Remember Afghanistan ?
mark94
Arizona
The NYT reports that the Afghan economy has collapsed following the US pullout. Half of its population of 50 million people face death by starvation this winter.
Joe Biden and the party of compassion.
Joe Biden and the party of compassion.
94 comments
“On October 7, 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan to avenge the al-Qaida-orchestrated September 11 terrorist attacks.
The primary aim of the US invasion was to hunt down Osama bin Laden and punish the Taliban for providing safe haven to al-Qaida leaders.”
Osama bin Laden was hunted and killed, and the USA continues to “punish the Taliban” along with all the Afghan people...just like the USA Empire has done it with most countries it has gone into to conquer and pillage...
And it's a horrific tragedy. But the options were to stay there forever or pull out. And history has shown repeatedly what happens to occupying powers that attempt to stay in Afghanistan. This is a foreign national security debacle that spans multiple Republican and Democratic administrations. They should all be ashamed.
I remember why we invaded.
I remember a different president who promised to end the occupation.
I remember he failed. Didn't get done in the first year as promised, wasn't done the second, third, or fourth either.
I'm sure you remember that too, but don't want anyone else too.
But are too stupid to just let that slide into obscurity... And keep wanting to throw around your ultra partisan pro fascism rants against Mr Biden for the hardships those poor Afghani's that you couldn't actually give a fuck about are facing.
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+1 And if we did send aid to innocent women and children, nuts like @Mark would accuse Biden of supporting the Taliban.
This is a job for the United Nations; we have our own starving and homeless to take care of, here.
Before anyone says "Trump wouldn't have done it any better," that's an unprovable hypothetical.
In the real world, Biden rushed it, likely to say we were out by the 9/11/21, fucked it up and got us humiliated. He owns it.
What we left was no where close to “cutting edge.” We dumbed down what we provided the Afghans because we knew they couldn’t operate or maintain advanced stuff. Example, we provided their Air Force with propeller attack aircraft rather than jets. But yes, good stuff and I wish we hadn’t left it for the Taliban. But it’s not close to state of the art. Russian and China have no need to reverse engineer it.
What’s really concerning is all the night vision gear we left. Again, probably not state of the art fusion thermal imaging/light intensification, but good stuff nonetheless. And it rally doesn’t require maintenance. As long as they have batteries they work. Night vision really gave us an edge, and now the bad guys have a lot of it.
I made no claims, you did that, by inference. I am fine with us being out of Afghanistan.
Biden is obviously fine with owning the fact we're out, you fella's think it could have been handled better, OK no one ever even attempted to handle it, ever, certainly talked about it, still did nothing.
Mexico was going to pay to build a wall and so much other shit, he was going to do, infrastructure what happened he had four years, every other week in the Trump administration was Infrastructure week never happened, it's enough I think some of you really need to get some ass, who really gives a major fuck all at this point, y'all can vote go get your guys elected, y'all have plenty of money send it to the candidate of your choice,
Rump spent 4 years promising and accomplished nothing.
PROOF.
The rest of this is an irrelevant rant. Do better, man.
Could have said that and saved yourself the keystrokes.
We got into Afghanistan for a good reason.
It was a mess under Taliban rule. When the US occupied it, it was held together by bubble gum and rubber bands. It should be no surprise it collapsed after we pulled out.
The country will be a mess for a long time going forward. Barring a miracle - that country was not going to be stable after our departure. If the country plunges into a brutal civil war, that will be brutal, and it’s citizens will feel the worst of it. Will it be better after? Possibly - or possibly not.
I’m not fan of President Biden. I’ve lost respect for former President Trump after the insurgence of January 6th - and his handling of the pandemic response.
So, I take no pride in agreeing that Biden made things worse with his sudden pull out - and attempting to get out in a symbolic way (by 09/11/21). I’m fine, regardless of what happens in a country half a world away. The dedicated soldiers (and their families) who served our country - who were left either dead or injured horribly by IED’s are hurt by this abrupt action. The Afghanistan women are brutally hurt by this pull out.
We can argue all day, but it does no good. And now there is little good we can do now, as the chance of getting aid to the people who need it - is largely gone now.
BTW I'm far from defensive that's trying to create a straw man argument, read my original post on this thread, my second post as well, this was just a thread created so you fake conservatives could bash anyone that doesn't think it's smart to be out of Afghanistan.
"What’s really concerning is all the night vision gear we left. Again, probably not state of the art..."
Damn, it's been nearly 30 years since I was active with the military, and even back then the night vision we had was fuckin' insane. Other than being a bit bulky and a green tint to the image, you could easily sight in on a target a couple hundred yards away or drive an armored vehicle in the middle of the night, without any lights whatsoever, in zero moonlight. And in the National Guard we never had the best stuff like the regular Army.
Can't imagine what even the "not state of the art" stuff must be like these days. Wonder how much heroine and fentanyl the Taliban would have to move to buy that shit if we didn't give it to them for nothing.
Trump reached a CONDITIONAL agreement with the Taliban. If they met 7 conditions ( which would have led to a smooth transition ), we would pull out our last 2,500 troops. The Taliban only met 1 of the 7 conditions. In spite of that,Biden pulled the troops out in a chaotic manner.
It's widely agreed by across both conservative and liberal onlookers, analysts, and insiders that the Trump administration was chaotic and generally struggled with good process. He burned through numerous Chiefs of Staff precisely because Trump steadfastly refused all attempts to bring some process to his White House.
At the same time, I would argue that the hypothetical White House that could have managed a calm, orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan would have needed to employ actual wizards using high-fantasy magic, because multiple administrations dug us deeper and deeper into that morass over decades. The reason why multiple administrations quietly refused to pull out of Afghanistan is because they knew it was going to be a humanitarian shit show no matter what, and they didn't want that to affect either their re-election or legacy.
And it's not like I think Biden is the profile of courage here. I'm pretty sure that everyone in the White House (including Biden) knows that Biden will not run for a second term (yes, I know there's debate on that topic, but this is what I believe). So, ripping off that nasty band-aid in the first year of a one-term President is more tactical than anything else.
Because we all know that come 2024, no one is going to care a lot or at all about Afghanistan.
For what it's worth, you can't say "would the Democrats have done better" for the initial COVID response.
Lots of whataboutism on this thread from people with a one Trump track mind.
"So, ripping off that nasty band-aid in the first year of a one-term President is more tactical than anything else."
So you consider 13 dead servicemembers to be "ripping off a band-aid?" Try again.
So, there's probably some wiggle room in these numbers, but there were over 2,400 United States military deaths Afghanistan. Almost 2,000 of those deaths resulted from hostile action. About 21,000 U.S. military were wounded in action during the war. There have been 18 CIA operatives also died in Afghanistan and just under 2,000 civilian contractors killed in Afghanistan.
And while I'm sure that the DoD and the State Department did not take those most recent 13 deaths lightly, I suspect they now regard those deaths as the price paid to not have the above numbers keep rising and rising year after year. I stick to my belief that the Biden administration and the Democratic Party wanted out of Afghanistan at the start of the Biden administration because they didn't want to deal with it in 2024. And I also stick to my belief that any administration's attempt to pull out of Afghanistan would have been a hot rolling dumpster fire, and that means some number of fatalities involved. It's a tragedy, but every year we stayed in Afghanistan across multiple administrations we obligated ourselves to a greater mess when we finally decided to leave.
Just because I'm curious, how far out are we from you launching into an arm-waving, F-bomb-laden fit about someone else's opinion? Because what we all look forward to is that magical moment when you tell someone to go suck a dog's dick. That has a huge impact from a guy we don't know on the internet.
How's that for another try?
There hadn't been a combat-related death for 18 months prior to the withdrawal.
The alternative to withdrawing our troops, leaving behind $80 Billion in equipment and 80,000 Afghan translators and aid workers, was to keep Bagram Air Base and keep 2,500 troops there giving air support. This was essentially what we did for 18 months without the loss of a single American life. Estimates were this would have cost $3Billion per year. A bargain compared to the $3Trillion Build Back Better ( new Green deal ) being pushed by Biden.
Of course, it’s too late to pour aid in now. It would just go to the Taliban.
https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/fort…
Fort Dix, overwhelmed with Afghan refugees, now larger than half the towns in New Jersey.
FORT DIX, NJ- As the Biden administration opens the country up to pretty much anyone who wants to come here unabated, the New York Times reports that one of the military bases Biden opened up to Afghan refugees is now “larger than half the towns in New Jersey” in terms of population, Breitbart reports.
Fort Dix in New Jersey is among a number of military bases where Biden has converted them into virtual refugee camps, housing over 70,000 Afghans in temporary housing after they were flown to the United States with minimal vetting, reports say.
In total, Biden is hoping to resettle some 95,000 Afghans to the United States with plans to scatter them among 46 states.
Currently, Fort Dix is housing approximately 11,000 Afghans, with additional “refugees” arriving every week through Philadelphia International Airport. According to the Times:
After fleeing Afghanistan as the Taliban seized power, she and her mother and four siblings were routed through Germany before arriving at what has been known as Liberty Village, a community that swelled nearly overnight to hold a population larger than half the towns in New Jersey.
It is the only location still accepting new Afghan arrivals from overseas, according to the Department of Homeland Security. It is likely to be among the last sites to shut down, based on its housing capacity and proximity to Philadelphia, the main U.S. port of entry for the new arrivals, officials said Thursday as they offered the first media tour of the encampment.
As many as four planeloads of Afghans continue to arrive in New Jersey each week from overseas safe havens where 3,300 people are waiting their turn to enter the United States as part of the largest evacuation of war refugees since Vietnam.
Thus far, according to the latest information, Biden has brought some 36,000 Afghans into the U.S. since September, with another 37,000 still temporarily living on U.S. military bases awaiting resettlement. At Fort Dix alone, over 3,500 Afghans have left the base to be resettled throughout the U.S.
Thanks to Republicans, Biden’s “get Afghans to vote Democrats when we give them amnesty” program received a jolt, with 19 Senate Republicans and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) breaking ranks and voting with Democrats to give Biden an additional $7 billion in American taxpayer money to fund the resettlement operation.
All told, Biden’s scheme will set back the American people a cool $13.3 billion, which also means the operation now has no end in sight. Under the funding bill, foreign nationals who claim to have been impacted by the withdrawal in Afghanistan as “individuals at risk” who are then allowed to take part in “relocations” to the United States.
Since Bush started the Afghanistan military operation in 2001, the Afghan population in the United States has exploded. As of 2019, 133,000 Afghans lived in the U.S., over three times the 44,000 Afghans who called the U.S. home prior to the start of the war.
Another statistic shows that most Afghan arrivals in the U.S. live on welfare. Terrific.
It is believed that Afghanistan has a wealth of rare earth minerals, vital components in all of today's electronics, which China is currently the chief exporter of. Had we maintained a presence in Afghanistan and begun some public-private partnerships, we could have American companies obtaining those minerals for ourselves while simultaneously helping the Afghans develop their own industry and base of high-paying skilled labor jobs.
One of the greatest tragedies of the cold war is the way the USSR and USA abandoned our proxies after our conflicts in their lands had ended. Afghanistan was the most impactful cautionary tale of how important it is not to leave a power vacuum in tribal lands where power flows from the muzzle of a rifle. When the USA defeated the USSR and left, no one cared that the brutal Taliban were left as the most ambitious and fanatical faction seeking power. In their rule, the harshest Sharia law led to thousands of needless deaths, irreplaceable historical artifacts of great beauty and wonder destroyed, and a fertile breeding ground for the growth and development of Al Qaeda.
Biden just walked away and gave it all up. Maybe he forgot his history as part of his senility. It is the clearest signal yet that America does not care about our allies. Just like Obama let Iran crush their democratic rebellion, Putin invade Ukraine's Crimea and Georgia, and more.
I honestly believe that the invasion of Ukraine and Taiwan will come simultaneously and Biden will do nothing; under his watch that may be safer for America
“It’s never been about left vs right (or the people of America vs the people of Afghanistan or Democrats vs Republicans or whites vs blacks or blacks vs asians or BLM vs White Supremacists etc etc)
More like 0.1% of regular ass humans, the political and religious leaders and the the rich and powerful from all over the world, tricking the rest of the world into fighting among themselves while they rob them blind.”
~ SanchoRG, Texas
~ Joined Aug, 2017 Last Seen Dec, 2021
Remember there is almost always an economic motive underlying most conflicts, even if the stated aim of the war is presented to the public as something more noble.”
Proximity is not an argument, any more than a bareback stripper has extra insight into the replication cycle of HSV-2.
Everything @gammanu said is true. The message that we are sloppy and false allies is ringing throughout the world.
OK, gramps, you can read up and see I never said we had to stay there indefinitely. I said we could have done it better.
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?
No I'm not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over.
This is the day when such evils must come to an end.
I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars.
But I have said it once and I will say it again.
The real enemy of my people is here.
I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality.
If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn't have to draft me, I'd join tomorrow.
I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs.
So I'll go to jail, so what?
We've been in jail for 400 years.
~ Muhammad Ali aka Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.
~ Born: January 17, 1942 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.
~ Died: June 3, 2016 Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.A.
"If you've never been near a shot fired in anger you should shut the fuck up."
This sentence, and your "chicken hawk" insult, contain nothing substantive to address.
You just shat on everyone here who doesn't share your experiences, which are not relevant to any expertise on the matter.
You attacked me first with your "would Trump have done it better?" whataboutism which no one ever said.
We are convinced that the religious bureaucracy in this country is racist, is an accomplice in this war, and is hostile to the poor.”
~ The Catonsville Nine, Catholic anti-war protestors, 1968
U N D E N I A B L E
–Hillary Clinton, speech at George Washington University, March 17, 2008
“More than 30,000 Afghans are still living on seven military bases in the US three months after botched Afghanistan withdrawal: US has directed more than $13 BILLION to accommodate refugees to date”
That anyone here would try and deny or obfuscate that is abhorrent. You are unpatriotic, despicable, and beneath contempt.
That’s it. In the past, that’s been enough. For most of the nation, recent events have exposed the weakness of this response.
~ Narendra Modi
He gets shitcanned every few weeks, and because he gets all his meaning in life from trolling strip club message boards, he always comes back.
Probably hasn't seen a titty since he stopped nursing.
SJG