With Congress stalled, action remains in the states and the courts

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The collapse of Afghanistan's government—or at least the speed with which it fell—seems to have taken the Biden Administration by surprise. The reality is the Taliban's return should have been no surprise at all, even if the swiftness of the onslaught was. Over the last several months, as the Taliban took over more and more Afghan territory, it became clear the group's fighters were, in fact, holding back all along—they could have been more aggressive but were merely waiting for U.S. forces to depart. It remains a puzzle why the nominally 300,000-person-strong Afghan army simply rolled over and gave up. One theory goes Afghan forces were demoralized and poorly managed. Contrast that with Taliban forces, which seemed to have all the motivation in the world to fulfill what they saw as their destiny. Another explanation could be it was all about money. Corruption was rampant in Afghanistan, and large parts of the government's forces went unpaid for months. It was easy, then, for the Taliban to
offer Afghan army members money in exchange for their weapons and a quiet surrender. Yet another contributing factor could be the recent departure of contractors. Afghan forces had become reliant on U.S. contractors for everything from training to gear maintenance. Once they left, military supply chains broke down. Lastly, Washington's very involvement played a self-defeating role. Any Western-backed government necessarily lacked popular legitimacy; and when it was finally time to go, the West's departure sapped the morale of the Afghan army and wrecked its logistics. Whatever the reasons, it's clear the world underestimated the Taliban all along. —Ravi Agrawal, Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy ([link removed])

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** Feds probe Colorado security breach
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The FBI is investigating an alleged security breach of election equipment in the Mesa County, Col., clerk's office. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold's office started a probe earlier this month after passwords for the county's election equipment were posted on the social media site Telegram and the far-right blog The Gateway Pundit. "The FBI is working with the 21st Judicial District Attorney's Office on the forensic review and analysis of county voting systems to determine if there was a potential federal criminal violation," an FBI spokesperson said. Griswold says the equipment must now be replaced, and the county's treasurer will take over elections until further notice. —The Denver Post ([link removed])
* — Inside help. In Pennsylvania, Donald Trump had some help from a lesser-known source in promoting his Big Lie. Rep. Scott Perry, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, attended "Stop the Steal" rallies, supported a lawsuit seeking to nullify President Biden's wins in battleground states, and led the objection to certifying the election results in Pennsylvania hours after a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. More critically, Perry connected Trump to Pennsylvania native Jeffrey Clark, the Department of Justice official who sought to overturn the election results in Georgia. —CNN ([link removed])
*
* — The trickle-down effect. Actions like Perry's are reverberating far and wide. In Lehigh Township, Pa., the Board of Supervisors passed an "election integrity" resolution in May banning mail ballots, drop boxes, and "ballot harvesting," and demanding stricter photo ID rules and for dead people to be removed from voter rolls. An affirmation of gun rights was even thrown in for good measure. The penalty for noncompliance? A $15,000 fine and seven years in prison. The board's own attorney said it wasn't legal or enforceable, as municipalities can't set their own election rules, and county lawyers alerted state and federal law enforcement. The backlash it received ultimately led the board to rescind it. —The Philadelphia Inquirer ([link removed])
*
* — More litigation in Arizona. Rescinding Arizona's new election laws is exactly what voting rights advocates are aiming for with a new lawsuit. Filed in federal court yesterday, the suit was brought by a coalition of voting rights groups, who claim the new restrictions violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and place an unconstitutionally heavy burden on the vote of Arizonans, particularly voters of color. Arizona is among at least 18 states that have passed restrictive new voting laws in the wake of Trump's 2020 election loss. —The Hill ([link removed])

MORE: Election officials still face death threats and conspiracies —NPR ([link removed])


** A kinder, gentler Taliban? Don't bet on it
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Afghanistan has an ostensible new leader. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban, was released from prison when the Trump Administration lobbied for his release during its negotiations to end U.S. operations in the country. Now, he and his allies are apparently in charge, and promising a more moderate incarnation of the militant group than the brutal one that terrorized the nation in the late 1990s. The group has declared an "amnesty" across Afghanistan and is urging women to join its government, but many Afghans and human rights advocates are skeptical. Older generations remember the Taliban's ultraconservative Islamic views, which included severe restrictions on women, as well as stonings, amputations, and public executions, before they were ousted by the U.S-led invasion that followed the 9/11 terror attacks. Time will tell. — ([link removed]) Military.com
([link removed])

MORE: A Taliban leader emerges: Hunted, jailed, and now free —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])


** German, Goitein & Patel: Redefining national security after Afghanistan
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"The dangerously divided populace, growing distrust in democratic institutions, the pandemic, and the climate disasters we face today demand a reevaluation of how we protect our country and our people. We must take a holistic approach that prioritizes the welfare of all Americans in accordance with an objective measurement of the threats we face. The billions wasted on military and intelligence programs that do not demonstrably make Americans safer need to be reinvested in evidence-based solutions to our nation's biggest problems." —Michael German, Elizabeth Goitein & Faiza Patel in ([link removed]) Brennan Center for Justice ([link removed])

Michael German is a fellow in the Liberty and National Security section of the Brennan Center for Justice. Elizabeth Goitein and Faiza Patel are directors in the Liberty and National Security section of the Brennan Center for Justice.

MORE: Will Afghanistan become a terrorist safe haven again? —Foreign Affairs ([link removed])


** Sorry kids, that mask will cost you
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Like fellow Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas (who has just been diagnosed with COVID-19) and Ron DeSantis of Florida, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is opposed to mask mandates in schools. Last night, he took it a step further, announcing that the state will refuse federal COVID-19 relief funds to public school districts with mask mandates in place. To qualify for the grants, districts must reopen schools for in-person learning and adhere to "all state laws," which includes the state ban on mask mandates in schools. Arizona State Rep. Greg Stanton ripped the governor's decision. "These funds are not intended to be used for policies that undercut scientific research to pursue purely partisan ideological priorities," he wrote in a letter to U.S. Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen. —The Hill ([link removed])

MORE: Florida threatens to remove school officials who disobey DeSantis —Politico ([link removed])
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** WaPo Ed Board: How should we police outsourced disinfo campaigns?
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"The proper policy response is elusive, not least because of the implications for free corporate expression. A vow among nations not to pay private companies to do their disinformation dirty work—and to prevent those within their borders from engaging in foreign interference? A sort of export control regime for disinformation as a service? President Biden, after a false start, might have had some success persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin to crack down on the worst ransomware actors in Russia. Now countries interested in internet arms treaties have another weapon that needs controlling." — ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: How the government can support a free press and cut disinformation —Harvard Gazette ([link removed])


** Focus on the Federal Election Commission
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Rep. Zoe Lofgren is calling for election regulators to guard against the appearance of bias at the Federal Election Commission after a watchdog found problems with the FEC's review of Donald Trump's inaugural committee. The investigation, led by FEC Inspector General Christopher Skinner, examined allegations that the commission's review was tainted by a top FEC official's ties to a top Trump campaign aide, derailing pursuit of possible campaign finance violations. Skinner's report concludes there's a need for more ethical vigilance at the FEC. ([link removed])
* — The probe focused mainly on Debbie Chacona, who oversaw the review of all FEC disclosure reports. Chacona exchanged negative emails with former FEC Commissioner Don McGahn about fellow FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub. McGahn was Trump's campaign attorney and later White House counsel. Chacona also posted a photo on Facebook of her and her family gathered around a "Make America Great Again" sign at Trump's inauguration in 2017. ([link removed])
*
* — FEC staff, like other federal employees, are covered by the Hatch Act, which restricts political contributions and active campaigning, as well as by government ethics rules curbing financial conflicts of interest. Beyond that, there are currently no rules restricting FEC employees' personal or political affiliation or other possible impediments to objectively performing their duties. ([link removed])

1. — The FEC inspector general's report also concluded that the FEC's lax screening of possible foreign contributions disclosed by the Trump inaugural committee and others posed "significant national security risks, particularly in light of recent high-profile reports of foreign influence in U.S. elections." Despite its findings, the FEC's review recommended no enforcement actions. —Bloomberg ([link removed])

MORE: Inspector general urges ethics review at FEC following ProPublica report —ProPublica ([link removed])


** Jacobson: Rethinking redistricting
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"What computational redistricting does is create an environment for transparency, so that when politics taints the mapping process, its impact can be quantified and exposed. Such transparency will inform voters and politicians what they can expect from any proposed maps, and how gerrymandered they may be. Computational redistricting is the sword that can slay the gerrymander dragon. It can shine a bright light on the egregious intent of politicians who draw maps, and in many cases, expose how little choice voters are being given." —Sheldon Jacobson in ([link removed]) The Hill ([link removed])

Sheldon Jacobson, Ph.D., is a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

MORE: 'Splitting the baby': Partisan tension roils Virginia redistricting commission —Richmond Times-Dispatch ([link removed])

Just because many people wanted to end the U.S.'s military presence in Afghanistan, it does not follow that the withdrawal had to be the catastrophe that is has become. U.S. intelligence grossly overestimated the Afghan army's willingness to fight. Tribal loyalties clearly trumped any loyalties to the Afghan government and nation. The failure to properly assess these factors is all the more galling given this country's experience in Iraq. The U.S. intelligence, from CIA, DOD, take your pick, on how fast the Taliban would take over was just as dismal.

The combination of these two intelligence failures has left tens of thousands of Afghans and their families, who assisted and helped the American armed forces over the last 20 years, without a way to get out of the country. For crying out loud, the State Department couldn't even process visas for these people in any meaningful numbers. Heads should roll over the incompetent way this whole deal was managed. —Derek H., Ohio
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** 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.
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