it just 72 hours<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; but it&#8217;s looking more and more like the Taliban will overrun the capital in maybe just 24 hours, which may not even be enough time for all US diplomatic personnel to get out.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1426893542841016321&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fformer-cia-officer-most-infamous-devastating-press-conference-ever-held-american&amp;sessionId=7388cb9371de473539fecbdef6fa8f954201d96e&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=1890d59c%3A1627936082797&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1426893542841016321\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Meanwhile, Afghanistan&#8217;s US-backed leaders appear to be putting their exit plans in place, with appeals being made to the invading Taliban to spare them and their families&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-3\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-3&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1426887410563141633&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fformer-cia-officer-most-infamous-devastating-press-conference-ever-held-american&amp;sessionId=7388cb9371de473539fecbdef6fa8f954201d96e&amp;siteScreenName=zerohedge&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=1890d59c%3A1627936082797&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1426887410563141633\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>For example former Afghan president\u00a0Hamid Karzai urged the Taliban to provide security and safety for the city&#8217;s civilians and its leaders in a Sunday video message recorded while standing with his three daughters.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/former-cia-officer-most-infamous-devastating-press-conference-ever-held-american\">https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/former-cia-officer-most-infamous-devastating-press-conference-ever-held-american<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former CIA Officer: &#8220;The Most Infamous &amp; Devastating Press Conference Ever Held By An American President<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}