I agree with @AmbJohnBolton. It isn't a matter of "if" the Taliban resume control. They will resume control, boosting the morale and gladdening the heart of every lunatic jihadi in the world. And here's what will happen:
The Taliban will roll over Kabul. Scenes of utter horror and depravity will follow. Washington will realize--as it did when ISIS rolled over Mosul--that this is a serious problem and can't be ignored.
Since it will be impossible to persuade Americans to send ground troops back to Afghanistan--not least because it would be an admission that leaving was a grievous mistake--we will deal with this as we dealt with Mosul; i.e.,
we will turn Kabul into eight million tons of rubble. There will be literally countless civilians ground to death in that rubble. theatlantic.com/international/…. With typical amnesia, we will tell ourselves we had no choice (which, at that point, will be true).
The US will never allow the Taliban or ISIS or any other such group to hold a state-like territory, especially not if it's proximate to Pakistan. Just not going to happen. But for a brief time, it will seem as if it might happen:
This will inspire unspeakable depravity among enthusiasts of this vision, which will largely (but not exclusively) be visited on Afghan civilians. It may take a few terrorist attacks on Western capitals to shake us out of our torpor, but the outcome is certain:
We'll pulverize the place from the air, visiting still more horror upon Afghan civilians. And with straight faces and *genuine* amnesia, we'll tell ourselves we had no choice.

Except we do. And we're making it now.

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More from @ClaireBerlinski

27 Apr
It's Energy Week at @cosmo_globalist. claireberlinski.substack.com/p/welcome-to-e… This week--all week--we'll be debating the question, "All things considered, what’s the best way to provide energy for the globe’s 7.9 billion people?”
All of our readers are welcome—encouraged—to participate. We’ll be running a number of excellent essays about fossil fuels, nuclear power, and green tech; we’ll be taking all questions from our readers—as well as submissions, should they wish to write at length.
At the end of the week, we’ll wrap it up with a Grand Cosmopolicast Debate ... followed by the announcement of a winner.

We aim to showcase a wide variety of opinions, because we wish not only to discuss energy without partisanship or empty slogans--
Read 6 tweets
25 Apr
Disgust is my first reaction too, for what it's worth, but it isn't worth much. I've been trying to assemble my thoughts to write about this phenomenon, but I can't yet understand--*really* understand--what's behind this worldview. I wish the interviewer had asked this:
1. Do you believe Covid19 is real?
2. If not, have you tried to confirm this by going to hospitals and looking for Covid patients? By asking people you know if they've had it, or know someone who has? How many did you ask?
3? If not, what makes you think it's not real?
4. If you think it's real, why wouldn't you wish to take measures to stop its spread?
5. If you don't think these measures reduce the risk of spreading it, why not?
6. How do you explain why your views diverge so sharply with those of people who deal with this disease daily?
Read 5 tweets
24 Apr
Covid19 brings chaos and horror to the Subcontinent , by @VivekYKelkar for @cosmo_globalist. claireberlinski.substack.com/p/covid19-brin…

Last year, during the first wave, India seemed to be one of the world’s success stories. Now it is chaotic, terrified, and helpless. Cases are zooming up.
Patients and families are turned away, sobbing, from hospitals that have no beds. On social media, the clamor for oxygen cylinders, ventilators, and antibiotics grows louder and more desperate. The government dithers over lockdowns. Political rivals point fingers.
Television presenters scream of government incompetence. Vaccination centers run out of vaccines. Despair and death are ubiquitous.
As the Cosmopolitan Globalists have argued—at length—the United States is the only country that could end the pandemic.
Read 5 tweets
22 Apr
I wish to report that I've discovered a 100 percent excellent way to recycle the San Pellegrino bottles, and I'm so pleased by this that I must take to Twitter *immediately* to tell the world.

We begin with this humble felt gardening bag.
I've had five of them lying around since forever. I felt guilty about that, too. They weren't expensive, but I feel guilty about anything I buy and don't use. The problem: They're too big for seedlings. Filling them with soil is costly.

Behold the empty San Pellegrino bottle:
(I've cut holes in it. You have to look closely. I didn't do a very attractive job, but they're about to be covered in soil.)

Now look:
Read 5 tweets
21 Apr
Here's a preview. Attention is short, and at @cosmo_globalist we know many articles are competing for yours today. But this one is worth your time.
If you find the article interesting, be sure to look at the other essays we've published recently: claireberlinski.substack.com
And here's an introduction to @cosmo_globalist: claireberlinski.substack.com/about If you agree we're doing something worthwhile, please sign up and share.
Read 4 tweets
21 Apr
I just woke up and only just saw about the (condign) George Floyd verdict. I'm baffled by the emotions people are feeling. I'm seeing reports of joyful celebration, as if it's a football game. But this verdict can't undo his death. Shouldn't this be a somber moment?
There are two tragedies here: Floyd's death and whatever killed Chauvin's soul. One man will never live again, the other is will live in a prison cell, a pariah and symbol of depravity. What's happy about this outcome?
Justice is a sober thing. A necessary thing. But it can't be, in a case like this, a joyful thing. There's no way to make it right. Only just.

The whole thing just makes me sad and sick.
I don't get the celebrations.
Read 4 tweets

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