^^^^ seeing the Brits and French muster the will really emphasizes the ideocracy that has infested USA Democrat run leadership at the WhiteHouse and ass kissing "brass" at the Pentagon.

I hope the Brits and French get all their folks out.

HK Ag

I would treat the tweets of Alex Tiffin about British-American shouting matches, European troops roaming Kabul etc. with lots of caution. His veracity is being questioned by many, and some of what he has stated rings rather false to me, too. Including claims that Australians and Germans refused British requests to fly out their citizens on mostly empty aircraft, and the bit about RAID above. RAID participates in protecting French embassies in dangerous countries, but they are a civilian police unit, and foreign missions are really the ressort of the para-military Gendarmerie's GIGN.

Go get our people. We do not leave people behind.

Pull all the Spec Ops Groups together. Get the USCG MSRTs and HITRON Squadrons there.

"Safetys are off. Go get them."

quote:

Originally posted by BansheeOne:
I would treat the tweets of Alex Tiffin about British-American shouting matches, European troops roaming Kabul etc. with lots of caution. His veracity is being questioned by many, and some of what he has stated rings rather false to me, too. Including claims that Australians and Germans refused British requests to fly out their citizens on mostly empty aircraft, and the bit about RAID above. RAID participates in protecting French embassies in dangerous countries, but they are a civilian police unit, and foreign missions are really the ressort of the para-military Gendarmerie's GIGN.

Those questioning the veracity are wrong.

https://www.leparisien.fr/poli...HOLDH6QIEL2ACPZE.php

Afghanistan: French exfiltration had to be "negotiated" with the Taliban, reports the boss of the Raid

In an interview with RTL radio, Jean-Baptiste Dulion returned to the “perilous” operation which allowed more than 200 people to be exfiltrated from the French embassy in Kabul.

The Raid, the elite intervention unit of the national police, had "no other choice" than to "negotiate" with the Taliban to exfiltrate the French and Afghans who had taken refuge in the French embassy in Kabul. , explained this Wednesday his boss Jean-Baptiste Dulion. "I am extremely relieved because it was a perilous operation in a very hostile and uncertain environment," he said in an interview with RTL .

Only "eleven guys" of the Raid, supported by the special forces of the French army, "accompanied nearly 350 people over five kilometers which seemed extremely long", he underlined, confessing to have "crossed the fingers So that the operation in the Afghan capital does not fail.


By Le Parisien with AFP
On August 18, 2021 at 22:28
The Raid, the elite intervention unit of the national police, had "no other choice" than to "negotiate" with the Taliban to exfiltrate the French and Afghans who had taken refuge in the French embassy in Kabul. , explained this Wednesday his boss Jean-Baptiste Dulion. "I am extremely relieved because it was a perilous operation in a very hostile and uncertain environment," he said in an interview with RTL .

Only "eleven guys" of the Raid, supported by the special forces of the French army, "accompanied nearly 350 people over five kilometers which seemed extremely long", he underlined, confessing to have "crossed the fingers So that the operation in the Afghan capital does not fail.


Previously, “there were two levels of negotiations. At the highest level, via the French ambassador, and us on the ground, in constant search of an official who can help us and promote exfiltration, we could not do anything without them, ”the Taliban explained. commissioner.

The route between the embassy and the airport was "set up" with a member of the Taliban authority, "someone with whom we could discuss and who had real power," continued Dulion, who followed the operations from the Raid headquarters in Bièvres (Essonne).

"Armored vehicles everywhere"
"We have taken all measures to secure our convoy, our buses, to have the best possible transport to the airport , with armored vehicles from everywhere and external buses that we have secured to embark as many Afghan nationals as possible", said he added.

A large part of the people who had taken refuge at the French embassy in Kabul are now in a safe place, after the evacuation overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday of 216 people - including 184 Afghans - who arrived in Paris at the end of the day. . On Tuesday, 41 French and foreign nationals had been exfiltrated in the same way.

A third flight left Kabul on Wednesday for Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) with 138 people on board, announced the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly.

French National Police Tweet:

quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:
We left millions, if not billions, of dollars of equipment on the ground at Bagram when we snuck away.

Planes, helos, vehicles, weapons, supplies.

Yet, we don’t have the ability to rescue our own citizens.

Everyone in the clown car with Biden needs to be tried for treason, collusion, and malfeasance.

Never going to happen, the sheep who elected him, will take their shots, wear their mask, and call this Trumps fault and follow the narrative of the next manufactured crisis, to protect Jo and the Ho.

Once again, Mike Rowe has a rational perspective.

https://www.facebook.com/TheRe...569/4593956380614469

Off the Wall

Matthew Maisenbacher writes...

Hey Mike! A lot is going on in Afghanistan right now and Vets feel 20 years lost and heartbroken. Would love to hear your point of view?

Hi Matthew

My thoughts, first and foremost, are with the men and women who risked everything over there on my behalf.

I’ve been thinking specifically of my friend, Travis Mills, Travis Mills Foundation – one of the first quadruple amputees to survive his injuries in Afghanistan. I simply can't imagine what's going through his mind right now, or how he must feel.

I’m thinking too, of the dozens of other veterans we highlighted on Dirty Jobs, Somebody’s Gotta Do It, and Returning the Favor.

I’m thinking of the 22 vets who kill themselves every day, oftentimes because they don’t believe their sacrifice had any meaning.

And of course, I’m thinking of all the Gold Star families I’ve met over the years – parents and siblings who lost sons and daughters and brothers and sisters for a cause that now seems impossible to define.

It makes me sick to my stomach when I imagine their despair.

None of this is to suggest that I’m not heartbroken by the images coming out of Kabul, or worried for the countless civilians who will surely suffer once again under the Taliban. I am. And, like millions of others, I’m angry and confused by the decision to withdraw in the manner we did. But mostly, to answer your question, Matthew, I’m just trying to put myself in the place of those men and women who volunteered to fight this war, who are now asking themselves the same inevitable question:

Was it worth it?

The best answer I’ve found so far, is here. https://bit.ly/3gcVqMR From the article, by a former Troop Commander named Don Bentley.

"Like many veterans, I spent the last several days watching the events unfolding in Afghanistan with a clenched stomach. The sight of Taliban flags flying over familiar landmarks was devastating, as was the sight of broken bodies littering the streets, and crowds surging toward overflowing aircraft. I was a junior Army captain on the day passenger planes flew into buildings, changing the world forever. This weekend’s heartbreaking video of Afghans plummeting from departing C-17s was eerily reminiscent of New Yorkers plunging from burning buildings to the backdrop of a beautifully blue sky. But what I’ve seen is not the worst. What I’ve read is: a social-media post from a fellow veteran asking for prayers for his child. A child who’s deploying to Afghanistan to provide stability for the ongoing evacuation. A child who very could well have been born after September 11, 2001. Responsibility for this war has now passed from the first generation to the second. How can this be?

Was it worth it?

If I were king, the war would have ended ten years ago. Perhaps earlier. Before entropy, or generals without plans, or politicians without convictions, before our nation simply stopped paying attention to those serving overseas on her behalf and allowed our elected leaders to continue sending troops to the land that time forgot in wave after wave. Democracy cannot be imposed nor exported. If a nation’s citizens are not willing to fight, and potentially die, for the right to be free, we cannot and should not bear this burden for them. If the Afghans could not govern themselves after eight years or ten, they certainly couldn’t after 15 or 20. American men and women should not be fighting for Afghanistan’s freedom if Afghans cannot or will not rise up en masse to join them.

Was it worth it?

Ultimately, this is a question answered in thousands of different ways, or perhaps not at all. Like the war itself, the answer is deeply personal and culled from each service member’s experience. Of battles won and comrades lost. Of years passed and memorials constructed to those who will never have the chance to grow old. Of frozen images and cached feelings. Of spikes of adrenaline and moments of pure terror. Of triumphs and heart-rending losses.

Was it worth it?

I don’t know anymore. I want to believe that our initial foray into Afghanistan was just. That destroying al-Qaeda and giving the Afghan people the chance to live free was noble and worthy of our highest ideals. But the shadow of the years that followed is impossible to ignore. Years of squandered blood and treasure. Those years drive doubt into the hearts of men.

Which brings us back to the fall of Kabul. While I don’t know if the two decades in Afghanistan were worth the terrible price, I do know this — those of us who answered our nation’s call deserved a better ending. We deserved a resolution without mass executions and bodies falling from planes to the backdrop of a beautiful blue sky. To my fellow veterans, to the quarter of a percent who willingly bore this crushing weight without fanfare or complaint, you are the very best of us. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten."

Frank (2000Z-71),
Thanks for that post on Rowe's comments. Much appreciated.

I'm going to see my way out of this one. The Mrs. said "Stop. You are not going back."

I was there, our son was there. We feel the same.

If we don't bring everyone home, then our current administration are cowards.

We need warfighters now. Start paying for ears and foreskins again.

God Bless everyone still there. May the grace of God be with you.

I'm not surprised at all to see these reports of the French and British going in and getting their people out now. No one is going to trust us again for shit

I saw a blurb somewhere, not sure if 100% true but would not shock me at all given just how fast President Potato's administration is collapsing but I heard that the 82nd Airborne was all ready to do a combat jump BACK into Bagram Airbase to secure it as the primary evac base but Biden called it off at the last minute.

Anyone else hear or see this?

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I'm not surprised at all to see these reports of the French and British going in and getting their people out now. No one is going to trust us again for shit

I saw a blurb somewhere, not sure if 100% true but would not shock me at all given just how fast President Potato's administration is collapsing but I heard that the 82nd Airborne was all ready to do a combat jump BACK into Bagram Airbase to secure it as the primary evac base but Biden called it off at the last minute.

Anyone else hear or see this?

Rumornet of paratroopers gnashing their teeth at having been on jump-status for years, decades, without getting a mustard stain, and cynically remarking this might be the time.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
Those questioning the veracity are wrong.

https://www.leparisien.fr/poli...HOLDH6QIEL2ACPZE.php

Yeah, I just saw that. Seems the Spanish embassy protection detail has done similar. Though calling a negotiated transfer to the airport a "gun run" is still a bit sensationalist.

quote:

Originally posted by BansheeOne:
Though calling a negotiated transfer to the airport a "gun run" is still a bit sensationalist.

Clearly, you have never seen combat. There's so much tension on both sides that anything may set off a firefight, even during "negotiated" routes/runs. You may feel it's sensationalist, but those involved will have felt a sense of dread and apprehension that can never be conveyed through words.

CNN video from Kabul at link

https://www.breitbart.com/clip...-ward-crew-with-gun/

chaos

“You can see that some of these Taliban fighters, they’re just hopped up on adrenaline or I don’t know what,” Ward said. “It’s a very dicey situation.”

She added, “When the fighters are told we have permission to report, they lower their weapons and let us pass.”

Ward told Jake Tapper, host of “The Lead,” that she and her crew have been “exposed to all sorts of insanity.”

“And you can imagine, Jake, I mean, this is us. We are a news crew. We are clearly Western. And still, we were exposed to all sorts of insanity,” Ward emphasized. “If you’re an ordinary Afghan trying to get past those Taliban guards and trying to get into the airport, I mean, I just don’t see how you’re able to do it. I don’t see how you’re able to really get in unless you have some kind of a contact or a connection or you’re able to arrange something somehow.”

“Frankly, Jake, there’s no real hope,” she added.

quote:

“You can see that some of these Taliban fighters, they’re just hopped up on adrenaline or I don’t know what,”

Yeah... "adrenaline".

Maybe Ive seen too many movies but how imaginable is it to think that US troops could, of their own volition, arm up in some MRAPs or Bradleys and take it upon themselves to the city go retrieve US citizens?

That crap that austin was spewing (US isnt capable....) is clearly bullshit. UK, French, Spanish...all doing this.

Could orders to the contrary be considered unlawful and ignored if they know US citizens are under imminent threat?

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:

quote:

Originally posted by BansheeOne:
Though calling a negotiated transfer to the airport a "gun run" is still a bit sensationalist.

Clearly, you have never seen combat. There's so much tension on both sides that anything may set off a firefight, even during "negotiated" routes/runs. You may feel it's sensationalist, but those involved will have felt a sense of dread and apprehension that can never be conveyed through words.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I'm not surprised at all to see these reports of the French and British going in and getting their people out now. No one is going to trust us again for shit

I saw a blurb somewhere, not sure if 100% true but would not shock me at all given just how fast President Potato's administration is collapsing but I heard that the 82nd Airborne was all ready to do a combat jump BACK into Bagram Airbase to secure it as the primary evac base but Biden called it off at the last minute.

Anyone else hear or see this?

Rumornet of paratroopers gnashing their teeth at having been on jump-status for years, decades, without getting a mustard stain, and cynically remarking this might be the time.

can confirm. was in the 82nd for a couple years (504th PIR) and any paratrooper would give a nut for a combat jump.

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

https://www.breitbart.com/poli...nded-in-afghanistan/

CNN reported Tuesday “shitshow” infighting has begun to occupy the White House as thousands of American citizens are stranded within Afghanistan.

The infighting is primarily between the State Department and the United State’s military, which are blaming each other for the failed Afghan evacuation and withdrawal, reported CNN.

The State Department claims they were acting on an intelligence assessment that predicted Afghanistan had “more time” before the Taliban could take “total” control of the country, but intelligence officials have rejected that claim.

The military claims they told the State Department any future “last-minute emergency evacuation — if needed — would be more difficult the more staffers remained.”

“Utter bunk,” the official told CNN.

But CNN reports the military believes they “were actually prepared for the worst” and were “urging the State Department for weeks to begin withdrawing embassy employees in Kabul. Pentagon officials used the words ‘frustration”‘ and ‘sh*tshow’ to describe their feelings about Washington and Kabul.”

The Biden administration’s infighting comes as media reports suggest 10,000 to 40,000 American citizens have been stranded in Afghanistan. “Most are scrambling to escape. Some are dual nationals or children of Americans who may not have the proper passport or visas, but the State Department has not told them how to fix their paperwork” a Washington Post columnist wrote.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby claimed Tuesday only (between ?) 5,000 and 10,000 Americans are trapped. Another White House official said only 700 Americans will be evacuated on Tuesday. Monday saw only 150 Americans evacuated.

A congressional aide tells @CBSNews we have no partners left in Afghanistan to safely get Americans in-country to Kabul. “There are 10-15k AmCits who still need to get out, and that obviously doesn’t include the tens of thousands of SIVs or P2 applicants trying to get out of Afg”

Jen Psaki: there are 11,000 “self-identified” Americans inside/outside Kabul.
Asked whether Americans should be prioritized for evacuations: “We are prioritizing a number of groups.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CIA and State Dept are so used to making shit up, that now when the truth is plainly visible, they don't look so competent or wise

I don't really believe the Junta's infighting angle that the media is trying to push; the propagandists are trying to cover for the Junta's decisions by making it seem that only some people are responsible instead of all of the White House, State and DOD.

I think they think that it's better to be portrayed as inept than evil.

quote:

A congressional aide tells @CBSNews we have no partners left in Afghanistan to safely get Americans in-country to Kabul. “There are 10-15k AmCits who still need to get out, and that obviously doesn’t include the tens of thousands of SIVs or P2 applicants trying to get out of Afg”

"AmCits"? What is your fucking problem, bureaucrat? What's with de-humanizing 15,000 people who are stranded in a hostile country because of your boss's incompetence?