If Nothing Happens, Something Will Inevitably Happen

As far as I can tell, the only White House response to the terrible debacle in Kabul over the weekend was to issue an updated verson of the Camp David photo I posted yesterday, showing Biden in a different outfit in the empty room, looking bemused instead of defeated. From various reports, he will address the nation "soon", "at the right time", or "in a few days", but there hasn't even been a peep on Twitter since Saturday. It's perhaps even more intriguing that his chief flack, Ms Psaki, is nowhere to be found:

Fox News reported late Sunday night that Psaki “is taking a break from her duties” while pretty much everyone questions “the silence of President Joe Biden.”

When Fox’s Micheal Lee attempted to make contact with Psaki multiple times via email on Sunday, he was sent an autoreply “out of office” message. Psaki apparently won’t be returning calls until August 23rd, or approximately three days after our last local friend or military contractor has been tortured and murdered.

Biden's public daily schedule for today carries just one entry, "The President receives the President’s Daily Brief [Note: Time not specified]", at Camp David. According to this report, the White House has called a lid for the day.

Meanwhile, Republican Sen Cotton appears to be the entity who's coordinating communication for US citizens caught behind Taliban checkpoints.

Cotton’s office opened its phone lines to citizens in Kabul who need help, according to a tweet the Senator sent out earlier Sunday, asking anyone in need to make contact. [New York Times reporter Maggie] Haberman tweeted Sunday night that Cotton’s office received calls from “multiple U.S. citizens” requiring help.

“If you’re an American stranded in Afghanistan, or know one who is, please contact my office immediately: (501) 223-9081 or evac@cotton.senate.gov The situation is dire, but we’ll do everything in our power to help keep you informed and to help get you out,” Cotton’s office said Sunday.

It is not immediately clear what the Biden administration is doing to rescue perhaps thousands of Americans trapped in Kabul, though it was reported Sunday afternoon that the U.S. military is now handling air traffic control on several runways at Kabul airport, and the Biden administration is “prioritizing” the evacuation of American personnel.

However, a more recent report indicates

“The US military has suspended air operations at the Kabul airport while troops try to clear the airfield of Afghans who flooded the tarmac, per [CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr]. Biden’s national security advisers have made clear this a.m. they don’t consider the airport secure right now,” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins tweeted on Monday morning.

z The inaction from Biden and his handlers is disturbing to say the least and raises legitimate concerns, bolstered by the clip of Biden wandering through the shrubbery at the White House last week despite efforts by the Secret Service to shepherd him to the door, that he's not in a condition to handle the situation, and it's likely beyond the abilitiies of his handlers as well.

I suspect developments at some point will be rapid.

UPDATE: Biden will now address the country this afternoon.