Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Tina As the political world has eyes trained on Afghanistan, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS is packing up and heading on her second international trip as veep to Singapore and Vietnam. But the events playing out in Afghanistan are likely to be unavoidable during her travels, particularly thanks to the comparison her own boss made on July 8 : that unlike the U.S. evacuation of Americans from South Vietnam in 1975, "There's going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of a embassy in the – of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable." Democrats and Republicans alike have seized on the parallels between the two chaotic military withdrawals over the past week, as social media and cable news were flooded with images of desperate Afghans crowding the Kabul airport in a bid to escape the Taliban’s takeover of the country, while military jets transported Americans and other U.S. partners to safety. For Harris, whose first overseas trip was marred by domestic politics , the symbolism of her visit to a place U.S. troops hastily departed nearly 50 years ago will be an unwelcome comparison. But it’s one that her staff and the administration are ready for. A National Security Council spokesman told West Wing Playbook that Harris will be briefed and will remain “actively engaged” in White House and interagency discussions about Afghanistan during her trip to Southeast Asia. But a senior administration official told reporters on a call Thursday they didn't “want to get bogged down in historical comparisons. … We’re not focused on the history of the Vietnam War, we’re focused on what’s going on today in Afghanistan.” President JOE BIDEN hasn’t taken questions on the crisis other than in an exclusive interview with ABC’s George Stephanopolous that aired Wednesday and Thursday, so Afghanistan is going to be one of the first questions his vice president gets every time she steps in front of reporters on the six-day trip. Harris will arrive in Singapore on Sunday and then fly to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, on Aug. 24 before returning to the U.S. next Thursday with a stop in Hawaii. BRETT BRUEN , the former director of global engagement for the Obama White House and vocal critic of Biden’s handling of Afghanistan, said the events playing out in Afghanistan don’t necessarily bode poorly for Harris’ trip. “On the one hand it opens up an even greater opportunity. She could really help the administration in a couple of different ways,” Bruen said. “One, she reassures allies that we are going to live up to the slogans,” he continued, “because right now there are a lot of questions about the substance of America’s back when they watch our planes take off from Hamid Karzai International Airport with people falling off of them.” On a call with reporters, senior administration officials said the goal of Harris’ visit is to outline the future of the engagement in the region in three key areas: “global health, economic partnership and security.” “You'll hear the vice president talk about addressing the threat of climate change, reaffirming our nation's values and our commitment to the rules based international order, worker rights and human rights,” said one of the officials. “We have been strong security and economic partners of countries in the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years. And we've been steadfast partners and we have increasing security partnerships with those countries.” The trip underscores one of the reasons the Biden administration pulled out of Afghanistan: it wants to focus its foreign policy might elsewhere, including finding ways to fight China’s influence in the region. Experts say high level visits like Harris’ keep China on notice. Biden hasn’t traveled to Southeast Asia yet, but both Secretary TONY BLINKEN and Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN have visited the region. And the first two world leaders Biden hosted in the White House were the prime minister of Japan and South Korean president. Harris is the first vice president visit to Vietnam since North and South Vietnam were reunited in July of 1975. Both LYNDON B. JOHNSON and RICHARD NIXON visited Saigon, South Vietnam during their vice presidential terms, before the country was unified after its civil war. “Her trip and additional high-level engagements are part of our ongoing effort to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific," a spokesperson for the National Security Council told us. “We know that much of the history of the 21st century will be written in the Indo-Pacific, which is why our engagement on the ground matters for the American people.” Harris is expected to take the Biden administration’s “America is back” theme on the trip. When asked if the Afghanistan-sized elephant in the room would concern any allies about how much they can trust the U.S. to keep its commitments overseas, an official said: “There's a difference between ensuring open sea lanes in Asia, which is a priority for the United States, and the continued involvement in another country's civil war.” Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you ASJIA GARNER? We want to hear from you — and we’ll keep you anonymous: westwingtips@politico.com. Or if you want to stay really anonymous send us a tip through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram, or Whatsapp here. | 
