Media top headlines September 8
In media news today, a Washington Post columnist complains the media is obsessed with not offending Republican readers, Joy Behar praises President Biden on Afghanistan, and CNN summer viewership dips below one million viewers for the majority of the summer
Social media users mocked a headline from The Hill indicating that the State Department is concerned about the Taliban having an all-male interim government in Afghanistan, with many wondering if they were reading the satirical website the Babylon Bee.
The Taliban formed an interim government this week after taking control of Afghanistan in the wake of the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The White House did not say whether it would recognize the government, only that they were in "no rush" to do so and they'd first monitor how the extremist group conducted itself.
"There's no rush to recognition, and that will be planned dependent on what steps the Taliban takes," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. "The world will be watching whether they allow for American citizens, whether they allow individuals to leave who want to, and how they treat women and girls around the country."
WHITE HOUSE SAYS ‘NO RUSH’ TO RECOGNIZE NEWLY ANNOUNCED TALIBAN GOVERNMENT IN AFGHANISTAN
But the Pentagon is reportedly "concerned by the affiliations and track records of some of the individuals" the Taliban appointed. Sirajuddin Haqqani, for instance, the Taliban's acting interior minister, is reportedly connected to a 2008 attack on a Kabul hotel that killed six people, including a U.S. citizen.
The State Department also expressed reportedly expressed concerns that the Taliban plans to exclude women from top posts.
"State Dept. voices concerns over all-male Taliban government," a tweet from The Hill read.
Readers zeroed in on the Biden administration's concerns over the lack of diversity.
Prominent figures such as former acting director of Intelligence Richard Grenell pointed out that the Biden administration should not have been so surprised by the makeup of the interim government, considering how cruelly the group has treated individuals over the years.
Other readers wondered if they had stumbled upon the Babylon Bee.
FEMALE STUDENT IN AFGHANISTAN ON TALIBAN CONTROL: ‘THEY ARE TRYING TO IMPRISON US ONCE AGAIN’
Lawmakers and other political officials joined the chorus of people hitting the Biden White House for being too focused on the gender makeup of the cabinet, when they should be focused on the Taliban's history of extremism.
"Yes, glad to see State has their priorities straight, as usual. The problem isn’t that they are literally the Taliban. The problem is that they’re male," Gov. Ron DeSantis's press secretary Christina Pushaw tweeted, with a shrug emoji.
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The Biden administration has been criticized by Americans of all political ideologies for the chaotic U.S. troop exodus from Afghanistan that resulted in the Taliban takeover. President Biden in particular was excoriated for breaking his promise to not leave any Americans behind. The State Department admitted over 100 Americans were stranded in the country after the last evacuation flight out of Kabul.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley raised eyebrows last week when he called the Taliban "a ruthless group from the past," but said it was "possible" the U.S. would work with the extremist group against ISIS-K in Afghanistan.
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