quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
Biden blames Trump for putting him in this situation, and then goes on and on that it is the right thing to do.

Shocking!! NOT!

Sky news seems to have pretty good coverage on the ground right now.

So we have 7,000 troops now headed there or already there? Next week it will be 50,000

Anybody who didn't think Afghanistan was going to end this way hasn't been paying attention for the last 20 years.

The story people should be focusing on isn't the evacuation of U.S. personnel from the country. But how did the 300K strong Afghan security force, supposedly "trained" by the United States Military, fold like a cheap suit so quickly.

That blame needs to be placed squarely where it belongs and that is right smack on the United States Military. They had the job to train the Afghan military and they failed miserably at it. 75K Taliban soldiers against a supposedly 300K strong Afghan security force.

20 years and a trillion dollars and you couldn't train a military force? What the hell were you doing over there? It isn't like you couldn't find people willing to fight. That's all they've been doing in that country since 1978.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
So we have 7,000 troops now headed there or already there? Next week it will be 50,000

Yes.

I asked the question earlier about how long before we are back there in all seriousness.

My son is on a special operations pipeline, and I feel certain he’ll spend some time there for years to come.

quote:

Originally posted by spunk639:
The bigger issue is the release of 5,000+ Jihadi who want to take revenge on the United States,now we're stepping backwards and there will be tenfold the terrorist threats on the horizon.
Great job Joe.

No, the only terrorism threats are from people who question COVID policy and the legitimacy of the election.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
Anybody who didn't think Afghanistan was going to end this way hasn't been paying attention for the last 20 years.

The story people should be focusing on isn't the evacuation of U.S. personnel from the country. But how did the 300K strong Afghan security force, supposedly "trained" by the United States Military, fold like a cheap suit so quickly.

That blame needs to be placed squarely where it belongs and that is right smack on the United States Military. They had the job to train the Afghan military and they failed miserably at it. 75K Taliban soldiers against a supposedly 300K strong Afghan security force.

20 years and a trillion dollars and you couldn't train a military force? What the hell were you doing over there? It isn't like you couldn't find people willing to fight. That's all they've been doing in that country since 1948.

Sounds like somebody needs to read a history book or two.

Blaming the military for this cluster is like blaming the military for our failure in Vietnam.

NOTHING we did could have saved A-stan from the Taliban (except staying there forever). NOTHING we did could have saved South Vietnam from the North (except staying there forever).

The Afghanis are incapable of defending their country, just as the South Vietnamese were. In both cases, we never should have gotten ourselves stuck there. Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing. . .

I am not saying that the military is faultless, but this is a political failure, NOT a military one.

https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2...-to-continue-n409225

The U.S. has reached a deal with the Taliban to ensure that evacuations from Kabul’s airport can take place without interference from the group, according to a report by The Associated Press.

The deal was reached in talks in Doha, Qatar, between senior Taliban officials and Gen. Frank McKenzie.

The two sides apparently agreed to a “deconfliction mechanism” in which operations at the airport in Kabul are permitted to continue without interference from the Taliban.

what sort of a “deal” was made? We already heard over the weekend that rumors have been circulating about billions of dollars being promised to the Taliban in exchange for “allowing” us to evacuate. And those aren’t random water-cooler musings. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik tried (unsuccessfully) to raise the issue with Nancy Pelosi during a conference call with the Secretary of State yesterday. Is this the “deconfliction mechanism” being discussed? Did we have to bribe our way into getting our people out? Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters today that he would not be discussing any details of the deal that McKenzie made

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
Blaming the military for this cluster is like blaming the military for our failure in Vietnam.

As a matter of fact I blame them for that failure as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
NOTHING we did could have saved A-stan from the Taliban (except staying there forever). NOTHING we did could have saved South Vietnam from the North (except staying there forever).

Then they should have manned up and said so from the beginning. But the military leaders were more interested in their careers than in doing the right thing.

Should an architect know whether or not a building design is going to fail. If they think it will fail, should they go ahead and design it anyway?

Should a surgeon go ahead and do surgery that they know won't work?

Why do the military leaders get a pass on this?

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
Anybody who didn't think Afghanistan was going to end this way hasn't been paying attention for the last 20 years.

The story people should be focusing on isn't the evacuation of U.S. personnel from the country. But how did the 300K strong Afghan security force, supposedly "trained" by the United States Military, fold like a cheap suit so quickly.

That blame needs to be placed squarely where it belongs and that is right smack on the United States Military. They had the job to train the Afghan military and they failed miserably at it. 75K Taliban soldiers against a supposedly 300K strong Afghan security force.

20 years and a trillion dollars and you couldn't train a military force? What the hell were you doing over there? It isn't like you couldn't find people willing to fight. That's all they've been doing in that country since 1978.

Does it hurt to be that stupid? If not, it should.

quote:

Blaming the military for this cluster is like blaming the military for our failure in Vietnam.

I don't agree. I don't blame any of the troops or ground leaders. I do blame the bunch of asshole SJW politically reliable (Dimocraps) who are now in the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs, and are too busy getting Critical Race Theory and Climate Change Tactics out to the troops. If they gave good strategic advice to the Bidet administration that was ignored, then they should have resigned in mass. But from what we have been hearing, they didn't give them that advice, and just rubber stamped everything. In the coming weeks, a couple will be burned in effigy, resign, and then start their new jobs as Soros sponsored Progressive Think Tanks Consults, with guest appearances on CNN or MSNBC.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
NOTHING we did could have saved South Vietnam from the North ....

It might have helped if the U.S. had honored its commitments to the RVN that the Congress refused to do when the North blatantly broke its agreements—which of course was just as inevitable as what is happening now.

For anyone interested in the actual truth rather than self-comforting myth about how things turned out, I strongly recommend the book Black April: The Fall of South Vietnam, 1973-75 by George Veith. Current events are another dishonorable episode. I should just stop paying attention to the nonsensical opinions being expressed, but it’s like a scab that one can’t ignore.

Note to self: Try harder. You are making yourself crazy for no good reason.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:

That blame needs to be placed squarely where it belongs and that is right smack on the United States Military. They had the job to train the Afghan military and they failed miserably at it. 75K Taliban soldiers against a supposedly 300K strong Afghan security force.

20 years and a trillion dollars and you couldn't train a military force? What the hell were you doing over there? It isn't like you couldn't find people willing to fight. That's all they've been doing in that country since 1978.

Nonsense. They weren't trying, didn't want to be trained, and lacked the willpower to persevere. That isn't the U.S. military's fault.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
I can't imagine someone clinging onto the outside of a jet during flight.

I can't imagine having my head removed by sword.

Nation building only works if there is a Nation to begin with 'stan is a bunch of tribes that live in the an piece of parched earth called Afghanistan.

I spent yesterday reading the updates of what could only be labeled planned chaos, everyone with half a brain knew this would happen as soon as the US pulled out. My question is were the Intel / DOD people lying or is this administration purposely working to destroy the US.

Either way I have been really bummed since yesterday, not just the treasure and lives wasted in the attempt to bring cavemen into the 21st century when the majority likes the cave.

It's the greater issue of the world, both our enemies and allies, knowing we are weak...this will only lead to more bad things.

If I was Taiwan I would be shatting myself right now.....they have to know their days are numbered.

We had no reason to be in that stinking sheep pen any longer than it took to kill all the bad guys that had stuck their heads up and to get eyes on intel for the follow on drone strikes.

Where was Curtis Lemay when we needed a leader who knew how to handle war. Instead of a warrior we got political minded CRT loving Generals who knew they had to keep the war running so the .gov vendors could suckle on the teat.

Just like our current CRT instructor aka the SecDef. He and many others sold their souls to the defense contractors and landed in a non-job with them as soon as they took off their stars.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
That blame needs to be placed squarely where it belongs and that is right smack on the United States Military.

This is the dumbest thing I’ve read in some time.

For a few decades now, I’ve heard nothing good about the ANA, and the Afghanis we’ve “trained” to do the things they should be doing for themselves. From “man love Thursdays” to smoking dope on duty, we’ve been trying to teach the absolute dregs of humanity how to soldier, and it’s whose fault? Seriously?

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:

That blame needs to be placed squarely where it belongs and that is right smack on the United States Military. They had the job to train the Afghan military and they failed miserably at it. 75K Taliban soldiers against a supposedly 300K strong Afghan security force.

20 years and a trillion dollars and you couldn't train a military force? What the hell were you doing over there? It isn't like you couldn't find people willing to fight. That's all they've been doing in that country since 1978.

Nonsense. They weren't trying, didn't want to be trained, and lacked the willpower to persevere. That isn't the U.S. military's fault.

correct.

we've known it for years.

well-documented:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja5Q75hf6QI

------------------------------------------

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
.....

20 years and a trillion dollars and you couldn't train a military force? What the hell were you doing over there? It isn't like you couldn't find people willing to fight. That's all they've been doing in that country since 1978.

Maybe they don't want freedom, or they don't want to fight for it? Maybe they like being Taliban subjects and sharia law?

biden heads back to Camp David

4:50 pm The president departs Wash DC en route Camp David

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
biden heads back to Camp David

4:50 pm The president departs Wash DC en route Camp David

The Tolly-bon (as Biden calls them) must be shaking in fear after that speech he gave.