US strikes deal w/ Taliban to remove troops from Afghanistan (2 Viewers)

[Heathen]

Surprised I didn't see it posted anywhere. And to preface -- I know there are too many contextual complexities to name regarding this.

Props to this administration for pushing to get this done. Endless war shouldn't be what American citizens view as 'normal'.

This would be a huge win for Americans and Afghanis if this works out as planned:

Afghan conflict: US and Taliban sign deal to end 18-year war

President Trump says it is "time after all these years to bring our people back home".

www.bbc.com

The US and Nato allies have agreed to withdraw all troops within 14 months if the militants uphold the deal.

President Trump said it had been a "long and hard journey" in Afghanistan. "It's time after all these years to bring our people back home," he said.

Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are due to follow.

Under the agreement, the militants also agreed not to allow al-Qaeda or any other extremist group to operate in the areas they control.

 

[MT15]

Yes, this is very sad. We need to wrap this up and get out.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

Yes, this is very sad. We need to wrap this up and get out.

Nope, the exact opposite is about to happen and that would be totally acceptable to me because the moment an American serviceman was killed because of enemy action the withdrawal deal is forfeit. I would start with the targeting of those taliban leaders sitting in the Presidential compound and that action would take place immediately. Follow-on forces would come in from the CENTCOM forces already in place and then I would force Congress to make a decision, either we work out a better deal with the Afghan Government officials that didn't run taking the lead in the talks with an emphasis on our permanent presence or continue with our withdrawal but under their terms and not the taliban's.

 

[bdb13]

Much worse than reported earlier

 

[bdb13]

It's difficult to disagree at the moment, it's the most obvious and vulnerable terrorist target in the world right now and it seems like nothing more than a sitting duck

 

[bdb13]

Much worse than reported earlier

AP reporting that those numbers will probably get worse. forking disaster man.

 

[CoolBrees]

Well the problem with attacking the Taliban is they reportedly aren’t behind the bombings.

That would be Isis who is behind the suicide bombings, reportedly.

Isis isn’t all too excited about a Taliban run Afghanistan. They will be hunted as a rival faction.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

Well the problem with attacking the Taliban is they reportedly aren’t behind the bombings.

That would be Isis who is behind the suicide bombings, reportedly.

Isis isn’t all too excited about a Taliban run Afghanistan. They will be hunted as a rival faction.

Does it really matter whether it the Taliban or Isis? The Taliban are ultimately responsible because their actions are the direct cause of the chaos in Kabul and they will need to be held accountable.

 

[DaveXA]

How do we know Isis is behind the bombings? Did they claim responsibility?

 

[bdb13]

How do we know Isis is behind the bombings? Did they claim responsibility?

No. I imagine that the terror threat they had warned about was tied to isis-k and then this happened.. but nothing's 100% at this point.

 

[DaveXA]

Does it really matter whether it the Taliban or Isis? The Taliban are ultimately responsible because their actions are the direct cause of the chaos in Kabul and they will need to be held accountable.

I tend to put the onus on the Taliban to secure access roads to the airport entrances. So I'd hold them at least partially accountable for the bombings.

 

[CoolBrees]

I agree that if the Taliban is responsible then the brakes need to be put on leaving.

But ISIS and The Taliban aren’t the same. That is the same type of mistake that got us in this mess in the first place when we went into Iraq.

But ISIS would probably rather us stay - comparatively speaking- because the Taliban isn’t doing shirt with us there.

 

[DaveXA]

I agree that if the Taliban is responsible then the brakes need to be put on leaving.

But ISIS and The Taliban aren’t the same. That is the same type of mistake that got us in this mess in the first place when we went into Iraq.

But ISIS would probably rather us stay - comparatively speaking- because the Taliban isn’t doing shirt with us there.

Agreed. They're definitely 2 distinctly different groups with different agendas. Regardless, the Taliban are supposed to be in charge and need to make a good faith effort to keep roads going to the airport secure.

 

[bdb13]

Just reported that isis has claimed responsibility by posting video with picture of bomber on its website.

 

[coldseat]

Does it really matter whether it the Taliban or Isis? The Taliban are ultimately responsible because their actions are the direct cause of the chaos in Kabul and they will need to be held accountable.

It feels like that would be condemning in more service members to death in that shirt hole country. There's no side of this coin that's palatable at this point.

I don't know what the right response is right now, but we need to wrap up the evacuation stat and get all non-combat personal the hell out so that we stop exposing ourselves.

I was holding my breath for this not to happen before the 31st, but knew it was just a matter of time. It feels like even given as bad as it is, that it could have been even worse.

 

[insidejob]

Meet your friendly suicide bomber. One of them, at least.

 

[bdb13]

The handling of this entire thing has been atrocious, pairing portions from two articles here (first one actually references the second one)

After the fall of Kabul, in the earliest days of the evacuation, the joint U.S. military and diplomatic coordination team at the airport provided the Taliban with a list of people the U.S. aimed to evacuate. Those names included Afghans who served alongside the U.S. during the 20-year war and sought special immigrant visas to America. U.S. citizens, dual nationals, and lawful permanent residents were also listed.

“They had to do that because of the security situation the White House created by allowing the Taliban to control everything outside the airport,” one U.S. official said.

The urgency of the evacuation of those allied with US and Nato forces, and western media organisations, was further compounded by growing reports of Taliban fighters going door-to-door looking for those who had worked with the previous regime, and threatening them into joining the Taliban.

U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate

The White House contends that limited information sharing with the Taliban is saving lives; critics argue it's putting Afghan allies in harm's way.

www.politico.com

Afghanistan: thousands stranded in Kabul as Taliban go door-to-door

Taliban checkpoints and paperwork prevent evacuees from getting to airport as militants search for those who worked with previous regime

www.theguardian.com

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

The handling of this entire thing has been atrocious, pairing portions from two articles here (first one actually references the second one)

U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate

The White House contends that limited information sharing with the Taliban is saving lives; critics argue it's putting Afghan allies in harm's way.

www.politico.com

Afghanistan: thousands stranded in Kabul as Taliban go door-to-door

Taliban checkpoints and paperwork prevent evacuees from getting to airport as militants search for those who worked with previous regime

www.theguardian.com

I know memes aren't welcomed here, but after reading the Politico article, the only response I could muster is:

 

[bdb13]

I know memes aren't welcomed here, but after reading the Politico article, the only response I could muster is:

Essentially put ourselves into the position where we decided we had to trust the Taliban even as everyone publicly dismisses the idea of being trustful of the Taliban.

There ain't going to be anything that can justify how bad this is all going to look. How many Afghanis who helped us have we now helped to their own executions?