To Explain How Trump's Messing Up Militarily 60 Minutes Turns to Advisor During Biden's Afghan Withdrawal

The Democrats and much of the media couldn't be making it any more clear that they're really rooting for the Iranian regime in order to make Trump look bad. That includes CNN's ridiculous report last week claiming the White House and Pentagon didn't plan for the possibility that the regime would try to block the Strait of Hormuz.

Last night 60 Minutes did their part by interviewing a "former Pentagon official" who said that Trump, Hegseth and others were unprepared for specific threats:

“They went into this war prepared for certain threats, like missiles. They did not go into this war prepared for other threats like drones hitting soft targets,” says Mara Karlin, a former Pentagon official. https://t.co/wG390I3COm pic.twitter.com/OhRyyvEgvX
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 15, 2026

It's worth pointing out where that criticism of Trump, Hegseth and others is coming from:

Yea, because I’m gonna take “They did not go into this war prepared…” criticism from the woman in charge of Department of Defense Policy during the Afghan withdrawal.

Staggering, unfathomable, absolutely epic levels of hypocrisy. https://t.co/MmK456L6cH
— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) March 16, 2026

Mara Karlin was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Plans during the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Asking her how a war should be fought is like asking Fauci how to deal with a pandemic. https://t.co/RhSbPYuwIE
— Garrett Exner (@Exner_Garrett) March 16, 2026

Mara Karlin was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities under Defense Secretary Austin & President Biden — unclear to me why she would be an authority on this, given that she has been out of the Pentagon for a long time & has no insider knowledge. https://t.co/fqdDN5vcGv
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) March 16, 2026

"Former Pentagon official" is designed to make it sound as if she is former military. She was, in fact, a political appointee.

And we all know that if this was a Trump appointee criticizing Biden, 60 Minutes would have said "Trump appointee" (if airing this at all). https://t.co/XGztcfHXrR
— Legal Phil (@Legal_Fil) March 16, 2026

60 Minutes also didn't feel the need to remind viewers that the Biden White House's foreign policy was awful (and flat out catastrophic in some cases).

“a former Pentagon official” has no more specific information than any random person, and in fact there may be some telling reasons why she is now “a former Pentagon official.”

This is more trash *journalism that I thought @bariweiss was going to fix. It’s too bad she didn’t.
— IT Guy (@ITGuy1959) March 16, 2026

Let’s get some chick who doesn’t work at the Pentagon to explain stuff that just happens to coincide with the collective view of the regime media https://t.co/GoyA22IVQO
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) March 16, 2026

Here's the Wikipedia entry for the person 60 Minutes interviewed about how Team Trump was unprepared:

Mara Elizabeth Karlin[1] is an American foreign policy and defense advisor. In April 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Karlin to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities.[2] She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by voice vote on August 9, 2021.[3] Previously, she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.[4] In her role, she served as the main advisor to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on U.S. security policies related to every country in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Eurasia, and the Western Hemisphere. Her portfolio included shaping U.S. defense policy related to NATO.[5]

Here's what Pentagon spox Sean Parnell had to say:

This Democrat operative has no idea what she’s talking about, and it’s shameful she’d slander our military like this.

As someone who’s actually been in these meetings, here are the facts:

- Before the Department built up offensive combat power for Operation Epic Fury, we… https://t.co/DWZ7FVT5UH
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) March 16, 2026

The full post:

As someone who’s actually been in these meetings, here are the facts:
- Before the Department built up offensive combat power for Operation Epic Fury, we quietly ensured that our defensive posture was in place, sparing no expense or capability.
- Our defensive shield over the Middle East is the most sophisticated air and missile defense network ever fielded.
- Secretary Hegseth and our senior military leaders have, from the start, put the protection of our troops ahead of everything else and anticipated every desperate move Iran’s radical regime has made.
We are absolutely prepared for this fight. To suggest otherwise is a total fabrication.

"Total fabrication"? There's a lot of that going around lately.

*****

Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives, all while carrying water for the Democrats.

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