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

[K1052]

except the right wing media is/was holding the water for trump with both hands.

Of course and that's expected.

My amusement was more that US media hasn't met a war/conflict/use of force it didn't like because they can't help but hype it. It's exciting to talk about and interesting if Americans (soldiers specifically) are/could be involved. Now after two decades of futility in Afghanistan they're not really interested in explaining how we got here just capitalizing on the imagery and politics of the exit.

 

[emperus]

I think this story adds some context to the story of the Military giving names to the Taliban. Never discount what money can do.
Taliban members escorted Americans to gates at Kabul airport in secret arrangement with US

Taliban members escorted Americans to gates at Kabul airport in secret arrangement with US

The US military negotiated a secret arrangement with the Taliban that resulted in members of the militant group escorting clusters of Americans to the gates of the Kabul airport as they sought to escape Afghanistan, two defense officials told CNN.

www.cnn.com

 

[Amol S.]

Yeah, I'm sure that's the case. I note the papers today all carry footage of "the Taliban airforce" flying a Blackhawk, but presumably they won't get many flights out of it before something malfunctions that they can't fix - actually a little surprised they have the expertise to pilot it at all.

e.g.

Taliban appear to fly US Black Hawk helicopters over Kandahar

The Afghan Air Force reportedly had 167 operational aircraft, including 33 Black Hawk attack helicopters, before the Taliban took over

www.independent.co.uk

I wonder more about the personal-equipment those guys are wearing. At first glance I'd have assumed they were US soldiers. Are those M4 carbines for example?

From what I read India seems particularly nervous about the Talibannies getting this stuff...though surely Pakistan already has plenty of it, and I'd presume some of that makes its way to cause trouble for India?

It's well known from the news that the Taliban have a long time relationship with Pakistan. Wouldn't be surprising if Pakistan was to be involved in maintaining those helicopters and a few of the held back aircrafts. There has also been a news report that some country ironically left an Airbus Atlas 400 in Kabul airport.

 

[skyking]

doubtful that it is airworthy.

 

[K1052]

At least from the photos I've seen looks like a C130...and not a working one at that.

 

[brandonbull]

How many Americans and afghans were successfully evacuated in month? 120k? Sounds just like Vietnam.

/s


When patriots have to lie and create an alternative reality, they cease being patriots and are instead traitors like brandonbull.

Exclusive: Before Afghan collapse, Biden pressed Ghani to ‘change perception’

In the last call between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Afghanistan counterpart before the Taliban seized control of the country, the leaders discussed military aid, political strategy and messaging tactics, but neither Biden nor Ashraf Ghani appeared aware of or prepared for the immediate...

www.reuters.com

Biden and others were aware of things not going well even by July 23. There is your alternate reality.

 

[Amol S.]

Exclusive: Before Afghan collapse, Biden pressed Ghani to ‘change perception’

In the last call between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Afghanistan counterpart before the Taliban seized control of the country, the leaders discussed military aid, political strategy and messaging tactics, but neither Biden nor Ashraf Ghani appeared aware of or prepared for the immediate...

www.reuters.com

Biden and others were aware of things not going well even by July 23. There is your alternate reality.

Even the unfurl summary itself states that neither the Afghan PM nor Biden knew about any impending collapse. Inside the article itself, it states how some parts of the world were only "predicting" a "possible" collapse. Biden even claimed he felt that Afghan's ~300,000 troops were enough to take care of the terrorists.

Do you read what you post here, or do you just post based on what the title of the article is? I hope you know that news article titles are always hyped up to just get attention from possible readers.

 

[woolfe9998]

Even the unfurl summary itself states that neither the Afghan PM nor Biden knew about any impending collapse. Inside the article itself, it states how some parts of the world were only "predicting" a "possible" collapse. Biden even claimed he felt that Afghan's ~300,000 troops were enough to take care of the terrorists.

Do you read what you post here, or do you just post based on what the title of the article is? I hope you know that news article titles are always hyped up to just get attention from possible readers.

To be specific, the article says that Biden told Ghani there was a perception problem. That people thought the government was weak and that the Taliban would take over easily. That Ghani needed to do a press conference to assure people that he was in control, supporting his military, that the US would still provide air support etc. But Ghani did not do that - he chose to leave instead, which put the final nail in the coffin. No one was going to fight after their head of state had fled.

That guy really needs to read his own articles before linking them.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

To be specific, the article says that Biden told Ghani there was a perception problem. That people thought the government was weak and that the Taliban would take over easily. That Ghani needed to do a press conference to assure people that he was in control, supporting his military, that the US would still provide air support etc. But Ghani did not do that - he chose to leave instead, which put the final nail in the coffin. No one was going to fight after their head of state had fled.

That guy really needs to read his own articles before linking them.

In TW:WH# terms, he's your skaven leader that flees the map because the enemy cavalry got to him first. Clannrats tend to crumble after that happens.

 

[Panino Manino]

One of Osama Bin Laden's top lieutenants has apparently returned to Afghanistan (presumably from Pak) after fleeing during the first battle of Tora Bora 2 decades ago.

Civil war incoming--how many different jihadi groups will vy for control of this failed state? Even the Taliban isn't unified--Haqqani Network believes they should be in charge but the political wing and military wings don't all agree.

What's the deal with Pakistan anyway? Isn't a "close" murrica ally in the region? Everyone knows that they welcome extremists and let they act freely training these terrorists, why murrica don't complain with Pakistan? Seems like the same deal as with the Saudis.

 

[pmv]

It's well known from the news that the Taliban have a long time relationship with Pakistan. Wouldn't be surprising if Pakistan was to be involved in maintaining those helicopters and a few of the held back aircrafts. There has also been a news report that some country ironically left an Airbus Atlas 400 in Kabul airport.

Though my thought is simply that Pakistan presumably already has a lot of US-manufactured military equipment, having at times been a US-client state (of a rather unreliable sort), so maybe this current windfall isn't hugely significant compared to whatever stocks Pakistan already has? (And Pakistan being what it is, I can imagine some of that stuff already finds its way into the hands of characters who aren't friendly to either the US or India).

 

[pauldun170]

At least from the photos I've seen looks like a C130...and not a working one at that.

View attachment 49584

 

[Amol S.]

What's the deal with Pakistan anyway? Isn't a "close" murrica ally in the region? Everyone knows that they welcome extremists and let they act freely training these terrorists, why murrica don't complain with Pakistan? Seems like the same deal as with the Saudis.

Trump actually did say something right for once during his presidency. He did call Pakistan a terrorist country.

 

[gothuevos]

They all went from demanding that Trump be given credit for the withdrawal to saying Trump would never have withdrawn in the span of like 3 days.

I think my favorite was Pompeo saying how he would never have trusted the Taliban despite being on video repeatedly talking about how much he trusted the Taliban.

Kinda like the vaccine - all the credit for operation warp speed, but now they don't want to take it.

 

[MrSquished]

To be specific, the article says that Biden told Ghani there was a perception problem. That people thought the government was weak and that the Taliban would take over easily. That Ghani needed to do a press conference to assure people that he was in control, supporting his military, that the US would still provide air support etc. But Ghani did not do that - he chose to leave instead, which put the final nail in the coffin. No one was going to fight after their head of state had fled.

That guy really needs to read his own articles before linking them.

Brandonbull and all other GQP'ers don't care about facts or reality. Haven't cared about those pesky things in years. Look who their party's cult leader is. No care for truth. This is why they are a danger to a free and fair society

 

[gothuevos]

Dude, the fallout of this continues to be brutal for Biden. Now all this stuff coming out about Biden being aloof and disrespectful when meeting with the slain Marines' families. Yes Trump did this too but it doesn't make it ok either way.

Does Biden not understand simple optics? He's beyond done at this point, thanks for handing 2022/24 to the GOP on a silver platter.

 

[kage69]

The GQP wants it to be brutal anyway, they're acting like he pulled a Syria or let hundreds of thousands of Americans die over his ego. Biden deserves credit for bringing an end to this, not being lambasted by treasonous asshats who really don't give a shit about anything beyond trying to make Biden appear as lost and imperious as Trump.

Hypocrites gonna hypocrite though. Optics? That's hilarious. Because if anyone knows and appreciates optics, it's conservatives.

Please gothuevos, don't squander that stand up talent here. There's a career ahead of you.

 

[Z15CAM]

Joe's finest speech: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bid...ithdrawal-leaving-americans/story?id=79744273

 

[Indus]

Dude, the fallout of this continues to be brutal for Biden. Now all this stuff coming out about Biden being aloof and disrespectful when meeting with the slain Marines' families. Yes Trump did this too but it doesn't make it ok either way.

Does Biden not understand simple optics? He's beyond done at this point, thanks for handing 2022/24 to the GOP on a silver platter.

Well for not expanding the supreme court.. not executing the Trumpanzee traitors all who committed the insurrection and repeated the lies and propaganda of Putin online and on tv.. he deserves to fucking lose and the democrats should never win an election again for the next 100 years.

 

[gothuevos]

The GQP wants it to be brutal anyway, they're acting like he pulled a Syria or let hundreds of thousands of Americans die over his ego. Biden deserves credit for bringing an end to this, not being lambasted by treasonous asshats who really don't give a shit about anything beyond trying to make Biden appear as lost and imperious as Trump.

Hypocrites gonna hypocrite though. Optics? That's hilarious. Because if anyone knows and appreciates optics, it's conservatives.

Please gothuevos, don't squander that stand up talent here. There's a career ahead of you.

He's getting roasted by both sides and by parents of dead Marines. But keep deflecting from his poor handling of the situation. It doesn't absolve Trump of his transgressions. Both things can be true.

 

[fskimospy]

Dude, the fallout of this continues to be brutal for Biden. Now all this stuff coming out about Biden being aloof and disrespectful when meeting with the slain Marines' families. Yes Trump did this too but it doesn't make it ok either way.

Does Biden not understand simple optics? He's beyond done at this point, thanks for handing 2022/24 to the GOP on a silver platter.

Have you considered that being always wrong in the past might make you wrong now?

 

[gothuevos]

Well for not expanding the supreme court.. not executing the Trumpanzee traitors all who committed the insurrection and repeated the lies and propaganda of Putin online and on tv.. he deserves to fucking lose and the democrats should never win an election again for the next 100 years.

He's already sunk regardless. And all those things you mentioned would be too polarizing to garner support from independents, anyway.

 

[kage69]

Well for not expanding the supreme court.. not executing the Trumpanzee traitors all who committed the insurrection and repeated the lies and propaganda of Putin online and on tv.. he deserves to fucking lose and the democrats should never win an election again for the next 100 years.

We have an independent judiciary, or we're supposed to anyway. Guy at the top isn't supposed to be getting involved. Prosecuting is Merrick Garland's job, and yes he needs to move his ass because this country is worth it.

Not responding to Moscow Mitch packing the court is definitely something I will hold against Biden though, without reservation. He hasn't taken 2016-2020 to heart yet, somehow, still believes the Trump sellouts have any real respect for America and the Constitution. They've made religious christians a privileged class, flipped the table on property rights over guns, and just recently have decided they get to dictate foreign policy to the executive. The majority of the court no longer represents a demographic majority of the country. Boof. Kavanaugh. A perjurer on the SCOTUS, put there by a treasonous criminal. Already it's corruption and contempt for precedence is being felt, the conservatives on that bench are now the biggest threat to voting and women's rights there is.

Why Biden isn't making that a priority confounds me. Do something.

 

[fskimospy]

He's already sunk regardless. And all those things you mentioned would be too polarizing to garner support from independents, anyway.

Can you imagine any reason where you would have said Trump was already sunk in 2017?

 

[brandonbull]

To be specific, the article says that Biden told Ghani there was a perception problem. That people thought the government was weak and that the Taliban would take over easily. That Ghani needed to do a press conference to assure people that he was in control, supporting his military, that the US would still provide air support etc. But Ghani did not do that - he chose to leave instead, which put the final nail in the coffin. No one was going to fight after their head of state had fled.

That guy really needs to read his own articles before linking them.

To be more specific, there was a perception problem because the Afghan government and forces were under heavy pressure from the Tallyban and others. Biden knew Ghani was weak and everyone viewed the situation as dire and advised the current Afghan government to do a PR move. Maybe you should try understanding what the situation was and what Biden was communicating to America and the world. He has been on his own PR tour making everything sound great and it was silly to think the Tallyban was any kind of threat. So either Joe Biden is starting to look like a lair and an incompetent racist.