The Taliban Are Victorious

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Victor Davis Hanson—a Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution—has written a sobering and lengthy article that discusses this obvious and ominous conclusion and its ramifications for all of us, as follows:  

Joe Biden’s scripted or no-questions press conferences, and the clean-up afterward by Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Jen Psaki, have been some of the most misleading episodes in modern presidential history—mostly in what was not said rather than was exaggerated, warped, and misrepresented.  

Biden as Commander-in-Chief

The more Joe Biden mutters “The buck stops here” or “I take full responsibility,” the more we know he will not—and not just because of his now reduced mental state, but because 1) he repeats the same opportunist messaging that he has for the last 50 years of his political career, and 2) the only true thing he could say was “I ordered a withdrawal in the most reckless manner in U.S. military history.”

When Biden then blames Donald Trump, it raises the immediate questions:

1) If the Afghanistan deal was so flawed, why did Biden stick with it, given his other radical departures from what he inherited on the border, on fossil fuels, on the Middle East—on just about everything before January 20, 2021?

2) So, was it good or bad to withdraw all U.S. troops? Was Trump wrong to have bequeathed him a policy of graduated withdrawal, but Biden was right to have continued it for a while—only to have accelerated it into surrender and flight?

3) Why did the violence erupt on Biden’s rather than on Trump’s watch? And was his order for a hasty flight in the dead of night from Bagram Air Base also the inherited Trump departure plan?

When Joe Biden now threatens al-Qaeda, ISIS-K, and others with revenge, he sounds, unfortunately, more like the ridiculous Joe of “Corn Pop” braggadocio with his weaponized chain, or Joe taking Trump behind the gym to womp on him, or young Joe Biden slamming the mouthy kid’s head on the lunch counter. Speaking softly with a club is preferable to being loud with a twig.

We have all heard, ad nauseam, too many of Biden’s He-Man stories. The latest rhetoric does not hide the fact that Biden had opposed the Osama bin Laden raid, criticized the termination of Qasem Soleimani, left Afghanistan in the most shameful retreat in U.S. history, and is now begging the Saudis to pump more oil after cutting back on our ample supplies and trashing Riyadh as part of his return to the Obama pivot to Iran. 

Biden loves appeasement lists. He provided the Taliban with a list of whom we wished to evacuate. (When the Taliban soon knock on the door of an American in Kabul who thinks their message will be, “We’re here to escort you to your flight”?) In the same manner, Biden provided Putin with a helpful list of institutions he wanted Putin’s satellite cyber-criminals to exempt from hacking. 

The blame for this sordid mess is threefold: 

1) The media that knew Biden was debilitated and so covered up that fact to carry the candidate across the finish line in November. 

2) The Democratic apparat that envisioned Biden lasting just long enough (the country be damned) to provide the needed cover of a sharply left-wing agenda. 

3) The Pentagon’s top brass, active and retired, who for years leaked about and obstructed Trump, sought to toady up to the press in its “wokeness,” and posed as speaking truth to power, but have now gone strangely silent when we need public voices to oppose the present Afghanistan nihilism of the administration.

Partnering With the Taliban

The Taliban are to al-Qaeda and ISIS as the Nazis in World War II were to fellow fascists of the Spanish Blue Division, the Hungarian Arrow Cross, and the Romanian Iron Guard—ethnic and ideological variants of the same radical nihilist cause. No act of terror goes on in Afghanistan without someone in the Taliban ordering or allowing it. Their “ring” around the airport is only an obstruction for whom they choose: Americans and their allies. 

The Taliban may for a moment seek plausible deniability of suicide bombings to hasten the U.S. departure in shame, temporarily disavowing credit for slaughtering Americans as they leave. But as soon as U.S. soldiers are gone, the Taliban will give free rein to its hounds al-Qaeda and ISIS, brag that they drove out the United States, and then resume their accustomed murdering and raping of civilians. We should expect lots of silent, under-the-table Bowe Bergdahl-type swaps, trades, and humiliations for the next year or so. We will likely sell out our former friends in the Northern Alliance, pay cash under the table per hostage head, and lie about a “new” Taliban. 

So, should we laugh or cry when General Kenneth McKenzie assures us that the Taliban and the U.S. military have the same agenda: Americans exiting Afghanistan as soon as possible? 

Yes, their agenda is the Pentagon exiting Afghanistan as soon as possible—but with the greatest global humiliation, loss of life, and general sense of defeat. In contrast, our agenda is to leave Afghanistan soberly and methodically, even if that means regaining Bagram for as long as necessary to achieve our own strategic goals.

The Abandoned Arsenal

The administration never mentions the vast horde of U.S. weaponry that was simply abandoned to the Taliban. Why? Is it to be “$80 billion here, thousands of machine guns there—no big deal”?

Estimates of the trove’s value range from $70 billion to $90 billion. The stockpile likely includes 80,000 vehicles, including 4,700 late-model Humvees, 600,000 weapons of various sorts, 162,643 pieces of communications equipment, more than 200 aircraft, and 16,000 pieces of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, including late-model drones. Especially worrisome are the loss of night-vision equipment, 20,000-plus grenades, and 1,400 grenade launchers, as well as more than 7,000 machine guns—the perfect equipment for jihadist terror operations and asymmetrical street fighting. 

We can look at this disaster in a number of depressing ways. One would be to compare this giveaway to military aid given to Israel over the last 70 years, which more or less has amounted to about an aggregate $100 billion. In other words, in one fell swoop, the Pentagon deposited into Taliban hands about 80 percent of all the military aid that we’ve ever given to Israelsince the founding of the Jewish state. In terms of tactical and operational capability, the Taliban may now be the best-equipped terrorist force in Asia and the Middle East.

Assume that for the next quarter-century, Afghanistan will become not just the world’s training haven for Islamic terrorists, but an international, no-questions-asked, cash-on-the-barrel arms market for anti-Western terrorist cliques. 

Or we can assess the damage psychologically. For the immediate future (possibly over the next few days or weeks), American soldiers could face the prospect of being attacked or killed by those who are outfitted in their own mirror image, and they might be blown up by their own former weapons. 

Yet the media never asked for, nor did the Pentagon volunteer, any explanation of why such stocks were simply abandoned, or at least not destroyed before fleeing, or not later bombed. Since nothing makes sense, we must strain the imagination: was the $80 billion in arms given as de facto bribe money to get our own out? 

In addition, the beefed-up U.S. embassy in Kabul reportedly cost nearly $1 billion, comparable to America’s most expensive embassy in London. It will now become a Taliban stronghold. Bagram Air Base—originally built with U.S. help and money during the Eisenhower Administration—has been updated with hundreds of millions of dollars of American investment in the last 20 years, in buildings, a new runway, personnel accommodations, detention facilities, and infrastructure. 

Although it had been the target of several Taliban attacks, Bagram was largely considered defensible. It allowed coalition and Afghan forces to enjoy 100 percent air superiority over the entire country. Biden talks endlessly of the “over the horizon” capability of distant bases and ships, while omitting that he destroyed “right over the target” current capability. Why these vital American investments were simply surrendered in the dead of night to looters first, and Taliban second, will be an object of controversy and investigation for decades to come. To think of anything similar, imagine the British surrender of Singapore in 1942 or a combination of Fort Sumter, the burning of Washington in 1814, and Wake Island, December 1941.

The End of American Stature

Regional countries will no longer wish to join the United States in any war on terror because they know they are always just one election from a radical flip-flop in American foreign policy. There is no such thing anymore as bipartisan foreign affairs, since policy is seen as an extension of the revolutionary agendas here at home. Our allies are concluding that the United States is not a bastion of sobriety and careful deliberation that takes its leadership of the free world seriously, but a mercurial, radical leftist country that in a second may self-immolate, as we did in the woke summer of 2020. 

Donald Trump reportedly offended NATO members and weakened the alliance by his bombast. Perhaps, but the record shows a funny type of allied enervation, because his jawboning resulted in a much larger NATO budget, marked gains in military expenditures on the part of NATO members, and a dramatic increase in those nations finally meeting or nearly meeting their two percent of GDP military investment promises. 

And during the Trump Administration, NATO nations could claim that they destroyed ISIS in Syria under U.S. leadership, kept Afghanistan safe while reducing troops, frightened Iran, and taught Russians in Syria not to assault U.S. garrisons. For all the graduated withdrawals of the United States from Afghanistan in 2010-2020, not a single U.S. soldier had died in the 12 months prior to the inauguration of Joe Biden.  

But now? Most of the major NATO nations have condemned the U.S. skedaddle from Afghanistan. They are angry that they were not consulted, and not synchronized in the complex airlift and withdrawal. And they resent the “every man for himself” unilateralism on the part of the United States.

We cannot expect the European NATO members to stand with the United States in trying to check Chinese aggression. The alliance will no longer badger Germany to cease its new de facto economic alliance with Russia or to stand firm against Russian bullying of frontline NATO states, or to present a unified skeptical front about reentering the flawed Iran deal. Differing views about assistance to Israel will only acerbate. NATO members, rightly or wrongly, feel they were bullied into Afghanistan by the United States, and 20 years later outnumbered the U.S. contingent by nearly fourfold—only to be left stunned as their supposed spiritual and military leader fled first for the exits, after itself surrendering the country to NATO enemies. 

The Future

In an ideal world, Biden would order a nocturnal retaking of Bagram, shift all U.S. evacuation efforts there, and provide air cover for incoming and outcoming flights as well as retaliatory strikes on terrorist enclaves as necessary. He would tell the Taliban that $80 billion of free military stuff was enough of bribes and that any more obstructive efforts will be met with bombs, not more cash and weapons.  

Joe Biden thinks August 31, 2021, is the “end” of Afghanistan. In fact, it is a new beginning of yet another chapter in the much despised “war on terror.” But this time around, the Taliban are victorious. They have been reinvented as the best-equipped jihadist nation in the world, basking in the prestige of humiliating the world’s superpower, and will take ownership of hundreds of billions of dollars of Western investment in infrastructure in Afghanistan’s major cities. 

This disaster can be attributed to Biden’s apparent desire for a 9/11 “no more Afghanistan” anniversary parade—itself to be staged to hide his multifaceted border, economy, energy, and foreign policy failures.

The Chinese are debating now whether to ramp up the assault rhetoric against Taiwan, as more Chinese voices conclude that Biden would support the Taiwanese in meager fashion, as he did U.S. contractors and Afghan interpreters. The Russians are pondering which exposed NATO country or which former Soviet republic might be probed and dissected—in expectation of a tough-guy Biden Corn-Pop lecture but not much else. Kim Jong-un is considering replaying his old role of rocket man, as he calibrates the Biden responses to more missiles launched in Japanese air or water space.

Watch Iran especially. The theocracy believes this is the most opportune time in 20 years to announce that it is or will soon be nuclear, to unleash Hezbollah, and to step up global terrorist operations on the assumption that Biden will bow his head and declare “We do not forgive; we do not forget” and then retire for an early nap.[2]  

This article echoes what I have written here:

(1) [O]ur trillion-dollar project to plant Western democracy in a Muslim nation has failed dramatically; (2) our final departure from Kabul may become, like JFK’s Bay of Pigs, a synonym for American failure; (3) NATO may collapse, for all intents and purposes; (4) a few mortar shells landing on the tarmac of the lone runway in Kabul, and no plane can fly in or out . . . ; (5) our Afghan allies face murderous reprisals and retribution; (6) the Americans left in Kabul and other cities may become hostages to the Taliban; (7) the future looks grim for those left behind; (8) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin [should] be sacked; (9) our intelligence agencies have failed us; [(10) the world is watching with horror or glee, depending on whether one is a friend or foe; (11) China may move on Taiwan, while Russia moves on Ukraine; (12) the possibilities of 9/11-like attacks on the American mainland are not beyond the pale of reason; and (13) we have Brain Dead Joe Biden in the White House, with Willie Brown’s ho Kamala Harris standing in the wings to succede him.][3]

These are disturbing conclusions for all of us, certainly in the midst of so many American deaths and so much suffering from China’s Coronavirus and its mutations, physically, psychologically and economically—with more to come.[4]

 

 

© 2021, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams; and he can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com   

[2] See https://amgreatness.com/2021/08/29/our-afghan-nightmare-tanks-for-nothing/

[3] See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2021/08/20/afghanistan-the-future-looks-grim-for-those-left-behind/ 

[4] See https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/last-plane-carrying-americans-afghanistan-departs-nation-s-longest-war-n1278012 (“Last plane carrying Americans from Afghanistan departs as longest U.S. war concludes”) and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9941147/Pentagon-says-troops-left-Afghanistan-just-midnight-Kabul.html (“Pentagon confirms the LAST US troops and evacuation flights have left Afghanistan just after midnight in Kabul: Taliban ‘takes control of airport and celebrates with gunfire’ as 20-year war ends”) 

Censorship At DIA, No Wonder We Lost Afghanistan

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

I spent two years working in the Pentagon, where I served as an Army officer assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).  When I finished my service there—as a Captain—I received the distinguished Joint Service Commendation Medal, before going to work in the U.S. Senate.[2]

Like many organizations, DIA has an alumni group, which ostensibly posts comments about timely issues.  None is more important today than the collapse of our great nation’s presence in Afghanistan, and the loss of American, allied and Afghan lives.  It is front and center globally.  Yet, a former DIA employee, James Beirne—who presumably was a civilian when he worked there—has decided to ban my comments, which constitutes gross and unconscionable censorship.  Americans have fought and died for our freedoms; and they are dying in Afghanistan today, to preserve them.[3]

No wonder Afghanistan constitutes a colossal defeat for the United States, which may surpass the fall of Saigon and Vietnam, and the Bay of Pigs fiasco, in terms of its national gravity.  Presumably Beirne is part of the reckless “cancel culture,” which has no place in America today.  He is a stain on the DIA where I worked before him, with outstanding co-workers who contributed greatly to our national security.

Beirne should resign in disgrace.  Our nation is not well served by the likes of him.  Indeed, the association’s motto is “Still Serving in Defense of the Nation.”  Clearly, Beirne is not doing this, especially in crucial times like this when China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin—and our other adversaries globally—are watching every move that we make, and gauging their responses accordingly.[4] 

America does not need traitors at this critical juncture in our history. 

 

© 2021, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6, https://naegeleblog.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/timothy-d.-naegele-resume-21-8-6.pdf

He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).

Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams; and he can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com   

[2] See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6, https://naegeleblog.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/timothy-d.-naegele-resume-21-8-6.pdf

[3] See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9931085/Joe-Biden-tense-forth-interesting-guy-Steve-Doocy-Fox-News.html (“Nowhere to hide, Joe: President adopts fetal position pose as he crumbles under questioning from Fox News reporter Peter Doocy and tries to blame Trump for the catastrophe in Afghanistan”)

On August 26, 2021, Beirne posted the following notice:

“You can’t post or comment in this group.
“The admin has temporarily turned off your ability to post or comment in the group until September 23, 2021, 2:07 PM.”

Needless to say, by late September, the world will know in meticulous detail what an unmitigated disaster Afghanistan has become for the United States, our friends in Afghanistan, and our allies globally.

See also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2021/08/26/the-biden-harris-presidency-has-ended/ (“The Biden-Harris Presidency Has Ended”)

[4]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9905015/China-vows-crush-troops-Taiwan-force-Biden-abandoned-Afghanistan.html (“China vows to ‘crush’ any US troops on Taiwan ‘by force’ and conducts live fire naval exercises in South China Sea after Biden abandoned Afghanistan”)

The Biden-Harris Presidency Has Ended

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Yes, it hasn’t come to an end officially, yet.  But for all intents and purposes, it is done.  Lyndon Johnson’s presidency was finished after the fall of Saigon and Vietnam.  He was hated, and could not run for reelection.[2]

The tragedy of epic proportions that is emerging in Afghanistan and the fall of its capital Kabul, and America’s humiliation at the hands of the Taliban, has trumpeted the end of the Biden-Harris presidency to the world—to friends and foes alike.[3]

Is Joe Biden “Brain Dead”?  All indications are that this is true.[4]  But in a sense, it is irrelevant.  The world has watched the only true superpower disgraced like perhaps never before.[5]  And the ripple effects will spread far and wide.[6]

The rise of Coronavirus hospitalizations in the United States adds an exclamation point to this.[7]  Needless to say, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are watching these developments closely.  As “chess masters,” they will be calibrating their moves accordingly; and they are observing America mired down, like Gulliver and the Lilliputians.[8]

 

 

© 2021, Timothy D. Naegele

_____

 

[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams; and he can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com   

[2] See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#1968_presidential_election

[3] See, e.g., https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/25/world/asia/afghanistan-evacuations-estimates.html (“At Least 250,000 Afghans Who Worked With U.S. Haven’t Been Evacuated, Estimates Say”)

[4] See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2020/08/08/biden-is-brain-dead/ (“Biden Is Brain Dead”) 

[5]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9905015/China-vows-crush-troops-Taiwan-force-Biden-abandoned-Afghanistan.html (“China vows to ‘crush’ any US troops on Taiwan ‘by force’ and conducts live fire naval exercises in South China Sea after Biden abandoned Afghanistan”) 

[6]  See, e.g., https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/08/28/after-afghanistan-where-next-for-global-jihad (“After Afghanistan, where next for global jihad?”)

[7]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9929493/More-100-000-Americans-hospitalized-COVID-19-time-January.html (“More than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized with COVID-19 for the first time since January: Doctors say they’ve had to turn away patients as virus cases rise 138% over the last month”)

[8] See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver%27s_Travels

President Donald Trump speech in Cullman, Alabama

See (1) https://youtu.be/rxpzV1pohYI or (2) https://rsbnetwork.com/video/president-donald-trump-rally-live-in-cullman-al-8-21-21/ and (3) https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/08/22/donald-trump-plays-gen-patton-speech-at-rally-were-tired-of-woke-generals/ (“Donald Trump Plays Gen. Patton Speech at Rally: We’re Tired of ‘Woke’ Generals”)

See also https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9914901/Donald-Trump-blasts-Joe-Biden-disastrous-withdrawal-Afghanistan-Alabama-rally.html (“‘It’s the greatest military defeat of all time’: Trump rages at Biden over chaotic Afghanistan exit at rally and calls it a ‘total surrender’ that ‘would never have happened if I was president'”)

Afghanistan, The Future Looks Grim For Those Left Behind

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Pat Buchanan—an adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, and a former GOP presidential aspirant himself—has written a sobering article that discusses this obvious and ominous conclusion and its ramifications for all of us, as follows:

In Afghanistan, the mission failure appears complete.

The trillion-dollar project to plant Western democracy in a Muslim nation historically fabled for driving out imperial intruders has crashed and burned after 20 years, and the Taliban are suddenly back in power.

After investing scores of billions in training and arming a force of 350,000 Afghani troops, the U.S. could not stand up an army and a government that could survive our departure.

And the final U.S. departure from Hamid Karzai International Airport may become, like JFK’s Bay of Pigs, a synonym for American debacle.

Nor is the failure ours alone. Many of our principal allies were heavily invested. The British are now attempting to bring their people out of Kabul under the same conditions as ours.

The leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party and possibly the next chancellor of Germany, Armin Laschet, calls the withdrawal “the biggest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding.”

Three decades ago, after the breakup of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, Republican Sen. Richard Lugar said that NATO, having lost the rationale for its existence — containment of the Soviet Union — would now have “to go out of area or go out of business.”

Cynics might say that, in Afghanistan, NATO did both.

After 9/11, “the most successful alliance in history” invoked Article 5 and backed the U.S. war to oust the Taliban and annihilate the Al Qaeda terrorists who had carried out 9/11. Many sent troops.

But there could be worse to come.

While there are about 4,000 U.S. troops at the Kabul airport, U.S. control does not extend beyond the airport perimeter.

When asked if U.S. troops could enter Kabul and extract American citizens, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin replied, “I don’t have the capability to go out and extend operations currently into Kabul.” Americans in Kabul and other cities must make their own way to the Kabul airport.

The U.S. thus depends today upon the sufferance of the Taliban to let the Americans through the gridlocked highway. Many Afghan allies are being impeded and turned back. Having aided our troops during the war, these Afghan allies face murderous reprisals and retribution.

There are other present perils.

A few mortar shells landing on the tarmac of the lone runway at HKIA, and no plane can fly in or out until the runway is repaired. The arrival of troops and supplies, and any daily departure of 5,000 to 9,000 people, would be halted.

If fighting is renewed, the Americans left in Kabul and other cities become hostages to the Taliban. And there are many more out there than the 52 Americans held by Iran in the hostage crisis that ended the presidency of Jimmy Carter.

The U.S. does, however, retain leverage. U.S. airpower can still do damage to the Taliban, and the U.S. can veto any International Monetary Fund money and cut the Taliban’s access to Afghanistan’s financial reserves in U.S. banks.

Without cash, the Taliban will have a hellish time providing for the necessities the country needs to stay viable.

Right now, the Americans and the Taliban need each other. The Taliban need time to consider their control, and the Americans need time to get their people and their Afghan allies out.

Thus, the Taliban are putting on a moderate face at the top level.

Yet, given the character of the Taliban, as revealed in its previous tenure, and the desire for revenge against those who have been killing Taliban comrades, the future looks grim for those left behind.

When Saigon fell in 1975, its armed forces went into re-education camps — concentration camps. Hundreds of thousands of civilians fled on rafts, many to their deaths in the South China Sea. The Cambodians who backed us underwent a genocide, with a fraction of the entire population annihilated by the Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot.

As for the damage done to Joe Biden’s presidency, it is significant and permanent. The collapse of the regime, and the botched withdrawal of U.S. troops, U.S. citizens and Afghan friends and allies, have tarnished any reputation for competence Biden had.

As for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Austin, it is hard to see either surviving long in their positions after learning they did not see coming the imminent and worst foreign policy debacle since the fall of Saigon.

Did the U.S. intelligence agencies see it coming? Did they fail to inform the Pentagon or White House?

After the Bay of Pigs in April 1961, former CIA Director Allen Dulles, who had a role in the failed invasion, was, after a decent interval of six months, cashiered.

One imagines that senior Biden officials’ heads will roll well before that date in the Biden administration. For in this disaster, it seems, no one saw it coming so soon, or becoming so sweeping.[2]

What Pat Buchanan is saying emphatically is that (1) our trillion-dollar project to plant Western democracy in a Muslim nation has failed dramatically; (2) our final departure from Kabul may become, like JFK’s Bay of Pigs, a synonym for American failure; (3) NATO may collapse, for all intents and purposes; (4) a few mortar shells landing on the tarmac of the lone runway in Kabul, and no plane can fly in or out, and the arrival of troops and supplies and any daily departure of American citizens and others would be halted; (5) our Afghan allies face murderous reprisals and retribution; (6) the Americans left in Kabul and other cities may become hostages to the Taliban; (7) the future looks grim for those left behind; (8) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will be sacked; and (9) our intelligence agencies have failed us.

Obviously, the world is watching with horror or glee, depending on whether one is a friend or foe.  China may move on Taiwan, while Russia moves on Ukraine.  And the possibilities of 9/11-like attacks on the American mainland are not beyond the pale of reason, while Americans remain traumatized by the Coronavirus’ effects, physically, psychologically and economically—which China launched, and whether the vaccines are really effective.  Meanwhile, we have Brain Dead Joe Biden in the White House, with Willie Brown’s ho Kamala Harris standing in the wings to succede him.[3]

 

 

© 2021, Timothy D. Naegele

_____

 

[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams; and he can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com   

[2] See https://buchanan.org/blog/aftermath-of-an-afghanistan-debacle-149926%22

[3] See also https://www.gingrich360.com/2021/08/18/with-the-talibans-victory-a-caliphate-rises-from-the-ashes/ (“With the Taliban’s Victory, a Caliphate Rises from the Ashes”) (“[A]fter President Biden announced his decision in April to withdraw all American forces from Afghanistan, the U.S. pulled its air support and intelligence for the Afghan military. As a result, the Afghans couldn’t operate. . . . The Biden administration even refused to allow private contractors from entering Afghanistan to service Afghan aircraft. . . . America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is about to unleash hell on the Afghan people. That’s undeniable. Whether the withdrawal leads to disaster elsewhere in the world remains to be seen”)

The Tragedy Of Afghanistan

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

The photo below is of a young Afghan woman who was disfigured years ago.  Her turmoil was discussed here[2]; and her plight is cited again, because what happened to her may be illustrative of what happens to so many Afghan women and young girls in the days and months to come.  They will be raped, disfigured and become sexual slaves of the Taliban.  It will be as if the gates of Hell have been opened wide to them, and there is no mercy or kindness in this world.

The same thing happened in Syria and in the countries of Africa; and human trafficking is a fact of life in the United States and globally.[3]  Also, the harvesting of human body parts is real and happens every day in Mexico and elsewhere.[4]  Some of us are so repulsed by such thoughts that we say prayers for the victims, but turn our attentions elsewhere.  We need to stay as positive as possible in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic that has claimed so many lives, and hurt others physically, psychologically and economically.[5]

Historically, Mujahideen fighters helped the United States drive the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan, which led to the collapse of the “Evil Empire” ultimately.  Instead of helping them, Congress turned its back, just like it abandoned our allies in Vietnam.  The Mujahideen fighters morphed into today’s Taliban, who quite naturally have hated Americans ever since, after being betrayed.[6]

Seared into the memories of some of us are the images of people being airlifted from the roof of our embassy in Saigon, before Vietnam fell, which has been occurring in Kabul as America abandons that doomed capital too.[7]  And then there was the day when we turned on our TVs to watch the twin towers collapsing in New York City on 9/11, as well as the Pentagon—where I had worked—being attacked, and the passenger jet crashing in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.[8]

It has been written that the fall of Afghanistan and the slaughter there, and the raping and enslavement of Afghan women and young girls, will haunt the Democrats for a generation.  Surely, it is the defining moment of the failed Biden-Harris presidency, just as Lyndon Johnson could not run for reelection in the wake of the Vietnam tragedy.[9]  Like the image below, at the very least the fall of Afghanistan may produce scenes that are never forgotten by Americans or others globally.

Lastly, the open question is whether the fall of Afghanistan and America’s humiliation will create or trigger a “domino effect,” whereby other countries in the region (or globally) fall, which have been our allies?  Obituaries will be written for decades to come, and the victors will write theirs.[10] But right now our prayers are with our friends in Afghanistan who will suffer terribly.  Some will wonder where a loving God is, in the midst of so much madness.

 

 

 

© 2021, Timothy D. Naegele

_____

 

[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams; and he can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/obama-in-afghanistan-doomed-from-the-start/ (“Obama In Afghanistan: Doomed From The Start?”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/are-afghanistan-iraq-and-pakistan-hopeless-and-is-the-spread-of-radical-islam-inevitable-and-is-barack-obama-finished-as-americas-president/ (“Are Afghanistan, Iraq And Pakistan Hopeless, And Is The Spread Of Radical Islam Inevitable, And Is Barack Obama Finished As America’s President?”) (see also the comments beneath these articles)

[3]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/10/25/remembering-the-comfort-women-victims-of-human-trafficking-and-slavery/ (“Remembering The Comfort Women, Victims Of Human Trafficking And Slavery”) (see also the comments beneath this article)

[4]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/who-is-next-the-murder-of-a-young-american-and-the-harvesting-of-his-body-parts-in-mexico/ (“Who Is Next? The Murder Of A Young American And The Harvesting Of His Body Parts In Mexico”) (see also the comments beneath this article)

[5] See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/timothy-d.-naegele.pdf (“The Coronavirus and Similar Global Issues: How to Address Them”)

[6]  See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_mujahideen (“Afghan mujahideen”) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_mujahideen#Relationship_with_the_Taliban

[7]  See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon (“Fall of Saigon”)

[8] See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks (“September 11 attacks”); and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanksville,_Pennsylvania#September_11,_2001

[9] See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#1968_presidential_election

[10]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9896007/Taliban-commander-gives-press-conference-INSIDE-Kabuls-Presidential-Palace.html (“Taliban leader claims he ‘spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay’ in triumphant speech from Kabul palace as Islamists seize Afghanistan – while thousands fight to flee country out chaotic scenes at airport”)

Is America Becoming a Failed State?

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Pat Buchanan—an adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, and a former GOP presidential aspirant himself—has written a sobering article that asks this ominous question, as follows:

Suddenly, Sunday, a riveting report came over cable news:

The U.S. embassy was urging all Americans to “leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.” Message: Get out while you can.

Adding urgency was news that three northern provincial capitals, including Kunduz city, had fallen to the Taliban, making it five provincial capitals overrun since Friday.

The huge investment in blood and treasure by the United States over two decades to remake Afghanistan appears about to be wiped out, whole and entire, and we appear about to sustain our worst diplomatic and political defeat since the fall of Saigon.

Not once in this century has the U.S. decisively won one of the wars it launched — in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen or Libya. And the sole superpower status we enjoyed as the 21st century began is gone with the wind.

Yet America’s hawks are urging us to give a new war guarantee to Taiwan, should Beijing exercise its claim, though former President Richard Nixon and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger assented in 1972 that Taiwan is “a part of China.”

Before we issue any war guarantee to Taipei, we might consider the Pentagon’s evaluation of the results of a recent war game in which the U.S. confronted China over Taiwan.

How did it go? Says vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten, “Without overstating the issue, it failed miserably.

“An aggressive red team that had been studying the United States for the last 20 years just ran rings around us. … They knew exactly what we were going to do before we did it, and they took advantage of it.”

Are we Americans prepared, in any way, for an air-sea-and-missile war in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific over islands they claim as their historic national territory but we have never claimed as ours?

Here at home, the COVID-19 pandemic, now in a fourth wave, is infecting 100,000 Americans every day, with hospitalizations rising commensurately. For that third of a nation still unvaccinated, the delta variant is a potential death sentence.

Despite this medical crisis that is common to us all, our political divide is manifesting itself in savage battles over vaccinations, masks and mandates.

And while COVID-19 continues to infect, hospitalize and kill, scores of thousands of Americans are being annually lost to drug overdoses and opioids. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 93,000 overdose deaths occurred across the country in 2020, and 3 in 4 fatal overdoses can be attributed to opioids.

More Americans are dying yearly from overdoses and opioids than all the Americans dead during the war in Vietnam.

The U.S. trade deficit numbers just came in for June, where the deficit in goods alone increased to $91 billion for the month. This translates into $1 trillion a year.

The largest component of that trade deficit is with China — an extraordinary level of U.S. dependency on a foreign nation for the vital necessities of its national life, let alone on an adversary like China.

On our southern border, an invasion of our country is taking place.

Every month President Joe Biden has been in office, illegal border crossings have increased. In June, Border Patrol recorded 178,000 border arrests — a 571% jump from June 2020. Border arrests have already reached their highest since 2000 and are on track to reach 1.8 million this year.

Biden is failing in his first constitutional duty — to defend the United States from foreign invasion. We Americans no longer decide who comes into our national home and whom we shall adopt as new citizens. Others decide, others determine our future, for us.

We defend the borders of scores of nations; we cannot, or Biden will not, defend our own. And, as former President Ronald Reagan reminded us, a country that can’t or won’t defend its borders isn’t really a country anymore.

In our great cities, public shootings and killings have begun to exceed those of previous years. Police, under attack and abuse from the elites and people they protect, are resigning and retiring in record numbers.

Consider.

America is unable to win the wars she chooses to fight. She cannot or will not control and defend her borders from a mass migrant invasion. She cannot halt an outbreak of criminality and killing in her great cities. She has not run a trade surplus in four decades. Her dependency upon foreign producers is unprecedented. And her budget deficits continue to break records every year — as does her soaring national debt.

Is that not the description of a failed or failing state?

Asked by a despondent young friend if the defeat at Saratoga and potential loss of the American colonies meant the ruin of Britain, Adam Smith assured him, “There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”

Britain would go on from the loss of her 13 colonies to create the greatest empire since Rome.

Yet if there is “a great deal of ruin in a nation,” we Americans certainly appear to be testing those limits.[2]

Add in the fact that Joe Biden is considered to be “brain dead,” or advancing toward that sad result[3]—which the world is watching with horror or glee, depending on whether one is a friend or foe—and Willie Brown’s former ho Kamala Harris stands in the wings ready to become our President, the United States may be poised at the edge of a precipice.  Needless to say, this was predictable even before Biden and Harris assumed their offices.[4]

 

 

© 2021, Timothy D. Naegele

_____

 

[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams; and he can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com   

[2] See https://buchanan.org/blog/is-america-becoming-a-failed-state-149897

[3] See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9885569/Biden-confuses-Gov-Gretchen-Whitmer-Energy-Secretary-Jennifer-Granholm.html (“President Biden has yet ANOTHER ‘senior moment’ by confusing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm a day after he ignored Secret Service agent directing him into the White House”)

[4] See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2021/01/13/the-day-america-died/ (“The Day America Died?”)

 

What Should Anyone Believe About The Coronavirus And Its Mutations?

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

In June of last year, an article of mine was published nationally about the Coronavirus.[2] I have kept abreast of the developments ever since, right up to and including today.

I received both doses of the Moderna vaccine in January and February of this year, without any noticeable ill effects. I only did so because a friend—who has had at least two open-heart surgeries—went ahead and was vaccinated with the same vaccine, again with no noticeable ill effects.

I have two friends who have steadfastly refused to be vaccinated. One is a law school classmate of mine; and the other is a retired engineer. For a while, I was alerting both as to where they could be vaccinated for free; and then I stopped, because I sensed that I was alienating them. This is the last thing that I wanted to do. Every American has freedom of choice, or at least they should have.

Since its arrival in the United States, the Coronavirus has mutated into the “Delta variant” and now the “Lambda variant,” and it is anyone’s guess how many more mutations will occur. Perhaps the biggest issues today are how to curb the Coronavirus’ spread, and whether small children should be vaccinated.

Because the vaccines were rushed into production, adequate multi-year testing has not been completed yet. Also, they are said to be “gene-altering,” which is an assumable risk for Senior Citizens, but not for little kids—much less for pregnant mothers, because of the risks to their fetuses.

All of this presents an enormous conundrum for Americans, regardless of their skin colors, ethnicities, religious or political persuasions. Indeed, my friend who prompted me to get vaccinated says that he doesn’t know what to believe anymore, which is true of vast numbers of Americans. 

 

 

© 2021, Timothy D. Naegele

_____

 

[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams; and he can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See Naegele, “The Coronavirus And Similar Global Issues: How To Address Them?”or https://naegeleblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/timothy-d.-naegele.pdf (Timothy D. Naegele, “The Coronavirus And Similar Global Issues: How To Address Them,” Banking Law Journal (June 2020)) 

California Is A Mess, And Its State Bar Remains The Most Odious Trade Association In America

  By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Many Americans hate California with a passion, and would not be saddened if it broke off from the Union and drifted out to sea.[2]  There is a recall movement to get rid of its Governor Gavin Newsom, who is related to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.[3]  The state’s two principal cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco, are awash in crime.[4]  And who can forget the killing of Kate Steinle at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf by an illegal alien, who had been released from incarceration multiple times.[5]

I grew up in the suburbs of LA, a mile or so west of the UCLA campus in Westwood; and I have fond memories of those days, and of the public schools that I attended.  Some of my classmates were scions of famous Hollywood and industrial families, or became famous on their own.[6]  Others came from humble beginnings.  Yet, we were all friends.  I was repulsed by the elitism of private schools and private clubs that discriminate.  Today, I have been told that the quality of public school education has deteriorated—even before the Coronavirus pandemic lockdowns[7]—which is sad.

After law school at Berkeley and before relocating to Washington, D.C.—to serve as an Army officer at the Pentagon, and work in the U.S. Senate[8]—I took and passed the arduous California Bar examination on the first try.  I was very proud of that fact.  Yet, for too long to remember, I have been ashamed to be a member of what is surely the most odious trade association of its kind in the United States.[9]  Like so much of California’s body politics, the State Bar of California has been infected from top to bottom, and must be eliminated completely.  It does not serve the best interests of Californians, much less the state’s minorities.[10]

Even more critically, some of its tactics and actions are heavy-handed, vicious, duplicitous and fascist; and the moral equivalents of authoritarian regimes—or Stasi “police state” in their nature, which destroyed countless lives and crushed the human spirit.  In his prescient “Animal Farm,” George Orwell wrote about how all of the animals were equal until the Pigs reigned supreme and subjugated the other animals.[11]

Having been effectively put out of business when Pete Wilson was California’s Governor, the State Bar has come roaring back with a vengeance.[12]  It is worse than ever, trying to suppress legitimate criticism, and free speech and expression.  Each of us must be true to ourselves; and if necessary, fight against such injustices, oppression, and ravenous and rabid abuse—and the “gotcha” or “cancel” culture that is vindictive and engages in “witch hunts” and harassment, to intimidate, silence and destroy Americans.[13]

 

 

© 2021, Timothy D. Naegele

_____

 

[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams; and he can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See, e.g., https://kmph.com/news/offbeat/california-is-3rd-most-hated-state-in-us-according-to-survey (“California is 3rd most hated state in U.S., according to survey”) and https://medium.californiasun.co/why-people-hate-california-79a52606d781 (“Why do so many people seem to hate California?”)

[3]  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Newsom#2021_recall and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Newsom#Early_life

[4]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9812207/Moment-victim-shoots-attackers-legs-brazen-Los-Angeles-robbery.html (“Moment victim pulls a gun on his would-be attackers and shoots them in the legs during brazen Los Angeles robbery”) and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9811753/Two-thieves-brazenly-rob-TJ-Maxx-rash-California-shoplifting-continues.html (“License to shoplift: Two thieves brazenly stroll out of TJ Maxx with armfuls of clothes and LAPD cop says ‘criminals are winning’ because new law classes theft under $950 as a misdemeanor”) and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9760789/Horde-shoplifters-fled-San-Franciscos-Neiman-Marcus-undeterred-carrying-stolen-designer-goods.html (“‘Crime is basically legal in San Francisco’: Furious shopper posts video of horde of shoplifters fleeing Neiman Marcus – totally unchecked – with armfuls of designer bags”) and https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/22/us/california-water-thieves-drought/index.html (“Thieves in California are stealing scarce water amid extreme drought, ‘devastating’ some communities”); see also https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-california-dream-is-dying/ar-AAMoqBq (“The California Dream Is Dying”) 

Compare https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9849951/LA-Mayor-Eric-Garcetti-signs-order-criminalizing-homelessness-possible-fines-1-000.html (“Good luck getting your money! LA Mayor Eric Garcetti signs order criminalizing homelessness, with violators facing possible fines of up to $1,000”) with https://naegeleblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/timothy-d.-naegele.pdf (Timothy D. Naegele, “Homelessness In America”)

[5]  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Kate_Steinle (“Shooting of Kate Steinle”)

[6]  For example, the son of MGM studio chief Dore Schary; Jan Berry of the Jan and Dean singing group; Frank Sinatra’s daughter Nancy; Craig Bruderlin who became actor James Brolin, the father of actor Josh Brolin and husband of singer Barbra Streisand; the original “Gidget,” whose father wrote the book that spawned movies and TV shows; Robert Mitchum’s Jim; and the granddaughter of aircraft pioneer, Donald W. Douglas Sr.

Two high school friends of the author were killed during the Vietnam War.

[7]  See https://naegeleblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/timothy-d.-naegele.pdf (“The Coronavirus and Similar Global Issues: How to Address Them”); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2021/06/23/if-coronavirus-mutations-come-roaring-back-will-americans-listen-much-less-survive/ (“If Coronavirus Mutations Come Roaring Back, Will Americans Listen—Much Less Survive?”) and https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/well/live/covid-delta-variant-vaccine-symptoms.html (“Covid Delta Variant Safety: Your Questions Answered”) and https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-says-its-covid-19-shot-remains-93-effective-4-6-months-after-second-dose-2021-08-05/ (“Moderna says its COVID-19 shot 93% effective six months after second dose”) and https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fauci-says-fears-covid-variant-191712505.html (“Fauci fears a COVID variant worse than Delta could be coming”) and https://variety.com/2021/film/news/los-angeles-vaccine-mandate-city-council-1235039380/ (“Los Angeles Moves Ahead on Indoor Vaccine Mandate”)

[8]  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6

[9]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/the-state-bar-of-california-is-lawless-and-a-travesty-and-should-be-abolished/ (“The State Bar Of California Is Lawless And A Travesty, And Should Be Abolished”); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/the-american-legal-system-is-broken-can-it-be-fixed/ (“The American Legal System Is Broken: Can It Be Fixed?”)

[10]  See supra n.9

[11]  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm (“Animal Farm”)

[12]  See supra n.9

[13]  The author is very proud of his distinguished career, and his impressive and tangible accomplishments.  For example, he has helped millions of Americans (see, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6).  This may have fueled jealousies at the State Bar.  None of its employees have accomplished anything of significance.  They are a group of pygmies (or Pigs), or insufferable wastrels, all of whom should be fired summarily.  See supra notes 9 & 11.

The fact that these governmental losers and failed civil servants would waste their time contacting the author, when the Coronavirus’ “Delta variant” mutation is surging and attacking Los Angeles in particular (see, e.g., supra n.7), speaks volumes about them and the need to justify their existences (and salaries) as State Bar employees in the midst of the pandemic.  How brazen and cowardly, at the very least—pathetic but predictable; heavy-handed thugs who are the moral equivalents of Jimmy Hoffa’s Teamsters, trying to deprive people of their liberties, and carrying out a vendetta against the author for having the gall or chutzpah to ever challenge them.

Contrariwise, the author has never been accused of malpractice; and he has always done his very best.  In retrospect, he might not have represented and tried to help Californians in an Internet fraud lawsuit against Guthy-Renker.  Even though he proved fraud, a now-retired and incompetent U.S. District Judge (who is attempting to find work as an arbitrator) decided against his clients in 2002, almost 20 years ago; and they came after him.

First, they did so criminally by persuading the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. to bring an 11-count federal indictment against him.  Because he had done nothing wrong, he was vindicated completely in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  See Case 1:05-cr-00151-PLF; PACER Docket Sheet entry 301 (“It is hereby ORDERED that the defendant, Timothy D. Naegele, is acquitted, discharged, and any bond exonerated”); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/the-united-states-department-of-injustice/ (“The United States Department of Injustice”)

Not satisfied, his former clients sought recourse civilly in California.  Indeed, California arbitrators and its courts were only too happy to oblige, inter alia, ignoring binding law nationally in the process.  Next, the former clients sought his disbarment in California, essentially for having lost their civil lawsuit against Guthy-Renker.  This sends a chilling message loud and clear to every California lawyer or would-be lawyer that the loss of one lawsuit can destroy or tarnish an otherwise-successful legal career.

Given the arduous path that must be taken to become a lawyer, clearly the profession is not worth the risks for a myriad of reasons, at least in California.  Many of these issues are discussed in greater depth and detail in the author’s previous article about the State Bar, which has been read by more than 10,000.  See supra n.9; see also https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/devastating-anxiety-as-remote-bar-exam-tech-crashes-again (“‘Devastating’ Anxiety as Remote Bar Exam Tech Crashes Again”) and https://www.wsj.com/articles/law-school-student-debt-low-salaries-university-miami-11627991855 (“Law School Loses Luster as Debts Mount and Salaries Stagnate”) and https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/technical-problems-again-plague-remote-bar-examinees-who-blame-software-provider (“Technical problems again plague remote bar examinees, who blame software provider”) 

Since being admitted to the State Bar in 1966, the author handled very few matters in California, and less than a handful for individual clients.  He is not practicing law in California, nor holding himself out as doing so, but he is attacked and threatened anyway.

Lastly, it appears that the State Bar contacted the author on behalf of:

(1) a disgraced lawyer who had been disbarred by the State Bar because, inter alia, “the State Bar Court noted that she was charged with ’26 counts of professional misconduct for her involvement in a scheme to defraud distressed homeowners, including at least 13 of her clients’—and with ‘pocketing about $177,000 between August 2009 and November 2010 without having to provide any legal services'”; 

(2) her California lawyer who suborned perjury with respect to testimony before the State Bar, and his troubled history with the State Bar began before his admission to the Bar (see supra n.9 [note 4 therein & https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-25-vw-1012-story.html]), but he has never been disbarred or prosecuted, or held accountable for his abuses;

or (3) their surrogate(s) or agent(s). 

Despite repeated requests, the State Bar has refused to disclose and/or confirm such information to the author.  At the very least, this underscores the lawlessness of its employees, who are tantamount to jackals in pursuit of their prey to stay alive . . . and stay employed, while operating from remote locations  (“telecommuting”), “[d]ue to the Covid-19 pandemic.”  They want the author to deny his accomplishments.  It will not happen.