You are assuming these choices are being made in a vacuum rather than in the context of environmental and economic factors. This steps into a more broader subject on whether "the West" is inherently superior due to their modern socioeconomic proweress compared to places like Africa and the Middle East or is it a result of natural circumstances such as coal deposits being more readily accessible that didn't require modern mining technology in European regions compared to places like the Middle East and Africa?
I found this thread where we talked some about the invasion in 2001: Blast from the Past (try not to necro-bump). I couldn't find our main thread about it, but this one reflects some of the attitudes we had (including me) at the time.
Everyone everywhere makes choices in the context of environmental and economic factors. I guess no one should ever be held accountable or chastised for their conduct because there is some factor explaining it. It's ridiculous logic.
Individuals should be held accountable for their actions. Groups of humans should be studied on how they got to where they are for pragmatic reasons to prevent future errors. You want to judge an entire culture without taking into context outside factors. We should judge individual humans, not entire races of people.
I'm not judging races of people. I'm judging the leadership of the country. We shouldn't have a broad based discussion on the leadership of the country and the problems endemic in that leadership? I should list out every person of influence in Afghanistan and explain how they are/aren't an ******* individually? That's obviously ridiculous. There are major problems endemic to the leadership of the people of Afghanistan. Those problems include denying human rights and dignity to several classes of people, murder, rape, pedophilia, slavery and unwillingness to come together, compromise and put forward altruistic principles and either support for or unwillingness to fight against 7th century principles which are so brutally repressive to so many with sufficient zeal. Maybe you give them a pass to conduct themselves so poorly because they have faced some invasions and relatively brief periods of occupation, but I don't.
Do you think religious extremists would have the same influence in a developed stable region with a stable government? Ask yourself why people resort to religious extremism. You don't see people who own 911 GT3s and live extremely comfortable lifestyles resort to religious fundamentalism at least at the same rate as those who don't live a life of comfort with luxurious material possessions. Materialism is often the killer of religious fundamentalism. There is more of a desire to appreciate the life you currently live to not seek some life after death if your current life is comfortable and full of material possessions.
Yes. Look at Pompeo and crew. Religious nuts ran our foreign and domestic policy for last four years.
I mean that is an example of religious fundamentalism not having the same pull. Pompeo is the worst form of religious fundamentalism in this country. It sure looks better than the fundamentalism in Afghanistan. And his ideology was voted out in 2020.
Again just stop. Biden admin clearly executed poorly but the crocodile tears from conservatives rings hollow especially considering how silent you were when we left our allies in Syria to get slaughtered by Turkish forces. Maybe it's coincidence that the GOP have negotiated withdrawals (Iraq and Afghanistan) that a Dem administration had to execute. The wars start under GOP admins but have to be withdrawn by Dems. Almost like austerity farce.
Refugee? Politically toxic in Europe and the US. Canada is the rare exception. Biden was called out on that by Progressive and he raised the cap from 15k (Trump) to 62.5k in 2021 and 125k (that's about where Obama left it) in 2022. You and progressive have the standing to criticize Biden on this. Conservative and many moderate do not.
It was a shrewd move by the Trump admin to setup the landmines for the Biden admin. Politics is politics.
I'm not referring to refugees in general. Conservatives in America and many Trump supporters especially those who served in the military are surprisingly accepting of refugees on the basis that they helped US forces and now are in danger from the Taliban or ISIS in Iraq. That is the one group of refugees the right welcomes. Those potential victims of retaliation for helping the US should have all been gathered up and left the country before the withdrawal started.
Not sure why you feel you can judge the leadership of a country that is on the other side of the earth...must be a thing for races feeling superior? Did you give a pass to your own leadership who invaded the country, killed thousands of their civilians, stole their treasure and destroyed homes of millions of people, raped their women, cut their teens' throat? The war crime that the 'superior race' had conducted is way worse than anything you listed in "Those problems ..." Did you ever have time to judge your own country's leadership?
Poverty is not an excuse to behave like so many do in Afghanistan. Most people in this world live in poverty. Most aren't as ass-backwards as Afghanistan. People should be held accountable and chastised for their conduct.
