The US War in Afghanistan
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Joey D
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America and killing innocent people in drone strikes, name a more iconic duo.
I get we needed to retaliate and I get that targets only have so much intel on them, but it's horrible optics for the US to keep doing this.
As for the pull out of Afghanistan? What a cluster. Why would you not evacuate civilians before removing the military? Trump brokered this deal over a year ago, we had more than enough time to get people. This final week should've just been military personal leaving. I know it's not entirely Biden's fault and I give him credit for doing what Bush, Obama, and Trump all should've done, but I still feel like he's fumbling it in the end zone.
I get we needed to retaliate and I get that targets only have so much intel on them, but it's horrible optics for the US to keep doing this.
As for the pull out of Afghanistan? What a cluster. Why would you not evacuate civilians before removing the military? Trump brokered this deal over a year ago, we had more than enough time to get people. This final week should've just been military personal leaving. I know it's not entirely Biden's fault and I give him credit for doing what Bush, Obama, and Trump all should've done, but I still feel like he's fumbling it in the end zone.
TonyJZX
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I think one can only come to this conclusion that this is Biden's fault. If you want to blame Trump for Dec 2016 to Jan 2021 then its only fair to say that Biden alone is responsible for this.
Further one of Trump's failings is his 'get out of jail' card here.... Trump may have brokered some 'deal' but since he did nothing after that then how is it his fault?
Further one of Trump's failings is his 'get out of jail' card here.... Trump may have brokered some 'deal' but since he did nothing after that then how is it his fault?
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The problem is that Trump's deal set expectations for the Taliban and very likely limited our options. I would guess that the Taliban conditioned our "peaceful" exit on getting out by the agreed upon deadline. So if we blew the deadline maybe the Taliban would start attacking US positions in Afghanistan. Of course we vastly outgun them, so we could "dictate the terms on the ground" if it came to it, but how many more bodies do we want to send home? I could easily see the situation descending into quagmire once again. If the goal is to leave the conflict, then allowing the conflict to intensify is not the right move.
I'm not giving Biden a pass here...I think we were caught flat footed and should have done more to either prevent Kabul from falling when it was apparent that the Taliban would take it, or we should have started the evac process weeks before, again, when it was apparent that the Taliban was steamrolling the country. Probably both of those things. That's all on team Biden. I feel like there was some intelligence gaps...it must have been apparent to people in the ANA that there was simply no fight. Why we didn't know this earlier or why we did know and not act more urgently with regards to Kabul is what I really want to know.
Danoff
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Exactly, it's the opposite of the goal, essentially creating a new conflict.
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- TexRex72
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Please stop telling people to read your edits. Instead, maybe copy your edits into the posts in which you'd normally say this. People don't get alerts to your edits and it isn't apparent to which posts said edits have been applied. I know I'm not the only one who would like you to end this practice.
And please, please, please try to pull back a bit on the victimhood. You're not the victim that you make yourself out to be.
Yes, Biden, as chief executive, whose duty it is to see that laws and policies, foreign and domestic, are executed, is ultimately responsible when the execution of policy results in the death of 13 American servicemembers and many more Afghani civilians. It's my understanding that he even owns this responsibility.
It's not known precisely to what degree Biden is responsible because it isn't known precisely what Biden knew leading up to the event, what orders were given and how orders were carried out by subordinates. It may not ever be fully understood by the public, but there will undoubtedly be an investigation as one of the duties of Congress is executive oversight. A significant portion of Congress is actually chomping at the bit to investigate this because of the very nature of politics in this country right now. Think Benghazi. I'd hope the rest is keen to investigate as well because it's their duty and I, as an American, am unsatisfied by the current lack of information.
Has this addressed your question? If not, what still needs to be addressed?
Do you agree with my response? If not, with what and in what way and do you disagree?
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McLaren
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'No option for us': US withdrawal marks terrifying moment for Americans, allies still in Afghanistan
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said fewer than 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan and the actual number is "likely closer to 100."
www.usatoday.com
It has been said elsewhere that many of these people voluntarily chose to stay because they've become that adjusted to life there or have people there they don't want to leave.
Danoff
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I'm seeing reports of somewhere between 100 and 200 Americans (including permanent residents) that were unable (or unwilling) to get to the Kabul airport for a verity of reasons, including, it looks like, being attacked on their way. From what is being said, the US government is still working to get them out.
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I gather the effort to get Americans and privileged Afghans out is now an effort conducted primarily by the State Department and presumably that doesn't violate the terms of the military withdrawal that Biden honored, with the last flight leaving just before midnight of the 30th.
@Keef
@Danoff tree'd me on this.
It's my understanding that they will not and this was the rationale behind eliminating the previous 5-minute edit window before a post is marked as having been edited.
@Keef
@Danoff tree'd me on this.
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Danoff
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I assume you agree with the image. Which president would you like to take the blame for that and why?
Two organizations absolutely jump out at me as deserving of blame. One, the Taliban (presumably) for hanging someone. Two, the Afghanistani government for leaving weapons (including helicopters) to the Taliban. There are more ways to skin it, but those additional ways get complicated fast.
Indeed I did not get that notification.
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Danoff
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That's a lie, and you've fallen for right-wing propaganda.
The guy is a Taliban operative trying to apparently, change a flag. He's seen waving later on in another video.
Well that's much better than what it looked like. We live in a time where the debunk of stuff like this doesn't get circulated, so the new truth is that that guy was getting hanged by the Taliban - and there's a whole group of people who will probably never know otherwise.
Edit:
And to @ryzno (I know you won't get this notification because it's in an edit), my previous post still stands. The Taliban have done and will do some horrible things, including probably hanging people. And the Taliban are in possession of US weapons most directly because of the abandonment of the previous government.
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