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| Peace through superior firepower  |
Click here That's everything you need to know about this forum's attitude towards police officers. OK, guys, let's move on. This thread is not about the police. | |||
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| Lead slingin' Parrot Head  |
Your point is a good one, and worth considering, and I agree that we have an obligation to get our (vetted) Afghan partners to safety. A couple days ago I caught an interview with a former U.S.A.F. pilot and SoF veteran, Rudy Atallah, who was born in Lebanon as a Christian, and who has now created an organization that is focused on rescuing minority groups and Christians persecuted in regions of the world, such as the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and relocating them to safety. He states that many of the Christians they are trying to rescue that, despite the dangers and destruction, they don't want to leave their countries, don't want to leave the regions of the world they have historical roots in, and in some cases feel too old to even learn a new country's language, so his organization is focused on trying to keep them at least in the same region, if not the same villages. I'm not sure how closely culturally/ linguistically tied the Afghan evacuees are to other countries in the Middle East, and I'm guessing the educational gap will be a fairly large one and therefore a problem, but I'm thinking that the same might be true for the Afghans and that they might be happier and do better if they are relocated to another country in the same Middle East region. That is, assuming the evacuees are Muslim. Any non-Muslim evacuees might do better in the U.S. or another country more tolerant to their beliefs. If you have any interest in the interview or organization: @ 40 minute interview w/ Rudy Attalah: Afghanistan: The biggest jihadi victory. Rudy Atallah with Sebastian Gorka on AMERICA First The Blessings Project | |||
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Because I’m not super smart about politics, world relations, or military actions, I’ve got questions. I’ve got potential answers, too, and I recognize that I could be spectacularly incorrect about it all. 1. There has been a lot of mention of “we don’t have resources to go outside and get our Americans.” - a. I figure we actually do, and those resources (our military) simply haven’t been given authorization to go do it. I could be wrong already, but I’ll continue. - b. At risk of getting the “it’s not like in the movies” response, could some of our contractors in the area tackle that task? - - i. We don’t still have contractors there. - - ii. Contractors could, but still would need U.S. military support to get it done. - - iii. Some other good reason - c. As the French and British are going out and rescuing their people, would they be willing to rescue Americans found as well? (Maybe that's already happening?) 2. If we intended to turn tail and get the heck out, wouldn’t it have been better to gather up our Americans and our equipment at Bagram, then evacuate Americans, and then destroy the equipment being left behind *and* the air base all at once? Why would we leave equipment scattered about, ditch Bagram, and then have to guard an inherently less-secure commercial airport? 3. As for the heavy equipment being left behind (armored vehicles, Humvees, aircraft, etc.) – does any of that stuff have tracking devices? (Sort of like GM’s OnStar, but way better?) If it’s been taken by the Taliban now, can we track it down and destroy it remotely? 4. Why in the world – if there was a plan to leave – was equipment (vehicles, aircraft, firepower, communications gear) not gathered up ahead of time, rather than being left behind? Even a bonehead like me can see that we left behind a) billions of dollars’ worth of our goods and b) goods that will – one way or another – be used against us and our interests. Somewhat different: a few times now I’ve heard things like “we impeached the previous President over a phone call, how can this situation not be impeachable?” If there were an impeachment and removal, we’d end up with Kamala in the big chair. I can’t see that situation as being a ton better – and I hesitate to think how much worse it would be for good Americans. And changing direction again: I keep hearing the clip of Joe B saying “What interest do we have in Afghanistan, at this point, with Al-Qaeda gone?” For anyone else, does that bring to mind Hillary asking, “What difference, at this point, does it make?” and get the blood boiling? I realize the answers are likely far more complex than my simplified questions, but man I wonder a lot.... God bless America. | |||
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| Green grass and high tides  |
When I turned on the tv this am. Before I could turn the channel to GritTV. Nikki Haley was on a show. I took three mins to listen to her. Yep, she had it exactly right. Good for her. And the host let her fully answer his questions. Good for him. FWIW Now back to Grit.  "Practice like you want to play in the game" | |||
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 _____________________________________________ I may be a bad person, but at least I use my turn signal. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
Impeachment, and removal from office of a Democrat POTUS would be very damaging to that party. Kamala Harris may be a power-hungry sociopath, but at least she doesn't shit herself on a daily basis, nor wander off across the White House lawn like a confused toddler for all the world to see. Even if the above weren't true, it doesn't matter. Biden has got to go. He never should have been elected. He has disgraced this nation and the office of the POTUS. He has shit upon the twenty year committment we made in Afghanistan. He has left Americans in the hands of psychopathic barbarians and when confronted about all of this, all he does is lie straight in our faces. I don't give a shit about Harris. Biden deserves to be removed from office. Period. | |||
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Festina Lente |
Richard Grenell @RichardGrenell Washington, DC newsrooms like to hide facts that matter: Susan Rice’s deputies when she was Obama’s National Security Advisor were Anthony Blinken and Avril Haines. Susan Rice is pulling the strings. https://twitter.com/RichardGre.../1429425801200472064 NRA Life Member - "Fear God and Dreadnaught" | |||
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Optimistic Cynic |
The meme posted by Tuckerrnr1 made me wonder. Where are all the social justice warriors insisting that the Afghan evacuees must be "representative of society" and include the requisite numbers of women, LGBTs, and racial mixes on each flight? | |||
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Blinkin was the principal 'negotiator' and author of the JCPOA with the Iranians. The only reason he was selected to SoS in the first place was so he could go back to the Iranians and get the agreement reinstated. Until this disaster, the JCPOA was his legacy. Susan Rice was the original candidate for SoS however, her mishandling of Benghazi made any nominations or, appointment nil and she's been reduced to being the head of the Domestic Policy council within Biden's office. Haines is one of a number of people Obama appointed (err, inserted) into the CIA along with a handful of other national security institutions in which they crafted new policy and legal framework to apply the Dems global social engineering ideas. She was the architect for Obama's hand's-off foreign policy which the heavy usage of drone strikes across the Middle East was a major component. | |||
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A Grateful American |
To the discussion of "we don't have resources". Yeah, we do. It is not complicated, but it is complex. All one needs to do to overcome a problem is to get at it. Just put on your Gene Kranz vets and work the problem. It is when one accepts that nothing can be done, that nothing can be done. I am too old for formal involvement, but I would pick up a broom, hand out food and water, whatever I could in a situation of dire need, if it allowed someone else, that could do more, to be freed up to do that. I have managed to do things in life that were not supposed to be done, because something needed to be done. My greatest disappointment have not been the many failures I have found at my efforts, as I simply realized those were the point at which I realized the solution was better and I needed to get to doing it that way. The failure was the beginning if the success, and I was happy to realize that and move forward. No, my biggest disappointment is people who simply will not try, do not give it their all when all is required, or tell others that it will not work, and then do things to counter the work of those that believe it can be done. Most listen to me and think I am a cynic and a pessimist, but I am not. I am a problem solver and a troubleshooter, so I am looking for the problem in the trouble in order to fix it. So, my voice is the hammer fashioning the tool(s) needed to work the problem "Failure is not an option..." was not a definitive and finished statement, it was a an unfinished thought. "Failure is not an option, it is not the exit from the problem, it is sign that tells you to take the right path to the solution." We entered into WWII with very little just crawling out of the depression, tired and worn out, and the bleakness of the shadow of war darkening America until it jolted us out of that trance December 7th, 1941. And in just under 4 years, became the worked dominating superpower. Because we could, and no-one could convince us that we did not "have the resources". We, the People... ARE the resources. And you damn sure can believe we can walk right past failure and bring our people home. Have banana, will travel. "the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב! | |||
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| Lead slingin' Parrot Head |
You're not alone, most Americans, hell most people in other countries, are asking these same questions...because they are so plainly obvious. The bottom line is that our political leadership views every crisis and various optional responses through a political lens, rather than any real attempt at problem solving and coming up with the best solutions. As mentioned previously in this thread, a combination of President Biden's declining mental capacities his own hubris, and lack of non-government real world comprehension, coupled with cabinet level leadership failures, has led us to this crisis. There was ample warning for both President Trump and President Biden to proceed carefully, systematically, with any withdrawal, but both Presidents failed to heed the warnings, and instead opted for political responses for what should have been a military and diplomatic response.
Agreed. We most certainly do have the resources and capabilities, although the delay in making a decision has increased the risks for this option. The Commander in Chief delayed and made the decision not to go beyond the perimeter, because he is risk aversive, and he was concerned about the political optics of a potential mission failure, rather than focused on saving lives. To be fair, I've seen some reports that there may now be some U.S. forces venturing out past the perimeter, and there may be some valid opsec reasons for keeping these missions quiet.
I have no information on these questions, other than to say that I would guess that most contractors have been evacuated out, and any remaining would likely need military support. Keep in mind that it would also largely depend on the specific skills/ training/ experience/ and equipment of whatever contractors might still be in country.
The French and British have been reported to be rescuing not just their own people, but others as well when they find them, so it's a fair bet to think that they would indeed rescue Americans if they found them with those they intended to rescue. I'm not sure they would be so keen to go on sortie's specifically to rescue Americans alone. They've got their hands full with their own mission now, without scope creep. It's fairly obvious that each nation's own forces would focus primarily on rescuing their own people, but as coalition partners would also pitch him to help rescue others...but President Biden's failure to communicate/ coordinate the withdrawal with our coalition partners may just have eroded much of that good-will cooperation. Shameful.
Yes. See above comments about the President's declining mental capacity and focus on political solutions, rather than logical ones. President Biden's declining mental capacity and arrogance, allowed him and his cabinet to ignore the repeated warnings he had been given about his course of action. Back in April he had announced an arbitrary political date of September 11, 2021 for complete withdrawal from Afghanistan, not only so that he could make political speeches about how he ended the 20 year war on the anniversary of its beginning, but he could then leverage ending the war into political capital, as one more feather in his cap, for justifying his re-election bid in 2024. Ending the war in Afghanistan would have also been credited to his lasting legacy, and likely helped him raise funds for his future presidential library and musuem. When he grew concerned that a systematic withdrawal was taking too long and that he might miss his announced arbitrary date to take political advantage of the withdrawal, he ignored the repeated warnings and continued to push the timetable for the draw down. As far as I'm concerned, whether by a Republican president or a Democrat president, arbitrary timetables for troop withdrawal have no place in a war. You fight the war until you have eliminated the enemy or permanently eroded their capacity and will to wage war. You enter into a war carefully, deliberately, after debate...but once the decision has been made to go to war there is no other acceptable outcome other than winning a war.
I can't answer this question with any specific knowledge, but in a few instances there may be some back door ways. The bottom line is that they are large enough that they can't be easily hidden from surveillance. I'm not sure what the current Taliban manpower level is, but I'm guessing they are spread out among the various provinces, and they probably don't have a whole lot of spare manpower to drive/ fly these aircraft to hidden locations, when they are busy subjugating the local populations. Although a few reports indicate that they haven't captured any high tech gizmos, I'm still concerned that some Chinese/ Russian/ Iranian/ North Korean or other adversary reps. might just wander in for a look-see, or to arrange to buy a couple items to ship back to their countries for reverse engineering.
See above answer.
The political truth is that there simply isn't enough of a political majority currently to push through an impeachment...unless the Democrats have made a political calculation to abandon Biden and seize the opportunity to put Harris in place, through the impeachment process...but, having said that, I am still in favor of pushing the notion of an impeachment now. Firstly, and most importantly, the President and his administration have made more than enough bad calls in the first 6 months of his administration to warrant an impeachment; he has embarrassed our nation, there is a prevailing lack of confidence in both his abilities and his judgement, and his administration has most certainly broken U.S. laws. Yes, Kamala Harris is a real danger, but at this point she is no more a danger than Biden has become. Secondly, although she is trying to isolate and insulate herself from the current crisis, the truth is that her fingerprints are all over it, so she owns this crisis as much as Biden does. Lastly, depending on when/ if an impeachment were to take place, most likely after the mid-term elections, even if she were elevated to the presidency, she would only be in the position for a year or so, before the 2024 election, and the failures of this administration and this crisis will most definitely be attached to her as well, making her an unlikely Democrat incumbant. If we had a parliamentary system of government in the U.S., I estimate that there would be a clamor for a no-confidence vote for Joe Biden.
Yup. I'm pissed too. Most everyone in this thread is. Most American people are. Most of our allies and NATO partners are too. I'm especially pissed because both President Trump and President Biden were informed that al Qaeda was still operating inside Afghanistan and cooperating with the Taliban, so the very reason for the war, to remove the terrorist organization responsible for the 9/11 attacks, continues to this day... THAT is the interest we have in Afghanistan. Edited: to make a few grammatical edits, add a few words, and expand a couple thoughtsThis message has been edited. Last edited by: Modern Day Savage, | |||
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| Eschew Obfuscation |
It is long past time for people to notice who Joe Biden always was, and who he has become in his dotage. He is a hollow man, incapable of managing a picnic, let alone a war. His credibility, always unearned, is shot. His only real skill is his quick tongue, and it has deserted him. Even his onetime virtues — his old-timey patriotism, his faith in institutions, his empathy for others — are easily discarded as the old man reverts to his base instincts when cornered. Biden must hobble through the remainder of his presidency, if only because the alternative is Kamala Harris, his imprudent choice — or threat — of an heir. But nobody should, any longer, pretend that Joe Biden is fit to lead this nation. I thought this National Review piece did a great job of summing up the empty suit occupying the Oval Office. Link: https://www.nationalreview.com...nding&utm_term=first _____________________________________________________________________ “One of the common failings among honorable people is a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them.” – Thomas Sowell | |||
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| wishing we were congress |
short video of kamala harris after landing in Vietnam https://twitter.com/JerryDunle.../1429430136005406726 Reporter: “What’s your response to reports of Americans—“ Kamala Harris: “Hold on. Hold on. Slow down everybody. Hahaha. Um, I want to talk about two things. First, Afghanistan — we couldn’t have a higher priority right now.” | |||
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Biden Friday stated that Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan was defeated and that we met our original goal of what we set out to do in Afghanistan and that is why he decided to pull out now. So now they say we are getting threats from ISIS-K. Convenient way to cover for Biden. Too bad they did not take things deadly serious a few weeks ago, we would not be in the mess we are in. ISIS-K; Is that like Special K cereal with a snap, crackle, pop? Biden Security Advisor Warns Of "Acute" Terror Risk At Kabul Airport As Blinken Says Americans On Their Own Getting There https://www.zerohedge.com/mark...stempede-kills-seven Update: Just when it seemed that things may be stabilizing at the Kabul Airport, Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN's State of the Union that the U.S. is placing "paramount priority" on defending crowds at Kabul airport seeking to leave Afghanistan against a potential Islamic State terrorist attack. “The threat is real, it is acute, it is persistent and it is something that we are focused on with every tool in our arsenal,” Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “We are working hard with our intelligence community to try to isolate and determine where an attack might come from.” In Kabul, U.S. commanders “have a wide variety of capabilities that they are using to defend the airfield against a potential terrorist attack,” he said. “We are taking it absolutely, deadly seriously.” In a stunning follow up, Blinken then said that leaving Americans get to the Kabul airport on their own is "the best way to do this." Sullivan's comment follows a report from CNN that the US military is establishing "alternative routes" to Kabul airport because of an ISIS terror threat to the airport and its surroundings. "There is a strong possibility ISIS-K is trying to carry off an attack at the airport," a US defense official told CNN. A senior diplomat in Kabul said they are aware of a credible but not immediate threat by Islamic State against Americans at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Two US defense officials described to CNN the military effort to establish "alternative routes" for people to get to Kabul airport and its access gates, with one saying these new routes will be available to Americans, third party nationals and qualified Afghans. The Taliban are aware of the new effort and are coordinating with the US, one of the officials said. The report goes on to say that the Pentagon - which was "stunned" by the Taliban's blitz takeover of the country but apparently now is on top of ISIS terror chatter - has been monitoring the situation around the airport, aware that the swelling crowds on the grounds and around the airfield create a target for ISIS-K (referring to Islamic State Khorasan, the Islamic State's affiliate in Pakistan and Afghanistan) and other organizations, which may use car bombs or suicide bombers to attack, the second official said. Mortar attacks are another possible threat. The broadly sketched-out details call for people to follow new routes and access points in coordination with Taliban on the ground in an attempt to help disperse the gathering of large crowds or avoid the crowds altogether. US personnel would be in a position to observe the movement of people to ensure safety, but the official would not specify if that involves direct observation by nearby troops as well as the use of intelligence sensors. "There's a whole canopy of security concerns we have," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said at a press briefing Saturday, as he described the military "fighting against both time and space" in its effort to safely evacuate people. Separately, Biden has been meeting with his national security team on Sunday morning and has scheduled a news conference on topics including Afghanistan for 4 p.m. in Washington. The president will hold a virtual meeting with other Group of Seven leaders on Tuesday to coordinate evacuations and discuss humanitarian aid for Afghan refugees, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. _________________________ "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." Mark Twain | |||
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And the monkey for the win! This is most certainly not impossible, its simply challenging and requires both courage and an unwavering commitment to the issue at hand. Unfortunately those key attributes are completely missing in the the people in charge of this disaster. ----------------------------- Guns are awesome because they shoot solid lead freedom. Every man should have several guns. And several dogs, because a man with a cat is a woman. Kurt Schlichter | |||
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Yes he does, immediately. We could be headed towards a Gerald Ford type of situation. | |||
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^??????????????? Please explain. | |||
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Agnew resigned. Ford was appointed Vice President. Nixon resigned. Ford became the only non elected president. Biden gets removed from office, Harris gets sworn in and a new Vice President gets appointed. Harris won't last. | |||
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Thanks | |||
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SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge US Embassy Alerts All Americans To Depart Afghanistan "Immediately" As More Provincial Capitals Fall
Main Page The Lounge US Embassy Alerts All Americans To Depart Afghanistan "Immediately" As More Provincial Capitals Fall© SIGforum 2024