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That the French are showing us up militarily speaks volumes as to Biden and his Joint Chief staff. I mentioned in another thread how these Taliban photos we are seeing show the most of them now armed with M4s in lieu of the ubiquitous AK. Well hell yea, no more crummy shot out Viet Nam or Russian occupation weapons for them. I suppose the most of folks may find that to be a small detail but to me it is not. They will also be gunning up with US armor light and heavy, US aircraft rotor and fixed wing, top shelf US battlefield kit such as body armor and IR ability, and the weapons on that armor and aircraft. Ma Deuce, 25 mm chain guns, rotary cannon, belt fed grenade launchers, and countless other high end US weapons and ordinance.
But Biden and his entourage are going to flail around aimlessly holding back on going in there and taking our people out until the Taliwhackers get all that cool stuff deployed then he and his "military advisors" will send in a woefully underequipped and small force with zero air support who will be outgunned and outmanned in the extreme to get our people (many of who will already have starring roles at top billing in Taliban execution porn) with orders not to engage under any circumstances. We wouldn't want the Taliban thinking our soldiers and Marines ae a threat now would we.
My God! I just don't have the words for how much contempt I hold for this administration and congress. Blithering MORONS!:mad:
Safe passage with only 2500 troops left in Afghan in 2000? As I understand it, 6000 incremental US troops have been deployed to make it happen. Guess we blame Biden for sending troops back, while we are at it, no diff than what happened under Trump, Obama and Bush following attempts to reduce troops.
Even the ones in Kabul have no safe way of getting to the airport. Unlike the UK, our "leader" is afraid of upsetting the taliban if we send troops into the city to rescue them.
5000-15,000? What the hell were they doing or thinking as US troops were reduced from 14,000 to 2500 and 5000 Taliban fighters were released from prison in 2000? Where is the Trump era plan to safely evacuate them given troops had been reduced to 2500?
Are these military contractors paid by the US doing who knows what or tourists or people buying carpets or journalist interviewing locals?
This is not passing the smell test.
We can all appreciate millions of Afghans prefer to be resettled in the west. I know I would. How about you?
UK, Canada and Germany have resettled thousands of Afghanistan’s who were deemed helpful to the allied effort.
I have yet to come across a Trump era plan to resettle Afghans who are deemed to have been helpful over the past 20 years. Did I miss something?
I am aware 200 +/- Afghans recently arrived in NJ, the first train has of those being resettled.
Right wing media immediately pounced on how Biden is importing the third world. They are also reporting how women and gay people in Afghanistan are not being treated fairly ( by western civil right standards). Something about the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( full name) eludes them. Something about Saudi Arabia, US ally, being the source of the strictest interpretation of the Quran, eludes them.
The political divisions amplified by ALL media in the US are such that we likely won’t have a 2 term POTUS, regardless of party, for the foreseeable future.
We're talking about US citizens. At the presser, Biden's Secretary of Defense (Austin) said the US doesn't have the military capability to retrieve US citizens from the now Taliban-captured Afghanistan. Milley just stood there and didn't contradict that. Meanwhile, the Brits and French are having no problem sending their troops in to rescue their citizens.
You have no idea how pist off the Brits are right now at the US.
I mean, they are really, really, pist. Along with other nations of course, but we’re supposed to be bro’s with the UK and we totally ephed up.
We're talking about US citizens. At the presser, Biden's Secretary of Defense (Austin) said the US doesn't have the military capability to retrieve US citizens from the now Taliban-captured Afghanistan. Milley just stood there and didn't contradict that. Meanwhile, the Brits and French are having no problem sending their troops in to rescue their citizens.
We're capable of bringing in enough troops to hold the airport and get our people rescued. Worrying about angering the taliban is a pathetic excuse from the administration.
We are. The question is how many is "enough" and how would it take to get them there.
It’s a rare event when there is a consensus between Trump and Biden and Afghanistan is it.
Trump reduced troops from 14,000 to 2500 in 2020 with a deadline of 5/1 to withdraw the rest.
The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to crush the Taliban. There is irony that the Trump Admin negotiated withdrawal of troops with the Taliban in 2019 and reached an agreement in early 2000. That agreement included the release of 5000 Taliban fighters from Afghan prisons which occurred in 2000 despite the Afghan President’s reluctance. Negotiations and the agreement legitimized the Taliban.
Any Afghan can now claim to have been helpful to the US over the past 20 years and seek the opportunity to be resettled. I have yet to come across a Trump era plan to resettle Afghans that were helpful to the US. Did I miss something? How exactly would that have been accomplished with only 2500 troops in Kabul?
Biden has deployed 6000 incremental US troops to Afghanistan to assist with the evacuations in Kabul.
I have no idea why there would be any American outside of Kabul given the withdrawal of troops began in early 2000.
You are missing the point.
Many people (Yes, many right-wingers included) are sympathetic to the argument that imposing our will on other nations never really works, and that the fall of our artificial, highly corrupt, installed government in Afghanistan was inevitable once we withdrew. So, the logic goes, waiting another year or five years wouldn’t have really mattered. After all, if we couldn’t win enough hearts and minds in 20 years, what good would another year do? That was Biden’s calculus anyway.
With this said,
the only two options were not to either fully back a corrupt and feckless regime (throwing thousands of more troops into harm’s way) or pulling out entirely.
Biden had an obligation (at the very least) to have a clear actionable plan to get out as many Americans, and Afghans (that helped us during our long 20 years there) as possible before we withdrew the majority of our soldiers. He failed at that, and that is inexcusable. U.S. forces can't help Americans flee to Kabul airport? Really?
Considering that he is now sending some of them (troops) back, I think you can make the argument that the pullout was premature. Just weeks ago, Biden confidently stated that it was highly unlikely that the Taliban would take over the country. To merely say that he turned out to be a very poor analyst would be far too kind. Those words will haunt him for the rest of his presidency.
We are. The question is how many is "enough" and how would it take to get them there.
So why can the Brits and French rescue their citizens who haven't/can't make it to the Kabul airport but the US Secretary of Defense said the US can't similarly rescue our citizens?
Amen is right! NVPlumber's quote . . "My God! I just don't have the words for how much contempt I hold for this administration and congress. Blithering MORONS!" NVPlumber got it right! You know this exact sentiment is running strong throughout our country.
You have no idea how pist off the Brits are right now at the US.
I mean, they are really, really, pist. Along with other nations of course, but we’re supposed to be bro’s with the UK and we totally ephed up.
Maybe they'll finally conduct pysops against the Democrats to help get this cancer out of the United States
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NVPlumber got it right! You know this exact sentiment is running strong throughout our country.
