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Afghan chaos undercuts Biden's promise of competence


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2021 Aug 18, 2:48pm   162,008 views  1,308 comments

by RWSGFY   ➕follow (4)   💰tip   ignore  






....
The shambolic unravelling of America's withdrawal from Afghanistan comes from a yet to be written textbook of "how to lose at everything". Warnings hadn't been heeded, intelligence was clearly totally inadequate, planning was lamentable, execution woeful.

Let's just focus in on one thing - although there are any number that are worthy of examination.
The withdrawal came during the "fighting season" - a phrase I have to say I have always found rather odd. But in Afghanistan there is a fighting season which starts in spring - and then in winter, when the country freezes over, there is a time when the Taliban go home to their tribal homelands. Did no-one think that it might have been better to have ordered the withdrawal for the dead of winter when Taliban forces weren't there, poised to fill the vacuum?

The end result might have been the same - a Taliban takeover - but it would have almost certainly led to a more orderly drawdown. Yet the Biden administration wanted an eye-catching date. They wanted the withdrawal completed by 11 September. Twenty years on from 9/11 - an artificial, self-imposed deadline.

...

Biden's election campaign could be boiled down to three messages to distinguish himself from Donald Trump. First, he would be more empathetic. He would be more competent. And instead of "America First", it would be replaced by the mantra "America is back".
But in his address yesterday, there wasn't a whole lot of empathy towards the thousands of Afghans who've helped Americans these past 20 years. On competence, even his biggest cheerleaders would struggle to say the withdrawal of American troops has been anything other than shambolic.
And after the bewildering events of the past few days, how exactly is America back?

...

But on the policy itself, Joe Biden is utterly defiant. He summoned up his inner Harry Truman and made clear in his speech that the buck stops with him. He was, however, happy to distribute blame in much the same way that a muck spreader disperses manure in all directions. The Afghan leadership weren't up to it, the Afghan armed forces had no fight in them; Donald Trump had negotiated a bad deal.

...

A fascinating nugget from a briefing that's just been given by Joe Biden's National Security Adviser. Since the fall of Kabul, Jake Sullivan revealed, Biden hadn't spoken to another world leader. Wasn't that just a bit surprising, given that there were a lot of other nations - including Britain - who'd committed vast resources to Afghanistan?

...

When the G7 gathered in Cornwall and the Nato nations met in Brussels the sense of relief was palpable among the prime ministers and presidents that a more outward looking American president was in charge. But given what has unfolded - how America has been humiliated, how Joe Biden embarked on a policy he was cautioned against by these leaders - there is now a good deal more wariness.
And who will feel they have gained most from America's departure - apart from the Taliban, of course? Why, three countries near Afghanistan - Russia, Iran and China. I'm not sure that is what Joe Biden had in mind when he said after his inauguration that "America is back".



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58252174?source=patrick.net

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28   mell   2021 Aug 24, 6:18pm  

Automan Empire says
mell says
You know Trump would have succeeded and the Taliban would have stayed put until the last American had been transferred


He had 4 years in office, and didn't even TRY to end the Afghanistan debacle and pull out. I hope you're not one of the "DeMoCrAtS VoTeD FoR ThE wAr ToO" hypocrites on top of believing the above fantasy has any relevance.


He was in the process of pulling out, but then the demonrats colluded with the !covid! sheisters and unleashed potentially one of the biggest election scams in history. I'm confident Trump would have pulled out successfully, he overall has a pretty good track record with results. I have some beef with him (e.g. his "vaxxine" peddling), but his foreign policy was excellent.
29   Automan Empire   2021 Aug 24, 8:42pm  

mell says
He was in the process of pulling out


That's what she said

mell says
I'm confident Trump would have pulled out successfully, he overall has a pretty good track record with results.


Why aren't you judging Trump on results in THIS case? He had 4 years and did nothing to end the quagmire. In the end, he foisted an obligation to leave on an unrealistic timeline (3 months after inauguration) upon his successor. Then guys like you give Trump credit for what he "woulda" done and how perfectly it "woulda" gone, while criticizing Biden who's the man actually taking action getting us out of there finally.
30   mell   2021 Aug 24, 8:48pm  

Automan Empire says
mell says
He was in the process of pulling out


That's what she said

mell says
I'm confident Trump would have pulled out successfully, he overall has a pretty good track record with results.


Why aren't you judging Trump on results in THIS case? He had 4 years and did nothing to end the quagmire. In the end, he foisted an obligation to leave on an unrealistic timeline (3 months after inauguration) upon his successor. Then guys like you give Trump credit for what he "woulda" done and how perfectly it "woulda" gone, while criticizing Biden who's the man actually taking action getting us out of there finally.


Because they pulled all stops so eagerly, 4 years of hysteric media collusion, retarded claims of rayscysm, a scamdemic and voter fraud collusion, hell bent to install a senile gramps even obummer abhorred in office, instead of letting Trump finish it. So the proof is on them to do it better than Trump would have with his good foreign policy track record, and they fucking own this quagmire.
31   Bd6r   2021 Aug 24, 8:50pm  

FuckCCP89 says
Biden's promise of competence

that was a good joke
32   Patrick   2021 Aug 24, 11:07pm  


Alex Berenson
@AlexBerenson
9h
Hey ‘Merica! You can trust Uncle Joe about vaccines! He won’t lie to you or leave you behind!
33   Patrick   2021 Aug 25, 8:39am  

https://spectatorworld.com/topic/last-war-for-democracy-afghanistan/


The alternative to Bashir al-Assad in Syria is not liberal democracy, but Islamist rule. And in Afghanistan, after a 20-year experiment with democracy, Taliban-style Islamism is returning.

Why did liberalism fail? In short, because liberalism cannot bind people together in conditions of profound insecurity, as religion and tribalism do. Nor does liberalism provide such compelling reasons to kill or die. A man will die for heaven or kill for his brother. He might die for his vote, too, but only if he thinks there’s someone worth voting for. But a Pashtun Jeb Bush? A Muslim Joe Biden?
34   Patrick   2021 Aug 25, 8:49am  

https://spectatorworld.com/topic/how-america-squandered-moral-authority-iraq/


How America squandered its moral authority in Iraq
The true cost of the disaster in Iraq may still have to be paid


This is true. America destroyed the last of its own credibility under Bush.
36   Patrick   2021 Aug 25, 9:00am  

https://babylonbee.com/news/biden-making-sure-no-americans-are-stranded-in-afghanistan-by-stripping-citizenship-of-anyone-stranded-there




WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a press conference today, Biden assured the world that he would get every American out of Afghanistan. When asked how he would do this, he explained that on the pull-out date of August 31st he will simply revoke the American citizenship of every American who hasn't shown up at the Kabul airport yet.

"Voila! An elegant solution! Knock on wood, no malarkey!" he said to a stunned press. "If you haven't fought through 12 checkpoints of terrorist thugs and shown up at the airport by the deadline, I guess you don't want to be an American! Boom! No American left behind! Real simple, Jack!"

Biden then began hitting on a female reporter in the front row before forgetting where he was and walking aimlessly into the crowd.

"Hooray! A truly elegant solution!" the corporate press all said uneasily as Biden was ushered off stage by a team of handlers.

The Taliban issued a statement in response, saying "LOL."
37   Patrick   2021 Aug 25, 10:30am  

https://nypost.com/2021/08/20/bin-laden-warned-in-2010-letter-that-biden-would-lead-us-into-crisis/?utm_source=patrick.net&utm_medium=patrick.net&utm_campaign=patrick.net


Osama bin Laden once warned al Qaeda not to target Joe Biden because he believed that his inheriting the presidency if something were to happen to Barack Obama would “lead the US into a crisis,” a resurfaced letter shows.

In the letter dated May 2010, the al Qaeda 9/11 mastermind wrote he had no assassination plots against Biden because he deemed him “totally unprepared” to lead the United States.




38   Patrick   2021 Aug 25, 10:32am  

https://twitter.com/Not_the_Bee/status/1430236273311105026


The Post Millennial
@TPostMillennial
23h
A man in Afghanistan says "Mr. Biden, you did this! You planned this. You made the deal with the Taliban. This is the consequences of it."
41   Eric Holder   2021 Aug 26, 9:37am  

Patrick says


https://babylonbee.com/news/taliban-opens-chain-of-us-army-surplus-stores


Fake news: you don't see Taliban fighters with AKs anymore - they all switched to M4s and M16s.
43   RWSGFY   2021 Aug 26, 2:03pm  

12 US service members killed in AFG. First deaths there since April 2020.
44   Patrick   2021 Aug 26, 10:49pm  


jimothy
@_inconsolible
7h
Biden is 100% who y’all swore Trump was.
10:26 PM · Aug 26, 2021
50   Eric Holder   2021 Aug 27, 3:51pm  

Haqqani, one of the brigade commanders over the Al Isha unit, bragged in an interview with Zenger News that his unit is using US-made hand-held scanners to tap into a massive US-built biometric database and positively identify any person who helped the NATO allies or worked with Indian intelligence. Afghans who try to deny or minimize their role will find themselves contradicted by the detailed computer records that the US left behind in its frenzied withdrawal.
51   Patrick   2021 Aug 27, 3:53pm  

The good news is that the oligarchs who are imposing the global police state are going to find themselves on the wrong end of it when the masses get control of that information and use it to hunt down the oligarchs.

Karma.
52   Onvacation   2021 Aug 27, 4:16pm  

Automan Empire says
That's what she said

Liked that; funny,

Automan Empire says
Why aren't you judging Trump on results in THIS case? He had 4 years and did nothing to end the quagmire. In the end, he foisted an obligation to leave on an unrealistic timeline (3 months after inauguration) upon his successor. Then guys like you give Trump credit for what he "woulda" done and how perfectly it "woulda" gone, while criticizing Biden who's the man actually taking action getting us out of there finally.

Took the like away for disingenuousness.

Biden did not have to do anything with the "unrealistic timeline" "foisted" on him by Trump. He could have issued an executive order and stayed indefinitely. Biden definitely didn't need to give up the big secure airport, release thousand of Taliban fighters and leaders, abandon all of the US citizens and military equipment, and then blame Trump. The "commander in chief" was more concerned with a woke military. Yeah, we're criticizing Biden because he is leader of this debacle.

Reminds me of when all of the mistakes Obama made were blamed on Bush, that rat bastard neocon who lied us into war.
53   Onvacation   2021 Aug 27, 4:18pm  

Obama could have pulled out. But he wanted to keep fucking.
54   Eric Holder   2021 Aug 27, 4:51pm  

Automan Empire says
Why aren't you judging Trump on results in THIS case? He had 4 years and did nothing to end the quagmire. In the end, he foisted an obligation to leave on an unrealistic timeline (3 months after inauguration) upon his successor.


President leaving office gives his successor two letters and instructs him to open the first one when he fucks up real big and to open the second one when he fucks up again.
So the guy fucks up and opens the first envelope. It says: "Blame the predecessor". <<<<<<<< WE ARE HERE
He does that and goes on with his term.
Then he fucks up the second time and opens the second envelope. It says: "Time to prepare two letters".
55   Patrick   2021 Aug 27, 5:08pm  

Automan Empire says
Why aren't you judging Trump on results in THIS case? He had 4 years and did nothing to end the quagmire. In the end, he foisted an obligation to leave on an unrealistic timeline (3 months after inauguration) upon his successor. Then guys like you give Trump credit for what he "woulda" done and how perfectly it "woulda" gone, while criticizing Biden who's the man actually taking action getting us out of there finally.



Biden had more than 7 months to deal with it.

He utterly failed to deal with it.

So now I know you are not arguing in good faith @"Automan Empire"
57   Robert Sproul   2021 Aug 28, 2:09pm  

Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald

4h
So the US Government knew so little about what was happening in Afghanistan that they had no idea the Afghan Security Forces would evaporate and the Taliban immediately take over, but they were able to find within 24 hours the precise ISIS-K "planner" to kill?
OK.
58   Onvacation   2021 Aug 28, 2:11pm  

Patrick says

So now I know you are not arguing in good faith @"Automan Empire"

Obvious troll. He avoids questions and runs away when he paints himself into a corner.

I still like having him around.
59   Onvacation   2021 Aug 28, 2:12pm  

Robert Sproul says
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald

4h
So the US Government knew so little about what was happening in Afghanistan that they had no idea the Afghan Security Forces would evaporate and the Taliban immediately take over, but they were able to find within 24 hours the precise ISIS-K "planner" to kill?
OK.

And "no civilians were killed".
60   RWSGFY   2021 Aug 28, 3:09pm  

Robert Sproul says
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald

4h
So the US Government knew so little about what was happening in Afghanistan that they had no idea the Afghan Security Forces would evaporate and the Taliban immediately take over, but they were able to find within 24 hours the precise ISIS-K "planner" to kill?
OK.


It was probably a wedding planner with his business address listed in the yellow pages.
61   AmericanKulak   2021 Aug 28, 7:20pm  

Another "Top Lieutenant" "Major Planner".

The Taliban security perimeter let him in. You can't hide 25lb of explosive vest in the August Heat of Afghanistan and get through even the most rudimentary security checkpoint.

ISIS, AQ, and Taliban all share Shari'a Supremacy in common, as do large majorities in most Muslim Countries.

Just like I am not a Catholic but I love Bishop Sheen and like the Church Militant website.
62   Patrick   2021 Aug 29, 9:31am  

Patrick says
Biden had more than 7 months to deal with it.

He utterly failed to deal with it.


https://spectatorworld.com/topic/cost-tragedy-kabul-airport/


Biden himself overruled the generals who wanted to keep a small residual force in Afghanistan to provide intelligence and air support for the Afghan army. Biden himself decided to execute this withdrawal in the middle of the fighting season, not during the winter lull, when Taliban commanders pull back temporarily to Pakistan. Moreover, we tried to execute the entire withdrawal from a single airport, having abruptly abandoned the major airbase at Bagram, literally in the middle of the night and apparently without arranging for our local partners to replace our troops there. That left the US with only one location to stage its evacuation and provided terrorists a rich target to attack. His perceived weakness and the lack of military resources on the ground invited attacks by our enemies and endangered every American who remained.

The Biden administration will pay a huge price for this slaughter and humiliating defeat. So will our country and our friends abroad.


Biden personally made the bad decisions.

He was probably too focused on following mafia orders to mandate the jab for everyone, including those with excellent natural immunity and children.
63   HeadSet   2021 Aug 29, 11:05am  

Patrick says
The Biden administration will pay a huge price for this slaughter and humiliating defeat.

Fat Chance. Do not even expect to see any staff fired over this.
65   Patrick   2021 Aug 31, 9:46am  

https://spectatorworld.com/radio/who-is-ron-klain-and-is-he-running-america/


President Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain is set to have a large bash for his 60th with a whopping guest list of the rich and powerful, a list he has been developing since the Clinton administration. But who is the real Ron? A kind caretaker sharing the burden to aid his elderly president — or is Klain in fact the king of the Washington Swamp?
67   Patrick   2021 Aug 31, 1:01pm  

https://notthebee.com/article/da-heck-biden-says-im-not-supposed-to-take-any-questions-when-asked-about-afghanistan

DA HECK? Biden says "I'm not supposed to take any questions" and then turns away when asked about Afghanistan

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