Why Biden is pulling the US -- and NATO -- out of Afghanistan

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Amol S.

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2015
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ultimatebob said:
You really think so? In a way, it almost seems worse than Vietnam. At least we attempted an airlift in Vietnam to get our allies out. In this case, it looks like we got caught completely unprepared and we left many of the translators and guides who assisted us for the last 20 years for dead.
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Biden really did make the right decision of ending the war. The problem with the war was, it was never going to end no matter what. We all know from news reports that the terrorists in Afghanistan mostly originated from Pakistan. Basically the war in Afghanistan was always defensive, basically preventing more Pakistani terrorists from coming in. However, do so would not end the creation of new terrorists as the war had no affect on the recruitment of new terrorists in Pakistan.

There are many that claim Bush should have gone after Pakistan instead of Afghanistan. That too however has a problem, unlike Iraq and Afghanistan when US invaded, Pakistan already had nuclear missiles and weaponry. Basically attacking Pakistan would have either started Cold War II or even a nuclear war. The US really made a bad decision during the cold war for supporting Pakistan. It was that support to Pakistan that caused it to have the nuclear weapons that it has.

In fact, it was only in the 21st century did U.S. stopped backing Pakistan, and by now has started to back India.

Saying invading Pakistan and setting up a new government may end majority of terrorism in the Middle East may sound easy, but it's not. In my opinion, the level of difficulty would probably be even more than that of Vietnam.
 
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Linux23

Linux23

Lifer
Apr 9, 2000
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Amol S. said:
*Getting on an aircraft that will take them out of the country.
*Getting into the check-in luggage compartment of an aircraft to take them out of the country.
*Getting killed by a moving plane rather than getting tortured to death by Taliban.
*Looking for an abandoned aircraft to fly out of the country.
*They might have misconception that they can ride on an airplane form the outside.
*Just panic.
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I'm sure that the Taliban isn't that unreasonable. I'm sure if they simply and calmly explain the situation, all is going to work out in the end.
 
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A

Amol S.

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2015
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sandorski said:
I don't think so. Republicans will try to make it an issue, but that's because they offer nothing worth talking about.
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Furthermore, neither Trump or any other republicans can say "Let's go back." That would basically be asking for a loss in election, all Biden would have to do is describe his opponent as a warmonger like former VP Cheney.
 
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brycejones

Lifer
Oct 18, 2005
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Last edited:
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Amol S.

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Zorba

Zorba

Lifer
Oct 22, 1999
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UNCjigga said:
I’m not talking about the decision to leave Afghanistan or even the Biden timetable for withdrawal. They know leaving Afghanistan is popular with both sides of the aisle.

They will attack him for intelligence failures, lack of foresight, and scrambling to send 3000 troops at the last minute to evacuate the embassy barely in the nick of time. Kabul will fall this week. The Afghan President has left the country. Meanwhile, American humvees, helicopters and munitions are in Taliban hands.

Lindsay Graham already hinted that they will blame Biden for creating conditions that helped accelerate the Taliban’s rise to power, allowing weapons to fall into hands of terrorists and making the entire region unsafe for years to come. They will say America is less safe under Biden’s watch. Remember, there is no hypocrisy too great for these bad faith statesmen.
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We should've been out of there a decade ago. But we should be going back in with air power and blowing up the shit we left behind.
 
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ultimatebob

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
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Amol S. said:
Now the planes can't take of because civilians trying to escape have entered the aircraft by shoving and pushing, causing the planes to go over maximum takeoff weight.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1426983991157141505

www.vox.com

The rapid fall of Afghanistan to Taliban forces, explained

A groundswell offensive by the Taliban over the last month has reached Kabul, marking the militant group’s full takeover of Afghanistan.
www.vox.com www.vox.com
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Maybe they should ask the Taliban to provide airport security? They seem to be the only security force in the area with any measure of competence at this point.

I mean, it is their country now. Time for them to take control of the situation before people get hurt.
 
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Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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E

emperus

Diamond Member
Apr 6, 2012
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repoman0 said:
Wow, guess the guy in the Atlantic article, along with many others, didn’t make it out. Pretty sick that we didn’t evacuate these people before letting the country fall. This was a terrible way to end this war.

For the first time, I am ashamed of the Biden admin
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What were Biden's options? Trump left him with 2500 Troops and a terrible Doha agreement before he left office in Jan. He either adds 5,000 more to hold and when those US troops start getting killed we add 100k more and are back in war or this. You tell me.

I think the true story is the Doha agreement and all the Trump administrations machinations when he lost the election.
 
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shortylickens

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
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Panino Manino said:
Is murrica any better or worse it was in 2001?
Than in 1993?
Than in 1991?
Than in 1988?
Than in 1981?
Than in 1973?
Than in 1967?
Than in 1965?
Than in 1964?
Than in 1963?
Than in 1953?

...

Sometimes someone here, presumably from murrica, talks about how "americans are clueless about other cultures", but failing to realize that this ignorance runs deeper and even on their blood.

No one will cry for Ninive.
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Maybe instead of spending trillions on war we could instead put some money into public schools and then America wouldnt be the most ignorant developed nation on planet earth.
 
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ultimatebob

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
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emperus said:
What were Biden's options? Trump left him with 2500 Troops and a terrible Doha agreement before he left office in Jan. He either adds 5,000 more to hold and when those US troops start getting killed we add 100k more and are back in war or this. You tell me.

I think the true story is the Doha agreement and all the Trump administrations machinations when he lost the election.
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Well... he could have started by canceling his vacation earlier and sending over additional security forces as soon as the outer provinces started falling like dominoes.
 
E

emperus

Diamond Member
Apr 6, 2012
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ultimatebob said:
Well... he could have started by canceling his vacation earlier and sending over additional security forces as soon as the outer provinces started falling like dominoes.
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Ok. How many? 5,000, 100,000. And for how long? We all just saw what happened to the Afghan army. Be exact. Being glib may be great but it doesn't make good policy, does it?
 
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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
88,073
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emperus said:
Ok. How many? 5,000, 100,000. And for how long? We all just saw what happened to the Afghan army. Be exact. Being glib may be great but it doesn't make good policy, does it?
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And what do those troops do once there? Do they engage the Taliban? If so, we are right back in a war.
 
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ultimatebob

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
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emperus said:
Ok. How many? 5,000, 100,000. And for how long? We all just saw what happened to the Afghan army. Be exact. Being glib may be great but it doesn't make good policy, does it?
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Apparently Biden thinks that 1,000 is a good start:

apnews.com

Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan

U.S. officials say the evacuation of the American Embassy in Kabul has been completed and the U.S. flag lowered at the facility in Afghanistan's capital.
apnews.com apnews.com

It's too bad that he didn't request them a week ago, so they were already in place.
 
B

brycejones

Lifer
Oct 18, 2005
30,077
31,035
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ultimatebob said:
Well... he could have started by canceling his vacation earlier and sending over additional security forces as soon as the outer provinces started falling like dominoes.
Click to expand...
How many American lives are you willing to spend? It’s a serious question to which you don’t seem to have a serious response.
 
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A

Amol S.

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2015
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I know what I might say might sound... not that ideal for a modern day practice and is almost a 1950's political practice to end conflicts... but why did Trump not think of just building something similar to the Berlin wall, like a Kabul Wall, to separate north and south Afghanistan. The south goes to taliban and the north goes to Democratic Afghanistan. After all... Trump loves walls.
 
Paratus

Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
17,694
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PjOPxEg.png


It was a shit sandwich the administration was left with.
 
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