From Bush to Biden: How America got bamboozled on Afghanistan

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( August 18, 2021 It's hard not to feel overwhelmed by the onslaught of despairing news pouring in these days. There are the daily, ongoing scenes of chaos in Afghanistan, reports of hospitals in Haiti getting absolutely slammed by Saturday's earthquake, and the Delta variant messing up everything we thought we knew about keeping safe in a pandemic. It's during times like these that one especially seeks clear-eyed reporting and analysis. The kind of stuff that cuts through some of the despair to tell it like it is, give context to complex situations as they unfold, and offer must-read takes. Which brings me to [This Land](. This week, David Corn's paid newsletter is opening up for a special read on the Afghanistan tragedy to explain how Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden all bamboozled the American public. It's one of the essential reads floating around right now. [Read it](, and if you enjoy, [consider subscribing today](. —Inae Oh Advertisement [Decolonizing Wealth]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The Afghanistan Debacle: How Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden Bamboozled the American Public]( An essential read from David Corn's This Land newsletter. BY DAVID CORN [Trending] [Unchecked climate change will make life hellish for outdoor workers]( BY CHRIS D’ANGELO [Biden takes a stand against the GOP's assault on food stamps]( BY TOM PHILPOTT [A small group of moderate Democrats threaten to derail their party's legacy]( BY KARA VOGHT ["Bar Rescue" host and Laura Ingraham discuss cutting unemployment aid to make workers "hungry" like an "obedient dog"]( BY ALI BRELAND Advertisement [Decolonizing Wealth]( [The Mother Jones Podcast] [Special Feature]( [Donald Trump took a broken asylum system and turned it into a machine of unchecked cruelty]( Why Afghan refugees will encounter a system that has been politicized to the point of collapse. [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [Tennis Star Naomi Osaka Pledges Winnings to Haitian Earthquake Relief]( Naomi Osaka, the 23-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion, is [pledging]( whatever winnings she hauls from the Western & Southern Open to earthquake relief in Haiti, where her father is from. If she takes the title, she’ll donate more than $250,000. It’s nowhere near sufficient for the scope and scale of need, but she hopes the pledge will mobilize more sustainable steps. The death toll from the earthquake has risen to nearly 2,000, making it the deadliest in a decade. Half a million children are left with limited or no access to drinking water, food, or shelter. Hospitals are at capacity. Rescue workers are hampered by heavy rains. And the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban is dominating major US media attention. But aid efforts are advancing in Haiti. Her pledge shines a light on two axioms of action: Donations can work, but only because political systems don’t. The imperatives and half-life of media focus aren’t keeping pace with need. It’s a point best made by our Mother Jones colleague Nathalie Baptiste, who wrote just weeks ago, after the assassination of Haiti’s president, that crisis is too often the engine of attention: “My mother wishes she could spend more time talking about Haiti when there isn’t a crisis,” she wrote in an [essay]( that casts a long, powerful light on the political, historical, and cultural dynamics of Haiti. “Only when there’s a disaster, that’s when people want to know about Haiti,” her mother tells her. “The questions always sound the same too. Why is there constant turmoil? Why are institutions continually failing the people? Who will decide Haiti’s future?” [Read Baptiste’s insightful story here](. And share your recharges when you have them at recharge@motherjones.com. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755