US strikes deal w/ Taliban to remove troops from Afghanistan (1 Viewer)

[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.

 

[Heathen]

10 civilians, including 7 children -- killed in US Airstrike on Kabul in late August. US Military: "Whoops".

Can anyone blame anyone in that country for hating us? Every administration. Same shirte. Makes me sick to my stomach to know that we do this, yet if anything remotely like that happened here, we'd bomb that country and kill 100x as many (and we already have for Sept. 11th ).

And before anyone starts it, it is not a partisan issue. It's an American government issue.

 

[MT15]

 

[Farb]

https://nypost.com/2021/09/29/marines-told-to-clean-anti-taliban-graffiti-at-kabul-airport-report/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...rash-clean-obscene-messages-left-Taliban.html

I guess we didn't want to upset the deliciated sensibilities of a group of religious zealots that are racist, homophobic and misogynists. Besides, cleaning up graffiti would take too much time away from hanging people from cranes and cutting off appendages.

Do you think Pink Sparkles Star Milley saw the love the Japanese national teams gets on social media for cleaning up the visitors locker room in victory or defeat and that is why this order was given? We know that dude loves some media attention.

 

[SaintForLife]

The media was complicit by looking the other way in the corrupt enrichment of the military industrial complex in Afghanistan.

 

[Farb]

The Dems love war and the Reps love to prolong them. The military industrial complex loves them both.

We as citizens should be very very skeptical of all 3.

 

[Maxp]

The Dems love war and the Reps love to prolong them. The military industrial complex loves them both.

We as citizens should be very very skeptical of all 3.

I forgot how Clinton started both Iraq wars, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror.

 

[Saintman2884]

I forgot how Clinton started both Iraq wars, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror.

Well, there's LBJ who inherited a limited war involving U.S. troops, or "advisers" from Eisenhower and JFK and turned it into one of the bloodiest, longest, and most divisive wars in U.S. history and time periods on "less-than-reliable" accounts.


Bush 41 didnt start the first Iraqi war. Saddam Hussein was perfectly power-hungry, and authoritarian in his cult of personality, brutal dictatorship to do that himself, by invading Kuwait. What would you have Bush 41 do instead? Allow Hussein to personally swallow up a sovereign, fellow ME, Arab, predominantly-Muslim country? I think his response was perfectly justified, and honestly, its difficult to argue Clinton, Obama and now Biden not doing the same?

If mainland China were to try and forcefully "settle" the Taiwan situation, and there's concerns among Pentagon long-term military logistics and planners they may consider doing something that rash, what do you believe would be a rational international.response to Chinese aggression for the Biden administration? Just look the other way and pretend it's all business as usual?

I hope to.God, we're never faced with such a unwanted, excruciating decision but China's political and military leadership are making decisions and sending out some increasingly worrisome.rhetoric that makes me a bit concerned. I wouldn't want to be Biden or his Defense Secretary, Sec. of State or NSA if such a disastrous scenario reared its ugly head.

 

[zztop]

what do you believe would be a rational international.response to Chinese aggression for the Biden administration? Just look the other way and pretend it's all business as usual?

The world did nothing when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea.

 

[UriUT]

The world did nothing when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea.

Taiwan is a different beast than Crimea.

The strategic value that Taiwan offers dwarfs that of what Crimea offers to the west. The high tech industry Taiwan will surely benefit China. And we 've seen how China uses its market dominance to coerce its neighbor (rare earths).

In addition, Taiwan is a successful liberal democracy that doesn't want to be part of China.
And lastly this lone wolf diplomacy smells like excessive expansionism that won't stop with the south China Sea and Taiwan. China s hawks are intent on casting aside that paper dragon persona the west has portrayed them to be.

I just don't believe Washington and the west should give any hints that we will not defend Taiwan. Where as before China would calm down once dc sends a carrier...it seems China is now openly defiant and public undressing the US. There is hope though that the lone wolf diplomacy seems to alienate many in the developed world.

This is crucial time and the rise of Chinese nationalism is worrisome.

 

[zztop]

Taiwan is a different beast than Crimea.

I was thinking about it in terms of ethics. Should a country invade/annex another country just because it feels it has a right to do so, or simply because they can? To me this is the same.

I don't disagree with the rest of what you said about strategic value etc.

 

[zztop]

Pretty sad, but also not surprising

UN: Over 100 ex-Afghan forces, officials slain since August

The United Nations secretary-general says the world body has received “credible allegations” that more than 100 former members of the Afghan government, its security forces and those who worked with international troops have been killed since the Taliban takeover of the country on Aug. 15.

apnews.com

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

Pretty sad, but also not surprising

UN: Over 100 ex-Afghan forces, officials slain since August

The United Nations secretary-general says the world body has received “credible allegations” that more than 100 former members of the Afghan government, its security forces and those who worked with international troops have been killed since the Taliban takeover of the country on Aug. 15.

apnews.com

From ^^^

"He said Afghanistan today faces multiple crises: a growing humanitarian emergency, a massive economic contraction, the crippling of its banking and financial systems, the worst drought in 27 years, and the Taliban’s failure to form an inclusive government and restore the rights of girls to education and women to work.

“An estimated 22.8 million people are projected to be in `crisis’ and `emergency’ levels of food insecurity until March 2022,” the U.N. chief said. “Almost 9 million of these will be at `emergency’ levels of food insecurity -– the highest number in the world. Half of all children under five are facing acute malnutrition.”

Geezus.......

 

[CoolBrees]

Remember that time Trump tried to meet the Taliban to Camp David?

The New York Times and I remember.

How Trump’s Plan to Secretly Meet With the Taliban Came Together, and Fell Apart (Published 2019)

What would have been one of the biggest headline-grabbing moments of President Trump’s tenure was put together on the spur of the moment and then canceled on the spur of the moment.

www.nytimes.com

 

[H B Lowrey]

10 civilians, including 7 children -- killed in US Airstrike on Kabul in late August. US Military: "Whoops".

Can anyone blame anyone in that country for hating us? Every administration. Same shirte. Makes me sick to my stomach to know that we do this, yet if anything remotely like that happened here, we'd bomb that country and kill 100x as many (and we already have for Sept. 11th ).

And before anyone starts it, it is not a partisan issue. It's an American government issue.

Eisenhower warned the nation about this shirt back when "conservatives" were actually conservative.

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

Half of Afghans Face Acute Food Insecurity

mailchi.mp

"Report: Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has dropped off the front pages since the Taliban’s takeover and the chaotic American troop withdrawal 9 months ago. Daily life in Afghanistan is now defined by a struggle against poverty. Half the country's population faces acute food insecurity, with almost 9 million on the brink of famine. Children are particularly hard hit. According to UNICEF, more than a million face acute malnutrition. The root causes? A collapsing economy, exacerbated by international sanctions and a catastrophic drought. Christiane witnessed all this when visiting a humanitarian distribution center, a hospital, and a family home."

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

How to help Afghanistan's hunger crisis

Hunger and food insecurity have reached catastrophic levels in Afghanistan. The World Food Program reports that almost 20 million people -- about half the country's population -- are in desperate need of food.

www.cnn.com

 

[zztop]

bumping b/c of this

U.S. is rejecting over 90% of Afghans seeking to enter the country on humanitarian grounds

The U.S. last year resettled tens of thousands of Afghans following the Taliban takeover. But it left behind many at-risk Afghans, including family members of U.S. military translators.

www.cbsnews.com

Since July 2021, USCIS has received over 46,000 applications from Afghans hoping to come to the U.S. through the parole process. But most parole applications from Afghans remain unresolved — and over 90% of fewer than 5,000 fully adjudicated requests have been denied, USCIS statistics shared with CBS News show.

As of June 2, only 297 parole requests from Afghans had been approved by USCIS, while 4,246 requests had been rejected, according to the agency figures, which suggest that most of the tens of thousands of pending cases will be rejected under the standards being used by the U.S. government.

 

[zztop]

The Taliban Detained Me for Doing My Job. I Can Never Go Back.

FP’s columnist on a harrowing return to Kabul, almost one year after the United States left Afghanistan.

foreignpolicy.com

Everywhere I went in the short time I was in Kabul, people told me of their fear, their loss, their disgust, their desperation. Most have no jobs, no money, no hope for their future or the future of their children. What I found was a violent peace. People are arbitrarily detained, disappeared, interrogated, beaten, killed. It could be for any reason or no reason they will ever know. The Taliban are pitting neighbor against neighbor, encouraging people to spy on and report each other. Fear is digging in, and it’s here for the long haul