From Gary L. P-G:

Question: I've read we had about 2,500 troops left in Afghanistan, intelligence and logistical support. If this is the case, why was there over $85B of equipment there? Were we going to leave it regardless? It doesn't make sense to have that much equipment there for 2,500 non-front-line fighting troops. Please answer in either your morning or evening newsletters, I read both.

From the Gov:

Gary, that highly sophisticated equipment provided logistical and air support for the Afghan army. Now that it’s in the hands of the Taliban, our guess is that they will use captive Afghan soldiers who had been trained by us on the equipment to train THEM how to use it.

Also, that base was of huge strategic importance. We should not have relinquished it –- have you looked at it on a map? It’s right across the border with China, a good spot to keep as heavily armed as it was. Every bit of that equipment should have been evacuated. Hang the “expense,” which, believe it or not, was one reason given for leaving it there. Another reason was the time constraint, which was bogus, too.

From Nitha V:

I am disappointed in you, Mike Huckabee. I believe I looked at all the videos included in your morning edition (Aug 31). I did NOT see a human body hanging from his neck. What I saw was the helicopter preparing to land a person onto the roof of some building. the body was hanging from the helicopter with attached around the mid section. The body was moving around and landed on the building; the person certainly was not dead. Maybe you looked at different videos. Please do not inflame people like this. What the Taliban does is bad enough without adding fuel to the fire.

From the Gov:

Unlike numerous news/opinion sites, we were careful NOT to come to any conclusions about whether the person at the end of that rope was dead or alive. (As of this writing, some sources are still reporting that he was dead.) We made it clear that there were multiple possibilities. Whatever the explanation, we were still inflamed, simply because one of our Black Hawks had been flown over Kandahar, pressed into service by the Taliban. And, oh, yes, there will be many hangings and beheadings, whether this was one of those atrocities or not.

USA TODAY has reported that this man was a Taliban fighter (one of the possibilities we had mentioned) being lifted by a Black Hawk to the top of the tall building housing the former governor’s office in Kandahar to plant a Taliban flag. Again, still infuriating.

From Sanford W:

What Biden has done is beyond a disgrace. It’s TREASON. Besides betraying our armed forces and stranded American citizens he has provided “AID AND COMFORT TO THE ENEMY.”

From the Gov:

Sounds like an impeachable offense to me.

From David:

TALIB TIMES? For a moment there, I'd read TLAIB TIMES, and thought you were going to sneak a word in about how many times Rashida Tlaib has condemned America and praised foreign terrorists. Whew!

From the Gov:

David, you get to do it for me today.

From Lawrence F (excerpt):

It may be too soon to start listing the lessons of our 20 years in Afghanistan, but a couple are so obvious they need stating now.

First, we left the Afghan military unequipped to go on without us, knowing that every few years the American electorate chooses some buffoon who knows nothing about military operations or foreign policy and will end a military operation disastrously...Granted, none of the earlier surrenders –- even Iraq –- were as disastrously fouled up as this latest one.

In 20 years, we trained Afghan pilots, special operations soldiers and infantrymen, but i am unaware of one single truck or aircraft mechanic trained by us. So when Sleazy Joe, without consultation with any allies and ignoring the advice of his military advisors, decided to suddenly end the contract to maintain aircraft and vehicles for the Afghan security services, the Afghan military who we had re-created in our image, were immobilized. Then he had the gall to say they were unwilling to fight, in spite of the 77,000 Afghans who gave their lives in what should be our battle against terrorists.

Lesson Two is, don't let either the left or the right infiltrate and politicize our military. When Republicans...control the White House and both houses once again. we need to have a thorough housecleaning of our senior military ranks, and we need to teach cadets at West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs the tradition of a non-political military. The current crop of political hacks in the top ranks is disgusting.

Finally we need to inculcate in the Washington civil service the concept that foreign policy is not a tricycle for children to learn how to ride; it is not a toy that a new administration takes off the shelf and "re-designs" without consultation with everyone. One of the impeachable offenses Joe Biden has committed is ignoring our allies. Public law (yes, when the NATO treaty was ratified by Congress, it became part of public law) requires consultation with our allies, and Sleazy Joe ignored them and his military advisors and waltzed off into rainbow flag la-la land all by himself.

From Mike H (excerpt):

Mike, thank you again for your honest, forthcoming commentary, day in and day out. That said, there are not words that can be said here to tell you the inter RAGE I am feeling against this CLOWN Biden, who I will not call President...If I see him on television, I will shut it off. Why? ...Not only can I not stand the sight of him but I know that if his lips are moving, if he is breathing, he is lying, spinning or covering up whatever it is that he is thinking or alluding to. I am very sure from conversations I have had with many, many people that they are feeling the same way...Biden, Harris, Schumer, Pelosi and their cohorts must be [out of power] ASAP. This is DEAD serious. These horrible Democrats are destroying this country!!!!!

From the Gov:

Thank you, Mike, for expressing what millions are feeling. I think you and all my readers would appreciate this passionately felt monologue from Tammy Bruce on Tuesday’s FOX NEWS PRIMETIME (sorry, there are a few seconds of Biden’s face in there). She speaks forcefully for all of us who love America and are disgusted by what is happening before our eyes.

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6270389929001#sp=show-clips

From Anne T (excerpt):

Since the woke people are always comparing things to the Civil War or 9-11, as in worse than, etc., I would call this Afghanistan situation the saddest since those times. What can be sadder than people like me raised with pride in my country, raised by the “greatest generation” than to see this kind of ineptness, lack of leadership, cruelty, irresponsibility snd total incompetence from our government?

The idea that we left Americans in country when we knew we were going to leave, and also left many of those who helped us, is unbelievable. You folks who voted for this because you don’t like mean tweets and only watch mainstream media are guilty of gross negligence. You knew, as well as I knew, that Mr. Biden was failing mentally and that Kamala is grossly unqualified...Each of you bears some responsibility for what will happen to the women of Afghanistan and to the rape of little girls by disgusting men.

Dear Lord, please help me to forgive these people...I also blame Trump to a certain extent...It wouldn’t have taken him much to moderate his rhetoric to some extent and push him over the voting line. God bless America and please help us to get out of this pit.

From the Gov:

Before the election, one of our writers contributed a piece, “The speech I wish President Trump would give,” about that very thing. Sadly, Trump never gave a speech like that. Even so, support for him in key states that Biden “officially” won by a few thousand votes was enormously strong, and we still don’t know the real election story. I can never forgive those who knew what sort of person Biden really was and worked to get him into office anyway, by hook or by crook.