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Afghan chaos undercuts Biden's promise of competence


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2021 Aug 18, 2:48pm   133,486 views  1,213 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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147   Patrick   2021 Dec 17, 8:23pm  

https://notthebee.com/article/forget-the-long-coup-conspiracy-theory-theres-a-far-more-likely-way-trump-gets-another-term?source=patrick.net

The 2024 election will begin soon enough, and in some ways it's already under way in much of the media. Concerned about the status of their party's candidate, the mainstream press is already floating trial balloon replacements like this…

…only to find out how comical such a thought is to the vast majority of Americans at this juncture. As it stands for Democrats, if Biden doesn't run, there's no easy way to get away from running Harris without undermining all of the identity politics nonsense they have chosen to embrace and foist upon the country.

On the Republican side, it is increasingly clear that former President Trump will run for a second term. When he declares, it will be virtually impossible for anyone else to claim the nomination, and anyone who tries will be seen as a turncoat to the MAGA millions, thus curtailing any political future in what has clearly become Trump's party. Consequently, it's far more likely that most potential rivals will either bide their time or cozy up to the former president rather than challenge him.

All of this means that, for now, we are likely looking at a Biden/Trump rematch, signifying there will be more on the ballot than just the candidates. Riding on its outcome will also be every claim of 2020 voter fraud, the charge of a stolen election, and the declaration of an illegitimate presidency. In other words, 2024 is shaping up (for now) to be a 2020 sequel with twice the rancor.

Unconvinced that a vengeful Trump can rein in his temperament enough to win, folks on the Left are becoming increasingly panicked by the emerging theory that the former president is playing the long coup. Axios had the story, as did the Atlantic before them.

The premise goes like this: Trump attempted to have his minions overturn the 2020 election by getting the state legislatures and key election officials in the swing states he disputed (Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin) to certify Republican electors rather than Democrat ones, claiming the official election outcome that showed a Biden victory was the result of fraud. His effort failed because not enough Republicans in those states were willing to go along with the scheme. Since that time, Trump has been diligently working to destroy and remove those "disloyal" Republicans and replace them with loyalists who will do his bidding in 2024 should the opportunity arise.

I have to admit finding the whole theory pretty humorous. One thing I remember so vividly from the Trump term was the tendency of his supporters to spin any bizarre or inexplicable tweet, statement, response, or action as being part of some master political gamesmanship the rest of us just didn't understand. "Trump is on a whole different level," they would say, alluding to the former president playing 4D chess above our heads. Liberal elites in media and the DNC mocked the MAGA legions for such a belief, but now as they speak of this "long coup" strategy are essentially claiming the same thing: "Trump the mad political scientist is outsmarting us all."

I get that the Dems loathe the man and can't stomach the thought of his potential return to power. But there's a far more plausible path for President Trump returning to the White House that they should be focused on. And it's a path that has absolutely nothing to do with Trump.

Build Back Better has, like it or not, become the signature legislation representing the Biden administration, and it's an unmitigated disaster economically. To call it a flop is an insult to LeBron James, as the policy threatens to exacerbate inflation, which is already at alarming levels.
Vaccine mandates are being struck down as unconstitutional (obviously). It's one thing to be the president who tried to do something popular that later gets knocked down by the courts. But pushing something unconstitutional and unpopular is not a good statement heading into a re-election campaign.
The anti police posturing has failed, crime has soared, and violent crime has reached unprecedented levels in cities across America.
Covid fatigue is real, the specter of lockdowns continues to haunt the economic climate, and failed mitigation strategies continue to be imposed on people without justification. That's especially bad for a president who built his campaign around "shutting down the virus." The complaint Biden used successfully in 2020 was that Trump wouldn't listen to science. In 2024, Trump will use successfully the fact that Biden has manipulated the science.
CRT debates have morphed into challenges of parental rights with the Democrat Party lining up behind teacher unions and lobby groups while Republicans are seen as fighting for parents.

And then there's this:

Joe Biden reads instruction off teleprompter:
"End of message."

I understand the leftist impulse to obsess over Trump has not worn off. But truth be told, if he does return to power in 2024, they'll have no one to blame but themselves.
149   Onvacation   2021 Dec 27, 10:04am  

richwicks says
Not just NPR. EVERYBODY. Anything called a "reliable source" in the United States is merely propaganda

When you try to quote statistics (from the CDC and VAERS) that contradict the narrative of the vaxxers they respond, "where do you get your news from?". I have heard that exact quote from three different people.
150   richwicks   2021 Dec 27, 11:57am  

Onvacation says
richwicks says
Not just NPR. EVERYBODY. Anything called a "reliable source" in the United States is merely propaganda

When you try to quote statistics (from the CDC and VAERS) that contradict the narrative of the vaxxers they respond, "where do you get your news from?". I have heard that exact quote from three different people.


All you can do is have a ready made list of CDC articles, and you will have to quote portions of it.

If you want to go through that trouble, you send it to them and write something along the lines "perhaps I made an error, can you help me find it?"

99% of the time they won't read it and you won't get a response. IF you get a response - you can then push a little further with "But I found this information, why do you think professional journalists whose JOB is to know this information, can't?"

It's EXHAUSTING to try to deprogram somebody. I've MULTIPLE times pointed out "mistakes" of our media to friends to have them just return to the vomit of our news media. It's infuriating. I just stop trying to explain but when I'm challenged, I generally have the information readily available and will forward it to them when challenged. Even doing this for YEARS, they still believe the nonsense propaganda.

They can't seem to figure out they are being systematically lied to. It's a cult.
152   Patrick   2021 Dec 30, 3:26pm  

https://www.dailywire.com/news/while-bidens-numbers-tank-lets-go-brandon-chain-of-stores-expands-to-10?source=patrick.net


While Biden’s Numbers Tank, ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Chain Of Stores Expands To 10
"Business is very, very good right now."
153   Patrick   2022 Jan 2, 10:25am  

https://nypost.com/2022/01/01/voters-need-to-start-turning-the-page-on-bidens-disaster/?source=patrick.net


In these areas and more, the Biden Administration has placed politics and ideology above the interests and lives of American citizens, not to mention Afghans and migrants. Of course, the mainstream media and congressional Democrats will never truly hold this White House responsible for its actions. In this midterm election year, it falls to the American people to do so. By ousting Biden’s elected supporters, voters can begin to turn the page on his disastrous presidency.
155   Patrick   2022 Jan 5, 11:00am  

https://patriotpost.us/articles/85300?utm_medium=patrick.net&utm_source=patrick.net&utm_campaign=patrick.net&utm_content=body


Senator Cruz Details Grounds for Biden Impeachment
If the GOP takes back Congress in 2022, this is a serious, and warranted, possibility.
156   richwicks   2022 Jan 5, 11:12am  

Patrick says
Senator Cruz Details Grounds for Biden Impeachment


It will never happen.

Even if it did, all it would do is replace one puppet for another. If we're going to have a puppet, best we have the worst possible and incompetent puppet as possible, rather than one that can at least appear in charge.

No policy change will happen if Biden were replaced with Harris.
157   Misc   2022 Jan 5, 11:17am  

Still needs 66 senators for removal.

Even in GOP wet dreams they ain't gonna get that kind of a majority in 2022 elections.
158   Patrick   2022 Jan 5, 3:14pm  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10372327/Venmo-PayPal-Cash-App-report-transactions-totaling-600-IRS.html?source=patrick.net


Venmo, PayPal and Cash App will now have to report transactions totaling more than $600 to the IRS as Biden plans to ramp up financial enforcement


Use cash instead.
159   HeadSet   2022 Jan 5, 3:51pm  

Patrick says
Use cash instead.

A $600 cash transaction triggers that Biden reporting, too.
160   Patrick   2022 Jan 5, 3:55pm  

Only if someone actually enters that data. At least it won't be automated, as it is with Paypal, etc.
161   HeadSet   2022 Jan 5, 5:41pm  

Patrick says
Only if someone actually enters that data. At least it won't be automated, as it is with Paypal, etc.

ATMs will likely report. You have to get your cash somehow to pay cash manually.
162   RWSGFY   2022 Jan 5, 5:47pm  

HeadSet says
Patrick says
Only if someone actually enters that data. At least it won't be automated, as it is with Paypal, etc.

ATMs will likely report. You have to get your cash somehow to pay cash manually.


$600 is above usual ATM limit, iirc.
163   Onvacation   2022 Jan 5, 6:02pm  

Patrick says

Use cash instead.

I do.

Credit Union cash max is $500. I get $500 4 or 5 times a month and buy meals and things. Small businesses appreciate cash; so do those who serve us..

I am pretty sure one of Biden's new IRS tax goons is going to target me for "structuring" my withdrawals to fall below the reporting level. I'm not going to tell them about the hookers and blow, I'm going to lie and say it was massages and cannabis.
164   HeadSet   2022 Jan 5, 6:10pm  

FuckCCP89 says
$600 is above usual ATM limit, iirc.

I thought someone would bring that up. But cumulative in a given time period will count here for reporting, just like with the old $10k limit. Gaming withdrawals to stay under the limit will get you in trouble.
165   Patrick   2022 Jan 8, 9:55pm  

https://patriotpost.us/articles/85297?utm_medium=patrick.net&utm_source=patrick.net&utm_campaign=patrick.net&utm_content=body


Burying Biden’s Big Lie About Vaccination
He’s told a lot of them, but this particularly nasty one about a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” has now been thoroughly debunked.

It’s no secret that Joe Biden has an uneasy relationship with the truth — especially when it comes to his claims about vaccination.

For example: He was long ago proven to be a liar when he was asked whether vaccination should be mandatory and he answered: “No, I don’t think it should be mandatory. I wouldn’t demand that it be mandatory.” Likewise, he was long ago proven to be a liar when he told one of CNN’s resident perverts, Don Lemon, during a town hall meeting in July, “You’re not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations.” Same with the lie he told just last month when he challenged our patriotism before sneering, “How about making sure that you’re vaccinated so you do not spread the disease to anybody else?”

Memo to Snake Oil Joe: How about making sure you’ve got your facts before making such bold and sweeping pronouncements?

Those, though, aren’t the vaccination lies we’re looking for. No, the ones we had in mind were those that smeared and vilified the unvaccinated. “It’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Biden lectured, just before clarifying things as only he can: “It’s a vaxation of the unvaccinated.”

Then he washed, and he rinsed, and he repeated. Time and again, he said things like: “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. The unvaccinated. Not the vaccinated, the unvaccinated.”
167   Patrick   2022 Jan 13, 12:46pm  

https://stevekirsch.substack.com/p/why-biden-gets-my-vote-as-the-worst?source=patrick.net


Biden’s approval rating has dropped to a new low of 33%. I think it’s going to go even lower. I think history will eventually judge him as the worst President in US history.

Sure, Biden didn’t create COVID. But by enabling Fauci instead of firing him, he has turned a bad situation (COVID) into a national and worldwide disaster.

A wise chief executive will always solicit opposing points of view on any important decision
The most important quality in a chief executive is his decision-making ability.

Take, for example, the question as to whether or not to mandate the vaccination of the entire population of the US with a vaccine which was never properly tested on animals (they never did the amount, duration, and distribution studies of the spike protein on non-human primates, for example, and still haven’t) and where the safety signals in VAERS are off the charts (and nobody can explain the reason for that other than using hand-waving arguments without any evidence).
171   Patrick   2022 Jan 14, 5:37pm  

From an email from info@grrrgraphics.com


The Biden Regime has failed at nearly everything they’ve tried. This is a good thing because what they’ve been attempting is totalitarianism. The Socialist Democrats do not want competition. Like the Bolsheviks, they want all other political parties eliminated..

Joe sounded disconsolate that his ‘voting rights’ bill is in big trouble. Kamala sounded more hopeful, but she’s always on the wrong page.

Traitor Joe wants to end the filibuster and that also flopped. The Supreme Court tossed out Joe’s vaccine mandate for businesses. Unfortunately they did not allow medical professionals equal protection under the law.

Joe’s ‘Build Back Better’ collapse is also dangerous. It means the desperate Socialist Democrats will resort to more alarming and desperate tactics. A war with Russia? A new and more powerful bio-weapon to be released? Will patriots who believe in the Constitution and individual rights continue to be arrested as ’insurrectionists’ by a corrupt DOJ and FBI?


175   Patrick   2022 Jan 19, 7:03am  

https://www.theepochtimes.com/pentagon-has-yet-to-issue-report-on-weapons-left-in-afghanistan_4220187.html?source=patrick.net&utm_source=share-btn-copylink


Pentagon Misses Deadline to Produce Report on Billions in Weapons Left Behind in Afghanistan
By Ken Silva January 18, 2022 Updated: January 18, 2022biggersmaller Print
The Department of Defense (DOD) has missed a deadline to produce a report on the estimated $85 billion in U.S. weaponry left in Afghanistan, prompting a letter from 27 House Republicans demanding answers.
176   Onvacation   2022 Jan 19, 7:05am  

HeadSet says
Gaming withdrawals to stay under the limit will get you in trouble.

I take out $500 at a time, as that is the limit.

It is none of the government's business what I do with MY money.
179   Patrick   2022 Jan 23, 1:00pm  



Why?

The vaxx does less than nothing to stop transmission. It enhances transmission of the virus.

Is this just more Biden corruption for the profit of Pfizer?
180   Misc   2022 Jan 23, 1:47pm  

China has reinstituted the Anal swab for those not having the Chinese Vaxx,

We're being benign.
181   Shaman   2022 Jan 23, 1:58pm  

Misc says
China has reinstituted the Anal swab for those not having the Chinese Vaxx,

We're being benign.


That’s like saying the Arabs not only enslaved Africans but also castrated them to ensure they wouldn’t breed.
So the American pre-Civil War South was benign.

Your tiny mustache is showing.
184   RC2006   2022 Jan 24, 8:22am  

We all knew chaos and war would break out under Biden. Biden's puppet masters know libs will be distracted from all of their fuck ups.
185   rocketjoe79   2022 Jan 24, 8:25am  

Patrick says


Why?

The vaxx does less than nothing to stop transmission. It enhances transmission of the virus.

Is this just more Biden corruption for the profit of Pfizer?


Except for illegals, of course. They get a free pass on vaxxing, and then get shipped to cities around the USA to spread the disease.

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