Getting them out

In the life-or-death race to get Americans, Afghans, and other allies out of a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, the U.S. has reportedly evacuated 42,000 from Kabul—16,000 in the last 24 hours alone, according to the Pentagon. The progress of the evacuation effort is the only potential bright spot in an otherwise disastrous situation in the country. The airlift will "increase significantly" in the runup to Aug. 31, which the Taliban has called a "red line" for when U.S. forces must depart. But President Biden has said the U.S. will extend the withdrawal deadline if necessary, as evacuations continue. —Defense One

• — The real nightmare is getting to the airport. And we're not talking about the traffic. The U.S. military is establishing "alternative routes" to the Kabul airport because of the threat a terrorist group called ISIS-K—a self-proclaimed branch of the Islamic State—poses to the airport and its surroundings. "The threat is real. It's acute. It is persistent. And it is something we're focused on with every tool in our arsenal," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said yesterday. —CNN
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• — An assist from the private sector. For only the third time in history, the Pentagon has ordered the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to activate, requesting 18 aircraft from U.S. commercial airlines to help in the evacuation. The civilian airliners do not fly into Kabul. Military aircraft are continuing to airlift passengers out to secure staging bases in the Middle East. The commercial airlines then transport them to the U.S. or other temporary housing locations, such as Ramstein Air Base in Germany. —Defense One
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• — "This is unacceptable." In a briefing call on Friday, Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin told lawmakers that Americans trying to leave Afghanistan have been assaulted by Taliban fighters—a direct contradiction of Biden's assessment from minutes earlier, in which he said the U.S. was not aware of Americans having trouble getting through Taliban checkpoints. "We're also aware that some people, including Americans, have been harassed and even beaten by the Taliban," Austin said. —Politico

Andelman: America's global reputation takes another hit

"New powers are emerging: the European Union, perhaps with one of its own young leaders—Emmanuel Macron—not to mention a powerful and resurgent China. Though the U.S. has managed to disengage from a war that few at home ever truly embraced, the price may be far too high for both America's own safety and for its long-term standing within the international community." —David Andelman on CNN

David Andelman is the executive director of The Red Lines Project and the author of "A Red Line in the Sand: Diplomacy, Strategy, and the History of Wars That Could Still Happen."

MORE: Harris heads to Southeast Asia in search of a foreign policy win amid Afghanistan crisis —CNN

FDA approves Pfizer vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine this morning, a milestone that authorities hope will lift public confidence in the shots amid the spread of the Delta variant across the country. The vaccine now carries the strongest endorsement from the FDA, which has never before had so much evidence to judge a shot's safety. More than 200 million Pfizer doses have been administered in the U.S.—and hundreds of millions more worldwide—since emergency use began in December. Today's declaration may spur more vaccine mandates by companies, universities, and local governments, which polls show have the support of a majority of Americans in some form. —The Boston Globe

MORE: Health officials warn people not to treat Covid with a drug meant for livestock —The New York Times

Keeping the lie going in WI

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, the Republican who ordered an investigation into the 2020 Wisconsin election, said he spent the day with Donald Trump on Saturday and is keeping the ex-president "updated on our investigation." Vos previously had opposed an Arizona-type election audit in the state and was publicly lambasted by Trump as a result. Of his meeting with Trump, Vos said, "I provided him details about our robust efforts in Wisconsin to restore full integrity and trust in elections." Overseeing the investigation is Special Counsel Justice Michael Gableman, who has spoken at at least one pro-Trump rally since the election and attended a "symposium" rife with election conspiracy theories led by MyPillow Chief Executive Mike Lindell earlier this month. Wisconsin Democrats have called the investigation a "sham." —Wisconsin State Journal

MORE: Arizona audit has 'too many flaws' to trust results, says former Republican official —Newsweek

WaPo Ed Board: The danger to democracy

"The 2020 presidential race stress-tested the nation's democracy, and it held. But what about the next time? Given the persistence and proliferation of the 'big lie' that President Biden won the 2020 election through fraud—and the alarming number of Republican office-seekers running on the conspiracy theories being flogged by former president Donald Trump—the country's institutions may be weaker in coming election cycles, even as the pressure mounts on GOP officials involved in counting or certifying votes to find 'fraud.'" —The Washington Post

MORE: Other voices: One election away from losing American democracy —St. Paul Pioneer Press

Focus on the insurrection

The U.S. Capitol Police Office of Professional Responsibility announced today that the officer involved in the shooting of Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will face no internal discipline. This is not the first time the officer has been cleared—in April, the U.S. Attorney's office in D.C. also decided not to pursue charges against him or her, saying there was not enough evidence.

• — Babbitt, who has become something of a hero on the far-right, can be seen on video on Jan. 6 attempting to kick through a window, shortly after she entered the Capitol. She was subsequently shot and killed by the officer. According to a USCP statement, his or her actions were consistent with training, policy, and procedure.
   
• — "The actions of the officer in this case potentially saved Members and staff from serious injury and possible death from a large crowd of rioters who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol and to the House Chamber, where Members and staff were steps away," the statement said. "USCP Officers had barricaded the Speaker's Lobby with furniture before a rioter shattered the glass door. If the doors were breached, the rioters would have immediate access to the House Chambers."

1. — Capitol Police have not identified the officer involved in the shooting. "The officer and the officer's family have been the subject of numerous credible and specific threats for actions that were taken as part of the job of all our officers: defending the Congress, Members, staff, and the democratic process," USCP explained in the statement. —ABC News

Miniter: In the wake of Afghanistan, democracy still matters

"As we've seen, democracy is rarely perfect, but structured properly it has a way of tempering the passions of the public and pushing society toward morally defensible positions over the long run. At the very least, it offers a release valve to public pressure. Regular elections create a peaceful means for pushing for the changes to society that people desire. But this isn't the only way the antidote works. Supporting democracy also serves our national interests because it gives people who reside in other countries a reason to stand with us against extreme and repressive ideologies. Building a democracy gave us a joint project to work on with the peaceful people of Afghanistan, and that democracy itself became a firewall against the extremists who would otherwise direct violence toward the United States." —Brendan Miniter in The Dallas Morning News

Brendan Miniter is the editor of The Dallas Morning News editorial page.

MORE: Samuel Brownback and Katrina Lantos Swett: From Saigon to Kabul, leaving must not mean giving up on human rights —The Hill

The U.S. (and our allies) presence in Afghanistan has involved a series of miscalculations, a seeming lack of understanding of the cultural and societal situation in that Asian country, and a callous belief we could do what the Russians couldn't because we represent democracy. The original push to overthrow the Taliban and find Osama Bin Laden was absolutely correct (in my mind), but there was an initial lack of understanding of what would happen when the initial goals were attained. "Okay, we got it done. Now what?" Russia left with its tail between its legs—and remember, the U.S. was a significant ally of the Mujahideen. We should have had a much better understanding of what that all meant to the Afghanis, Pakistan, and Iran. It certainly seems we didn't.

Fast-forward almost 20 years to President Trump. He is responsible for a totally worthless agreement with the Taliban in which he didn't include the Afghan government and "thought" the Taliban and their "promises" could be believed and trusted. Loser number one. Now we have our current president and administration that completely misread the results of the all-too-hasty retreat/abandonment of our Afghan allies. Shameful. Loser number two. Trump threw the Afghan people and their government under the bus; Biden then drove that same bus right over their bodies. —Steven B., Florida

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.