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Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
So called humanitarian war is one of the worst ideas ever conceived. A good war is a quick war. There's a limit to the damage you can do in a short period of time. Therefore the action should be as hard and as intense as possible. Machiavelli figured that out, Clausewitz did, but then suddenly governments and generals decided we should have 10-20 year "humanitarian" wars instead. How many casualties from the Iraq and Afghanistan adventure? At least a million. That's a lot of My Lais. But it's fine because we followed Amnesty regulations or whatever.
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
We didn’t lead with strength and this is what happens. I am so pissed off about this.
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
If I'm hearing about this from my sources, it'll be in the news soon enough. But take it with a grain of salt and all that. Apparently Army Logisticians have available on the Classified Army Network the actual movement and transportation plan to evacuate Afghanistan and equipment orderly, and repeatedly briefed the concerns of a narrower timeline should a decision to act and begin implementation be delayed. Senior Leaders acknowledged the situation and explained they were waiting for approval from Defense and State, but nothing ever came of it. This went on for months early in the year and quickly became a hushed concern because badmouthing any politician, let alone the President is a huge no no in the military, especially among senior leaders. When August 31st became "the day" at senior levels, everyone realized the normal evacuation plan was impossible, and so a "hurry up and make it happen" atmosphere became the operating tempo. Defense Department officials had directives from the President, so everything was urgent which is why they pulled out in the dead of night at Bagram - officials on the ground knew they had to leave the area suddenly, so only the most important shit was snatched. Biden officials didn't want the imagery of the US withdrawal from Bagram, as that would be a sign of defeat.
From that moment, the fall of Kabul was evident, so it became a rush job to get everyone out as quickly as possible, but there were sides who realized we'd need some emergency response force, so the paltry 1k troops were left in case crisis mode happened. We all know the rest from the news coverage the past 10 days or so. But this is why at least 12 Americans are dead today. The Army had a plan to evacuate Afghanistan orderly and properly for over a year, and anytime they asked to start movement on it, it was held up due to politics. So because Dementia Joe's handlers didn't want the imagery and narrative to be "US Defeated in Afghanistan", they tried to sneak out in the dead of night without planning for it, and everything and all the chaos transpired from there.
So if you want to talk to me about the value of an American citizen's life and how abuse of power warrants riots and protests across the nation, if you want to talk to me about staged photo operations that harm American's civil liberties, and you want to talk to me about "America's Standing on the World Stage", start with the senile old fuck who just killed 12 Americans because he handicapped an orderly withdrawal to look good for the press and find the perfect execution a withdrawal that looked good for the media.
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
On CNN their reporter in Qatar said the Taliban hired a terrorist group called the Haqqani for security at the airport...and they are affiliated with Al Qaeda.
This just gets worse and worse....
The Haqqani network are an offshoot of the Taliban. It's not really hiring. Sadly, not surprising.
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
Separately... US fucked up big.
U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate
08/26/2021 03:28 PM EDT
By LARA SELIGMAN, ALEXANDER WARD and ANDREW DESIDERIO
“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official.
U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the militant-controlled outer perimeter of the city’s airport, a choice that's prompted outrage behind the scenes from lawmakers and military officials.
The move, detailed to POLITICO by three U.S. and congressional officials, was designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan as chaos erupted in Afghanistan’s capital city last week after the Taliban seized control of the country. It also came as the Biden administration has been relying on the Taliban for security outside the airport.
But the decision to provide specific names to the Taliban, which has a history of brutally murdering Afghans who collaborated with the U.S. and other coalition forces during the conflict, has angered lawmakers and military officials.
“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.”
A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command declined to comment.
The issue came up during a classified briefing on Capitol Hill earlier this week, which turned contentious after top Biden administration officials defended their close coordination with the Taliban. Biden officials contended that it was the best way to keep Americans and Afghans safe and prevent a shooting war between Taliban fighters and the thousands of U.S. troops stationed at the airport.
After the fall of Kabul, in the earliest days of the evacuation, the joint U.S. military and diplomatic coordination team at the airport provided the Taliban with a list of people the U.S. aimed to evacuate. Those names included Afghans who served alongside the U.S. during the 20-year war and sought special immigrant visas to America. U.S. citizens, dual nationals and lawful permanent residents were also listed.
“They had to do that because of the security situation the White House created by allowing the Taliban to control everything outside the airport,” one U.S. official said.
But after thousands of visa applicants arrived at the airport, overwhelming the capacity of the U.S. to process them, the State Department changed course — asking the applicants not to come to the airport and instead requesting they wait until they were cleared for entry. From then on, the list fed to the Taliban didn’t include those Afghan names.
As of Aug. 25, only U.S. passport and green card holders were being accepted as eligible for evacuation, the defense official said.
Still, that U.S. officials handed over a list of Afghan allies and American citizens and residents shows the extent to which they outsourced security of the airport’s outer perimeter to the Taliban. The Taliban has gone door-to-door in search of Afghan interpreters and others who helped U.S. and Western forces.
In written and verbal communications, Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, and Rear Adm. Peter Vasely, head of U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan, have referred to the Taliban as “our Afghan partners,” according to two defense officials.
The Biden administration has been coordinating the evacuation effort and airport security with the Taliban, which is running the checkpoints outside the airport’s outer perimeter. Officials have been “in daily communication” with Taliban commanders about who to let in, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters this week.
The news comes just hours after two Islamic State terrorist attacks rocked the area just outside the airport, killing at least four U.S. Marines and wounding dozens more. A number of Afghans were also killed in the bombings.
After the attacks, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) appeared to criticize the Biden administration’s strategy of coordinating with the Taliban, writing in a statement: “As we wait for more details to come in, one thing is clear: We can’t trust the Taliban with Americans’ security.”
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
Oh my god. I went to the Captain's Course with the guy with a mustache in the photo on top.
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
Man....
Asked about the threat from ISIS-K going forward, Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., commander of U.S. Central Command, says "we expect those attacks to continue" and are preparing for that.
Will there be a military response? McKenzie says "yes, if we can find who was associated with this" and "24-7 we are looking for them"
Might the US send more troops to Kabul? McKenzie says "we have the forces we need" & "we have what we need to protect ourselves"
McKenzie describes multiple sorts of potential threats from ISIS-K -- individual vest suicide bomber, vehicle-borne suicide bomber, rockets.
McKenzie says some roads to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul are being closed because the US assesses the probability of vehicle-borne attack is "high right now"
And this....
“We share versions of this information with the Taliban so that they can actually do some searching out there for us, and we believe that some attacks have been thwarted by them.” - Gen. McKenzie
We're working with the Taliban to share Intel and help find those doing this.
Insanity.
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
Biden officials contended that it was the best way to keep Americans and Afghans safe and prevent a shooting war between Taliban fighters and the thousands of U.S. troops stationed at the airport.
Well that was a smart move.....
This is Jimmy Carter on crack and PCP.
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
We're working with the Taliban to share Intel and help find those doing this.
Insanity.
Taliban are sworn enemies of IS, and they currently run the country so it's the only thing for it. Issue is Taliban is a loose organisation and whilst on the whole they may be enemies of IS - saw a news report today about how when they seized one of the prisons in Afghanistan one of the first things they did was execute IS fighters who were imprisoned - there will be members within the Taliban who are sympathetic to IS. It's hard to trust that info stays in the right hands.
Re: Taliban control of Afghanistan on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
We don't belong in these countries anymore. When you have to tag team with your enemy to fight another enemy, and both enemies just as likely to kill you....
We did it in Libya....we did it in Syria...and we're doing it now.
While we do this, China and Russia sit back and laugh....in some cases, feed them Intel.
There needs to be a shift in US foreign policy.
