True however many of these people had their paperwork in hand long before the pull out and still had trouble making it to the US in a timely manner. If extricating our allies had been a top priority all along there wouldn’t have been such a bottle neck during this unforeseen speedy withdrawal. The military had to depend on the Afghan soldiers covering their asses which was thought would give them time from what was reported early on which obviously didn’t happen. Talk about a miscalculation.

 

Maybe it’s something in the water. Has anyone checked the lead content there? Just saying.

 

There are also still some California school kids over in Afghanistan too. It was part of a trip they took in the spring. Now I know the natural question is why go there, but the students all had family there as their parents were recent immigrants. What's crazy is the State Department gave the green light to the trip earlier in the year. How does that happen?

There has been a lot of analysis on why the Afghan forces were routed so quickly. There are some who did see it coming. The core of the problem is that even U.S. estimates said they'd last no more than a year, and that's an optimistic projection. So if you're being abandoned and all hope is lost, it's time to cut deals and save your lives and those of your families. It's not as if the Afghans don't recognize the writing on the wall as well.

Overall though their previous success was due to U.S. air support. We stopped that as we entered the summer. I think if Bagram had stayed open and we continued to provide that function, even after withdrawal, it would've been a different story. But just pulling everyone out and not leaving a nominal force (as we have and still do in other places around the world) was a fatal error.

 

I've never liked Portland. It's an odd, depressing place. And that was before the recent issues.

 

Our purpose in Afghanistan was to bring Bin Laden to justice. We did that. Because Pakistan is a frenemy, so to speak, and they sheltered the Taliban, we stayed, I believe, to make sure they didn’t regroup and cause us more trouble. I thought that was a good reason. I don’t think I ever took into consideration the money that was expended there, or the lives that had been lost over the two decades we were fighting these extremists.

I despise theocracies and Taliban rule with their Islamic interpretation which turned my stomach. Still does. The fact remained that while many Afghans embraced the freedom our occupation provided, they were never vested in protecting themselves. They had us to do that for them. There was also a definite segment that despised us. It would seem that in the outer rural areas these people embraced a strict Sharia interpretation and longed to return to the way things were.

Keeping Bagram open would have kept us in the fight. More leaching of money and lives. If the Afghan people had taken up the fight themselves there might have been a different outcome. Now, I don’t trust the Taliban as far as I could throw them but their economy is in the crapper without foreign money to prop it up. Maybe now if they want to feed their people they might want to negotiate the release of those who want to exit, especially any Americans still there. Call it humanitarian aid but that might be the only way to exert pressure now and they’ll have less people to provide for.

As for state department allowing those school children to go there when they knew withdrawal was eminent was irresponsible. Who assured their safety? The military? They should have been extracting our interpreters and their families long before the soldiers left let alone sending more Americans into harms way. It’s mind boggling.

I think the extraction could have been executed better but that was the Generals problem that they failed to create a stronger plan. Surely there could have been better strategies employed. Did we learn nothing from Nam?

 

Never been there but I’ll take your word for it.

 

It sounds crazy but they needed a generation of freedom to create that normalcy. The younger generation grew up with some freedom but took for granted that it would always be there. Hopefully they will grow into revolutionaries who take those freedoms back. It cost us a lot in terms of dollars and life but limited the extremists ability to take a foothold. We are more vulnerable having lost this ally to not only an enemy but an ally of another enemy.


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Yes, that’s the conventional wisdom. I bought into it as well, I’ll admit. It’s a different world though than it was 20yrs. ago. Now that the Taliban has control they have to battle the enemy within in the form of the Islamic state. I don’t know if there is additional friction with ISIS-k, Al-Qaeda and any other groups all vying for the same thing.

They were disappointed to find that we had destroyed any equipment we left behind. Will the Pakistani gov. continue to fund them now that all foreign countries have abandoned ship taking their money with them? Most countries have suffered some setback economically due to COVID. Their friends might not want to funnel money their way when they have their own problems. Can this new government handle another COVID wave? They’ve been hiding in the hills. I’ll bet not many if any are vaccinated and now they’re right in the middle of Kabul. I’d laugh my ass off if the women were spared because their faces were covered and the men all got sick.

My point being that they may have too much on their plates as it is to cause us much trouble. We’ll have to rely on intel now to let us know if they present a threat. I’m sure the Israelis will be on it. We can always use our drones for air strikes if necessary or coordinate with our real allies if a ground strike is needed.

In today’s world I can truthfully say I don’t think any country is entirely safe from attack from those who seek to cause them harm, no matter what.

As for that generation that grew up under western influence? I’m with you in hoping they’ll rise and take back their country. Despite it’s deficiencies, American culture is our best and most effective export. Technology allows the countries around the world to view each other and people often want what we have.

 

Lol. if burkas spare them from covid, that would be ironic. There is probably no shortage of states that are willing to fund them. Potentially even Russia. One of the factions will pick up a sponsor and the civil wars will start back up.


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I would have thought Russia had their fill of Afghanistan, lol.
We’ll have to see what happens.

 

Exactly


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Speaking of Russia and Afghanistan now I found this interesting article from WSJ.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia...der-deliver-warning-to-extremists-11635188626

 

https://apple.news/AiG2feLLwRGmi5uCtDlx1Rw

Proud boy asks judge to be let out of prison because he doesn’t like it.


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Apparently he’s an excon. He thought his last stint was fine. This place is too rough. He chocked back tears and said he was afraid. Hopefully he’s scared straight but i doubt it.


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https://apple.news/AWT0c0vANSLmhiYTuRkRjSg

Qanon shaman gets 41 months.


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