What’s Happening In Afghanistan?

It’s Thursday, December 16th, and this is your Morning Wire. Listen to the full podcast:

1) What’s Happening In Afghanistan?

The Topline: Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration is still facing widespread criticism for what many view as a botched operation.

Quote Of The Day: “Everybody says, ‘you could’ve gotten out without anybody being hurt. No one’s come up with a way to indicate to me how that happens.”

– President Joe Biden

Marco Di Lauro/Contributor/Getty Images

Biden Administration

Several months after overseeing a widely criticized withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden appears to be distancing himself from accountability regarding the human cost of the action. 

On the subject of the thirteen U.S. service members who were killed during an ISIS-K terrorist attack in the chaos outside the Kabul airport during the last few days of the U.S. evacuation, Biden has argued that casualties were effectively inevitable.

When White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the Americans still stranded in Afghanistan, she lauded the numbers of Americans who have left the country since August, despite the fact that there were more left behind than the administration had originally stated. When she was questioned on the administration’s knowledge of Americans in the country, she deflected with a joke.

Afghanistan Today

The people of Afghanistan continue to live under dire circumstances. Under Taliban control, there’s been a return of sex slavery, abuse of women in all areas of life, and the continued threat of complete economic collapse.

Afghanistan’s foreign minister under the Taliban recently gave a rare interview, and asked the Biden administration to show “mercy and compassion” and release $10 billion in frozen funds held by the U.S. government. The Taliban minister said the money would be used to help millions of Afghan citizens, but it’s highly likely that, if unfrozen, the funds would go to the Taliban. 

Claudio Santana/Getty Images

2) ‘Smash-And-Grab’ Thieves Use Snapchat To Plan Robberies

The Topline: Retail outlets in cities like San Francisco and Minneapolis have been hit by a wave of smash-and-grab robberies, with young adults and teens reportedly using apps like Snapchat to coordinate the crimes.

Quote Of The Day: “Some of the retailers downtown in Michigan Avenue, I will tell you, I’m disappointed that they’re not doing more to take safety and make it a priority. For example, we still have retailers that won’t institute plans like having security officers in their stores, locking up their merchandise at night…”

– Democratic Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot

‘Smash-And-Grab’ Robberies

Organized retail theft has officially existed since 2008, but the recent proliferation of “flash mob” stealing is a new development.

A large group of approximately a dozen to a couple hundred thieves will swarm a store at once, smash windows, and quickly grab as much merchandise as they can. Often, they later sell the stolen items online.

A lot of stores carrying high-end goods like Nordstrom, Louis Vuitton, Best Buy, and Lululemon are being robbed, but so are retailers like Walgreens.

The robberies are reportedly being pre-announced on social media apps such as Snapchat. The thieves specifically like using Snapchat, because messages disappear after a short period of time. Police say someone will announce a target along with a time, and groups of thieves see the messages and show up.

A spokeswoman for Snap Inc., said, despite what law enforcement are reporting, the company isn’t finding evidence of organized crime on its app, adding that if it does, those users will be in violation of the terms of service.

Political Element

Thus far, these robberies have been localized to a handful of cities with Left-wing leadership. Despite this, however, most prominent Left-wing politicians have seemed reluctant to address the issue. Last week, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) downplayed the trend. She told The Washington Times, “A lot of these allegations of organized retail theft are not actually panning out.” Other Democrats have suggested retailers themselves are at fault. 

Though White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has blamed the pandemic as a “root cause” of the crime wave, when she was asked about Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) and Ocasio-Cortez’s comments, she distanced President Biden from them.

Jason Miller/Stringer/Getty Images

3) NFL Mandates Booster Shots For Employees

The Topline: On Monday, The National Football League became one of the first corporations to mandate COVID vaccine boosters for its employees.

NFL Vaccine Mandate

The NFL appears to be dealing with a COVID outbreak as it reported its highest number of positive COVID tests on Monday with 37 new cases. Many teams are being impacted by players landing in COVID protocols. On Tuesday, eight Cleveland Browns were placed in protocols, as well as nine