Foreign Policy – Page 3 – Deep Left Field

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki put Fox News reporter Peter Doocy in his place Monday when he attempted to suggest that the Biden administration is leaving Americans “stranded” in Afghanistan, despite the fact that the U.S. has already airlifted 40,000 Afghans and Americans out of the country so far.

After he let loose with his question/editorial comment, Psaki made it clear she wasn’t about to let Doocy use a question to spread lies, telling him:

“First of all I think it’s irresponsible to say ‘Americans are stranded.’ They are not. We are committed to bringing Americans who want to come home, home. We are in touch with them via phone, via text, via email, via any way that we can possibly reach Americans, to get them home if they want to return.
“No American is stranded.”

Doocy tried to push back on what Psaki said, but she immediately shot him down:

“I’m just calling you out for saying that we are stranding Americans in Afghanistan when we have been very clear that we are not leaving Americans who want to return home, we are going to bring them home and I think that’s important for the American public to hear and understand.”

Fox — along with right-wing “news” outlets Newmax and OAN — is looking for a way to attack the Biden administration anyway they can. They know his policies are popular with the American people, so they’re hoping to spread a lie that somehow Americans are being left behind in Afghanistan. They’re also conveniently neglecting to mention that the withdrawal began while failed, one-term former President Donald Trump was still in office.

Doocy was also pilloried on social media for his remarks:

Every morning, Doocy Lite wakes up, looks himself in the mirror & while slicking his hair back with palmfuls of pomade, he says to himself “Today is the day. Today, using my wily & clever expert journalism skills, I will trip her up.”
But every single day ends up just like this.
— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) August 23, 2021

“But “irresponsible” is all I do.”

—Peter Doocy to Jen Psaki
— REFrankel (@REFrankel) August 23, 2021

How else is FOX supposed to rile up the base without being irresponsible?
— Please Secede, MAGA 🙏 (@SecedeMAGA) August 23, 2021

For the next press conference, maybe Fox News can just send Wile E. Coyote and have him show off some of his wonderful wares directly from the Acme Corporation right before they explode and leave him picking up his teeth.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that failed, one-term former President Donald Trump repeatedly kowtowed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it turns out that Russian hackers also managed to steal what is being called the “crown jewels” from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Associated Press (AP) reports that hackers from Russia managed to steal emails from top officials in the DHS, which could have serious implications for U.S. national security:

“Suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s head of the Department of Homeland Security and members of the department’s cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries, The Associated Press has learned.
“The intelligence value of the hacking of then-acting Secretary Chad Wolf and his staff is not publicly known, but the symbolism is stark. Their accounts were accessed as part of what’s known as the SolarWinds intrusion, and it throws into question how the U.S. government can protect individuals, companies and institutions across the country if it can’t protect itself.”

The Biden administration is trying to decide exactly what sanctions to impose on Russia for the DHS hack, but based on the AP’s reporting, it seems fair to surmise the punishment will be severe.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) says targeting the DHS allowed Russia to have access to some of the most carefully guarded secrets in the world:

“The SolarWinds hack was a victory for our foreign adversaries, and a failure for DHS. We are talking about DHS’s crown jewels.”

Since Homeland Security is tasked with overseeing several important agencies — including the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Customs Service, the Russian hack means Russian intelligence may have obtained information that could directly impact the security of the United States.

Though it remains unclear exactly how harsh the White House will choose to be with sanctions, it has already become clear to Russia that relations between the two nations will continue to be strained. When Biden was recently asked if he thought Putin was a “killer,” he quickly replied that he did.

Trump, on the other hand, tried to suggest there were many killers in the United States, trying to excuse Putin’s murderous actions.

One thing is certain: Russia and Putin will no longer be coddled by the American head of state. And based on their actions, they damn well shouldn’t be.