Philip J. CrowleyVerifisert konto

Since @MSE, which includes the Washington @Capitals, has more than 100 employees, it is probably subject to the vaccine mandate announced by the White House. If Caps staff and fans have to show proof of vaccination to gain entry to Capital One Arena, so should a star defenseman.https://twitter.com/russianmachine/status/1436809385787940870 …

Hours after the planes hit, I descended the stairs of an office building a few blocks from World Trade in darkness. The power was out. Smoke blocked out the sun. The street looked like a moonscape, covered with ash and sprinkled with shoes. The world was already very different.

The decision to remove Trump appointees from military academy advisory boards just feels like a waste of White House energy. Expanding solar, sure. Firing Spicey, meh. That said, the response by @KellyannePolls — she is shocked, shocked by political partisanship — is pretty rich.

If someone red teamed the U.S. evacuation from #Afghanistan, we have to be approaching the worst case scenario at this point: the collapse of the Afghan government, the rapid takeover by the Taliban, the chaos at Kabul airport and now the two explosions at the hands of ISIS-K.

President Ghani of #Afghanistan just made a curious and defining statement in the #UAE. He talked about the loss of his personal belongings before talking about the future of his country. This underscores why his government was unable to rally public support when it counted most.

It’s too simplistic to say the precipitous collapse of the #Afghan government and military was an intelligence failure. It’s bigger than that, more like a national security systemic failure. We tried to remake a country that, from beginning to end, we never really understood.

The Biden administration justification for leaving #Afghanistan now — bringing bin Laden to justice and reducing the threat posed by al Qaeda — was true in 2011. Left unsaid is that #Obama could have ended the war in his second term, but was talked out of removing all troops.

President Bush declared after 9/11 that we would not distinguish between the terrorists who attacked us and those who supported them. That policy prevented us from negotiating a durable political settlement when our position was strong in #Afghanistan and the Taliban’s was weak.

It baffles me when officials say the Taliban must know the world is watching what they do, as if it matters. The Taliban is an insular movement that didn’t care what the world thought when they were previously in power. They are unlikely to care that much as they take over again.

There was a window between 2002 and 2005 to negotiate a political settlement and bring the Taliban inside #Afghanistan’s new political order. Nothing materialized. Since then, the Taliban played to win the long game. The U.S. kept trying, unsuccessfully, to end it without losing.

If a state offered a lottery with 99 percent odds of winning, the lines at the local 7-11 would be blocks long. This is what the vaccines offer, 99 percent odds of winning over #COVID. Yet a significant percentage of the nation’s adult population doesn’t recognize this. Baffling.

The tragedy in #Haiti reminds me of a poignant exchange between then President Renee Preval and @HillaryClinton following the 2010 earthquake. His goal was to finish his term in office and live out his life peaceably on the island. He did, but it is a rare occurrence in Haiti.

The conservative argument against John Kennedy during the 1960 campaign was that, as a Catholic, he would be unduly influenced by Rome. Now conservative Catholic bishops insist that @JoeBiden bend to the teachings of the Church. So much for the separation of Church and State.

A safe bet when @JoeBiden meets with @NATO leaders this week. He will not say that they owe the United States money. He will say that the United States will meet its treaty commitments. Another step on the road back to normal.

Great discussion with @ChrisJansing @MSNBC on @JoeBiden trip to Europe. It will be important to be unequivocal with #Putin. Even more important is to reassure @NATO that the U.S. still believes in the alliance and will act in partnership to confront the threat posed by #Russia.

It is disconcerting to acknowledge on an international television network that politics in the United States now interferes with our ability to take controversial but necessary actions like establishing a January 6 Commission that can help rebuild public faith in our government.

Definition of normal: The American Secretary of State @SecBlinken has a productive meeting with the Danish Prime Minister @Statsmin Mette Frederiksen. There is no mention of the sale of #Greenland. She is not described as nasty. This is how diplomacy is supposed to work.

The U.S. challenge with the #Gaza conflict is, even when the current cycle of violence ends, there is no obvious next step. There isn’t a peace process to resume. The political forces on all sides are weak. The field is open for spoilers who prefer confrontation to negotiation.

The @JoeBiden campaign forecast this months ago, so President Erdogan has had time to prepare. If he wants anything from the U.S., especially in the economic realm, the official #Turkish response needs to be measured. But Erdogan is more a political actor than strategic thinker.https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1385993495807148032 …