That’s frightening. I do wonder who possibly considered it a good idea to book travel for children to Afghanistan in July. Did we not have travel restrictions in place for this, and if not why?
Fair enough. Ahh, but they do! All they have to do is drive to a house where our citizens, or our Afghan allies are, and start pulling the trigger. THAT is the reason that, whatever we decide to call it, this 'war' isn't over.
Interesting...are you, then, a Trumper? Indeed. Were you planning on correcting that in yourself anytime? Or just continue throwing out gross stereotypes indicating how little you really know and how biased you really are (and exactly when did that become the thing TO do, rather than the thing NOT to do?) Oi, vie, uneducated liberals don't know any better, I guess, eh? Hey, this stereotyping thing can be fun! Shall we keep playing? Well, they probably would (shelters in many places have run out of dogs), but yes, not exactly the largest of our problems now.
@basso don't act like you actually give a **** man. If just one radicalized individual happens to be part of Afghans that were evacuated and you will be blowing up CF of how incompetent Joe Biden was for allowing Afghans that may have not fully vetted to be brought back to the US. Don't act like you actually give a ****. It's disgusting that all of this is political theater to you.
for clarity, i'm already blowing up CF for how incompetent, not to say insentient and incontinent, Joe Biden is.
Hey, that only took...a few hours? What happened to all of our 'leverage'? Is it being utilized? I think it only appropriate to start throwing out Idiocracy clips. This sound like most of the recent press conferences?
I think we stayed one more year, what failed the past 20 years would magically work. Right? Wtf do you want? As someone who has personally trained the ANA, staying their 40 years or 20 years wouldn't make a difference.
What only took a few hours? A video clip of gunshots outside of unknown origin (likely celebratory gunfire) being passed around on social media as door to door executions? Yeah, not so surprising.
We know there was celebratory gunfire that could be heard throughout Kabul when US exited. https://www.timesofisrael.com/talib...works-lights-up-kabul-sky-as-us-forces-leave/ KABUL, Afghanistan — The sound of celebratory gunfire and fireworks were heard across Kabul early Tuesday after the Pentagon and Taliban separately confirmed that the last US troops had left Afghanistan, ending a 20-year war.
Lets see if that happens at all, if it doesn't you leave clutchfans for a month, and if it does, I will.....deal? Nah, it would have to include all the GOP gobblers to be worth it. DD
There is something near 10B in assets allocated to the previous Afghan gov that got frozen between the US, UK, and others after it was clear the Taliban would take over. EU already said release is contingent on human rights including women rights. Anyone notice the Taliban has a nation of tribes they need to govern and have been trying to portrait a more moderate form to the world? Maybe they said heck with it and immediately start to sabotaged themselves. But I have a feeling they aren’t that stupid.
Not that worried about that, the staged funerals, etc. Am concerned about the various reports of people being killed, including being tracked precisely through the cell phones they are using to arrange to get out. The facade of the kinder, gentler Taliban seems to have bene just that, with the veil coming off, not surprisingly, right after we left.
I don't think anyone should assume they are stupid. Neither, however, do I think it wise to assume they've truly changed, either. Why would they...the way there were won twice, against most of the world. Their whole world outlook was anti modern, anti progressive....They've been that way for hundreds of years. Why assume they suddenly changed? MAYBE they did, but would you bet your life on it? Would you bet others lives on it? Well...that latter is exactly what we have done.
Oh, I don't think we were ever going to change them...that in fact is my point. All this assuming that they've changed is a lot of wishful thinking, in my mind. The facade they created seems to have magically disappeared as soon as the audience left. Do you think they changed? (they being the Taliban)
I don't think they'll harbor another bin Laden and dare us to root them out with drone strikes anytime soon. We're still the most lethal nation twice over though I'm thinking less people around the world consider us the only suffocating threat and more like a declining power. That's more wishful thinking on my part since we're more than trigger happy to throw down billions worth of munitions to project hard power given the proper provocation.
Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/01/afghanistan-biden-now-has-new-promises-keep/ Opinion: In Afghanistan, Biden now has new promises to keep Opinion by the Editorial Board Yesterday at 5:54 p.m. EDT Seldom has an American commander in chief spoken with greater conviction than President Biden did when he addressed the nation Tuesday after U.S. troops completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan. Despite the chaotic and bloody scenes from Kabul over the last two weeks, including 13 American military fatalities, and despite the fact that a massive and courageous U.S. military airlift was not enough to rescue every U.S. citizen before the president’s Aug. 31 deadline, Mr. Biden evinced utter certitude that his decision to withdraw was “wise,” and that his administration’s management of the pullout had gone as well as possible under the circumstances. Suffice it to say, we disagree with the president on both points, having previously argued that to maintain a residual force in Afghanistan would have been the least costly of the admittedly bad options — and having forecast disaster should the United States leave this year. Still, we will grant the president this: He has left no ambiguity as to his moral and political ownership of this searing episode, and its consequences. Every American must hope that subsequent events do, indeed, vindicate his judgment. The pullout leaves Mr. Biden with an ambitious agenda for U.S. policy in Afghanistan. At the top of it is to prove that leaving Afghanistan will, as he has often asserted, enhance U.S. national security. That objective, in turn, contains two parts: The first is to prevent and fight terrorism effectively from “over the horizon,” via drone strikes and the like, without the benefit of on-the-ground intelligence and overt cooperation with the local government. Events last week — including a horrific suicide bombing by a newly energized Islamic State offshoot in Afghanistan, followed by a U.S. aerial attack on an alleged car bomb that killed many civilians — foreshadow how difficult that may be. Second, Mr. Biden must effectuate the pivot to great power competition with Russia and China that leaving Afghanistan is supposed to facilitate, beginning by restoring confidence among European and Asian allies who were shaken by his handling of the Afghan exit. Third, and by no means least, Mr. Biden must keep his promise not to abandon the people left behind in Afghanistan on Aug. 31, starting with what may be as many as 200 U.S. citizens but not stopping there: tens of thousands of people with ties to the United States, including Afghan translators and other aides, university students, journalists, judges — the list goes on. “Freedom of travel” for them and others will likely demand complex and lengthy U.S. diplomacy, if it proves possible at all. The Taliban has made commitments to allow its erstwhile enemies to go, but also has a track record of duplicity and revenge. Perhaps the United States, and the world, are dealing with a new and pragmatic Taliban, in which case Mr. Biden’s job will be easier. Or perhaps the Taliban will revert to its repressive and violent past, split into warring factions — or both. What’s certain is that, no matter how fervently Mr. Biden wishes America to be done with Afghanistan, Afghanistan is not done with America.
I’m not assuming anything except I doubt very much that the Taliban would repeat the mistake of harboring terrorists again. The world today is very different from the world 20 years ago. The Taliban is using media to reach out and try to show a different face to the world. The world in turns can judge them. As long as that channel is open, there can be pressure on them and they so far seem to want to be part of the world and not be isolated as they were 20 or 50 years ago. Who knows what they will end being as related to humans and woman rights - same old, a bit of moderation or wow, real moderation... But I absolutely support and believe we should primarily be using funds and diplomatic pressure to persuade them to be more progressive. We don’t really have another choice - our choice for the last 20 years was a disaster.
