After nearly twenty years of occupation, the U.S. is scrambling to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1384637
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1384637
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About friggin’ time. A no win situation from day one.
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To Miller, the Afghans seeking to escape reprisals from the Taliban are just another part of that vast global conspiracy.
No one can seriously tell me that TFG’s administration would have handled this humanitarian catastrophe any better. The best I can imagine is what they did to Puerto Rico: all talk and no action.
That said, Kabul hasn’t utterly degenerated into a replay of Saigon: at this writing, the US military still has a significant presence at the airport and the Biden administration does seem to have a real interest in providing for the orderly evacuation of Afghans seeking to leave.
ETA: As for Stephen Miller, he’d have been right at home with the Nazis chanting “Jews will not replace us,” in Charlottesville.
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Any comment from Stevie on this?:
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If the Afghans are unwilling to fight for their own country, there is absolutely nothing that the US or anyone else can do to make a democracy in that country.
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And the intelligence folks knew all this back during the Reagan administration when they were supplying arms to Afghan “rebels” back in the day when the Russians were in this position…
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Doesn’t even have to be “unwilling”. It could also be “unable”. With a war torn history for centuries, Afghanistan seems like an awfully challenging piece of ground to conquer and hold.
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Stephen Miller: Afghans Will Not Replace Us
I think they just did, dumbass.
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Stevie, bubbie, any random Afghan could replace you, be it a human, dog or rug. My bet is on the latter.
As for the underlying story, clearly the withdrawal was massively botched. We had to leave, and should have done it years if not decades ago, but once the decision to leave was made, provisions should have been made to make sure we got all of our Afghani allies and US and other military and non-military personnel out safely, and as much military and other equipment out, especially the kind that could be used against us or our allies someday, or Afghans, and left no one and nothing behind that shouldn’t have been left behind. This was clearly not done.
I find it hard to believe that Biden, with all his years of foreign policy experience, is primarily responsible. This was a joint intel/military screwup, and I have to wonder if it’s not either Trumpies who were simply incompetent, or who intentionally botched this to make Biden & Dems looks bad. However, even if either or both were the case, Biden and his top people should have done a better job of making sure that the people in charge of doing this were up to the task and operating in good faith. Some blame must be laid at their feet. But something stinks here, and it’s going to cost Dems and give Repubs something new to attack them on. Dems can’t keep us or our allies safe! Afghazi! Kabulemails! Tan pantsuit!
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Steve was hoping to set up detention centers for all the women and children in Afghanistan.
Oh well.
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Yeah, so true. Had Clinton done this 4 years ago, it probably would have gone very differently. Biden failed to take into account how those 4 years changed the dynamic in Afghanistan and in our military, intel and foreign policy leadership. He should have thoroughly cleaned house first, given the new people a chance to fix all that was broken and come up with a viable exit plan, and then given the order. But what’s done is done and there’s only making the most of this situation and learning from it.
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Only In America could a Jewish boy from Santa Monica grow up to be a full-on White Supremacist. It’s really heart-warming, from a cynical perspective.
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I think the Afghans are smart enough to lay down their weapons and negotiate the best settlement they can. The alternative would be a bloody defeat and no terms for surrender. Just my half assed opinion of the whole mess.
For the Republicans I say we did not surrender, so don’t say we lost the war.
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So you were okay with us moving back to a combat role and sending in 30-50k troops?
Because, with Trump having cut forces to 2,500, and having agreed to a may 1 deadline to be gone in exchange for the Taliban not targeting American troops, that was the only other choice Biden had.
Doubt a call to rip up the agreement and pour forces back into the country and in active combat roles by necessity would have gone over well.
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When the census data was released the other day Stephen Miller retreated to his bunker to sulk with his wife and child.
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Good Thread. (repost):
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When I come anywhere even remotely close to agreeing with Coulter, I think I better lie down.
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Oh dear … I think reality has gone on the blink again.
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Truth. On some level, the fact that the Proud Boys are led by a Latino (Enrique Tarrio), the January 6th insurrection was organized by a black Arab Muslim (Ali Alexander), and some of the GOP’s most whackjob mouthpieces are people of color (Alan West, David Clarke, Candace Owens), makes me positively hopeful that we are finally moving to a post-racial world where minorities are welcomed into the groups that seek to violently fight democracy and American principles.
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