It seems so quaint to think about now, but just last Thursday, Americans were hearing that military intelligence was estimating that Kabul could “come under insurgent pressure within 30 days.”

Those assessments were wrong. Very, very wrong. It took until Sunday – a whole whopping FOUR DAYS – to have the Taliban sitting in the presidential palace in Kabul after Afghani president Ghani fled the country. The Taliban leadership kindly held a press conference from the presidential palace to show off their new digs.

Where is President Joe Biden? He is at Camp David until Wednesday, and has zero public events listed. However, the White House tweeted out a picture to show Americans proof of life that Biden was taking the situation very, very seriously. So seriously that no one thought to blur out locations or faces.

Heck of a job, White House communications shop. I figure you would want to crop out the teleconference screens labeled "CIA" and "Doha Station." You panicking amateur idiots. https://t.co/ZFoICYYVwO

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 15, 2021

Where is Kamala Harris? On Joe Biden’s Zoom call, and staying far away from the press. Apparently she doesn’t want to help take credit for helping Biden make the decision to pull all troops from Afghanistan right now. Secretary of State Antony Blinken must have drawn the short straw, because he got sent out to do the talk shows and take the heat. And if you think the press will be demanding some answers from White House press secretary Jen Psaki today, think again.

Fox News sent questions to Psaki’s White House email address Sunday morning and received an auto-reply. Hours later, on Sunday evening, Fox News attempted once again to reach the White House spokeswoman. The same auto-reply, stating that the voice of the White House would not be available for the next week, was sent.”

“I will be out of the office from August 15th-August 22nd,” read the email returned to Fox News. Instead, Psaki’s reply directs the press to reach out to other press officers in her absence.”

How… convenient.

With president, vice president, and press secretary missing in action, Americans who are still in Kabul have no idea what to do now as they were told to shelter in place after the embassy closed, as the scenes from the airport there are ones of sheer chaos.

The exodus of the leadership sent Western evacuation plans into a frenzy. By 7 p.m., the American embassy in Kabul sent out a stark warning for U.S. citizens in Afghanistan: “The security situation in Kabul is changing quickly and the situation at the airport is deteriorating rapidly,” the U.S. Embassy said in an email. “Do not come to the Embassy or the airport at this time.”

On the airport road in the capital, hundreds of cars snarled into a gridlock at a key intersection decked with the green, gold and black flag of Afghanistan. Families could be seen removing their luggage and dragging it on foot towards the terminal.”

At the military terminal, several hundred Afghans huddled on metal benches in the eerie departure lounge, wondering if a charter flight taking them abroad would ever come. At one point, hundreds of Afghan civilians rushed the airport perimeter and ran toward parked aircraft, trying to board a C-17 transporter, with some entering the plane, according to a military official. They were eventually pushed out. The incident briefly disrupted flight operations.”

Everyone is desperate to get out, and get out NOW.

Desperate situation unfolding at #Kabul airport this morning. pic.twitter.com/JlAWtTHPBy

— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) August 16, 2021

We know that Joe Biden does not give a solid damn about the people trying frantically to leave Kabul right now. The administration’s strategy seems to be wait until it is all over, and then Joe Biden can give his promised speech with the Taliban takeover and the evacuation complete, and then address the situation as a fait accompli. But what about the Americans who are still there? Biden HAS to address that problem, doesn’t he?

Apparently, that also was left to Antony Blinken, who decided a strongly worded letter was the best way to go, via a joint statement with other countries.

Given the deteriorating security situation, we support, are working to secure, and call on all parties to respect and facilitate, the safe and orderly departure of foreign nationals and Afghans who wish to leave the country. Those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan bear responsibility—and accountability—for the protection of human life and property, and for the immediate restoration of security and civil order.”

Afghans and international citizens who wish to depart must be allowed to do so; roads, airports and border crossing must remain open, and calm must be maintained.”

The Afghan people deserve to live in safety, security and dignity. We in the international community stand ready to assist them.”

Oh yeah, that’ll do it. I’m sure the Taliban are looking at the long list of countries who signed on to this letter and saying “wow guys, we better think about our role in the international community and play nice right now.”

Senator Tom Cotton, who served in Afghanistan and is trying to pressure Biden into doing SOMETHING productive in order to make sure all the Americans still on the ground in Kabul can get out, is trying his best to get people connected in order to leave.

Cotton spokesman says that their office has heard from multiple US citizens in Kabul trapped behind Taliban checkpoints, who can’t safely reach the US perimeter and have no clear option for what to do. https://t.co/rY5QTSPLKd

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 16, 2021

Even if Team Biden can’t give a shit about Afghanistan, they ARE still on the hook to get American citizens out of the country, even with the embassy closed and in full retreat. The military intelligence, who thought they had a month to get people organized and out, got caught with their pants down. They blew it in every imaginable way. People are lying dead in the streets of Afghanistan, the Taliban spokesman has a Twitter account (what the actual hell, Twitter???), and Americans who want to leave Afghanistan have no way to get through Kabul unless the Taliban let them pass, and senators and their staff are trying to help while the president stays in hiding until it is all over.

God help us all.

Featured image: Blackhawk helicopter at Kabul Airport in December 2007, U.S. Air Force photo in the public domain, cropped