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macelena

Curbing the Taliban push?

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I don't know if you guys have seen the footage, crowds of military aged males, being pushed aside by C-17s, with a load of guys hanging on them, and dropping to death as the aircraft climb away. 

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10 minutes ago, macelena said:

I don't know if you guys have seen the footage, crowds of military aged males, being pushed aside by C-17s, with a load of guys hanging on them, and dropping to death as the aircraft climb away. 

I have now.....

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Some reading

1) President Trump signing an agreement with the Taliban and now the GOP trying to flip the narrative. https://www.newsweek.com/gop-removes-webpage-praising-trumps-historic-peace-deal-taliban-1619605

2) Some valid criticism of the Biden Administration. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/06/07/what-the-biden-administrations-narrative-on-afghanistan-gets-wrong/

3) The 30,000 domestic troops had frontlines that were being starved of ammunition and rations by the Afghanistan leadership. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/world/asia/afghanistan-rapid-military-collapse.html

Click to read full page

gop.png

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1 hour ago, Erik said:

Some reading

1) President Trump signing an agreement with the Taliban and now the GOP trying to flip the narrative. https://www.newsweek.com/gop-removes-webpage-praising-trumps-historic-peace-deal-taliban-1619605

2) Some valid criticism of the Biden Administration. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/06/07/what-the-biden-administrations-narrative-on-afghanistan-gets-wrong/

3) The 30,000 domestic troops had frontlines that were being starved of ammunition and rations by the Afghanistan leadership. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/world/asia/afghanistan-rapid-military-collapse.html

Click to read full page

gop.png

Afghanistan always has  had a problem of tribal leaders not following the government.  It's just how it works. Now for my opinion  it seems that Trump started the process and Biden finished it. And  now they (as you pointed out) by changing  the narrative and going against Biden. Fact  of the matter is that it probably would have blown up in Trump's face if he had a second term. Just like the Middle East peace  deal it fell apart.

As for  my opinion given my tour, I think it's pretty messed up the hard work we put in there just goes away with the Taliban took over. Sure feels like my tour there was a waste. Nothing changed and we still didn't defeat the Taliban, and as they say, "You have the watches, we have the time." They simply just waited for us to begin to leave in order to take over. They knew we wouldn't stay there forever and this just shows that they waited whether we would have been there for thirty or fifty years.

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UK military commander: 'We've betrayed' Afghans who helped British troops'

Major General Charlie Herbert, a military commander from the UK’s campaign in Afghanistan, has accused the government of betraying Afghans who supported British troops. Herbert, who left the army two years ago, is trying to help hundreds of interpreters and support staff whose work with allied forces means their lives are now at risk.

Short video interview

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-58231760

 

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33 minutes ago, EricJ said:

As for  my opinion given my tour, I think it's pretty messed up the hard work we put in there just goes away with the Taliban took over. Sure feels like my tour there was a waste.

I know I was just a fobbit over there, but feel free to message me if you need to talk. These are hard times for a lot of OEF vets.

 

Unfortunate fun fact: one of the State Department Air Wing CH-46s that was taking part in the Kabul evacuation was on the USS Hancock during Operation Frequent Wind.

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1 minute ago, Viggen said:

I know I was just a fobbit over there, but feel free to message me if you need to talk. These are hard times for a lot of OEF vets.

 

Unfortunate fun fact: one of the State Department Air Wing CH-46s that was taking part in the Kabul evacuation was on the USS Hancock during Operation Frequent Wind.

Sure thing. But yeah I've seen a few OEF Vets on Twitter pretty much have the same feeling as me. It was my best time in my life but Trump or Biden the feeling would have been the same. But if I need to talk I'll message you.

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As someone who has worked a bunch of (blue collar) jobs in and around the logistics field and has something of an interest in shipping, i started messing around looking at the USAF inventory of Transports and Tankers and wondering how much material and equipment could have been moved using say, a 1/4 of the Transport fleet in 16 weeks? I'm sure contractors would have been used also but i figured lets just stick to USAF aircraft and logistics Units.

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The Taliban were started by Pakistan back in the 2000s, after doing a marketing research campaign on the general public. We went into Afghanistan after Al-Qaeda but the Taliban were in charge then and they are now. Pakistan is back to their old tricks of wanting Afghanistan through proxy. Not sure we'll ever do anything there with Pakistan next door. The allies forces dropped a shit ton of money into an endless pit. I think finally getting out there just had to be done. The departure was always going to be shit show.

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A succesfull retreat is the most challenging military operation. I fear, that in near future the days of the fall of Kabul will be a part of a textbook, how not to handle such a crisis.

If i hear, that the german government decided on last saturday to evacuate germans and afghan people, who helped the germans, with start on monday then i expect, that the first A-400M transporter will land at 00:01 at Kabul airport. But in reality the planes started this morning from the german base Wunstorf and one plane reached Kabul this evening.

Why they have not sent the birds on saturday or sunday? This is bad management!

Whoever relies on us is lost! This is the lesson!

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The Allies should have never been involved in an Afghan Civil War that the Afghanies and Afghan government will not fight themselves. I’m relieved the bandaid is finally ripped off, there are bigger threats out there than 20 year old threats. All our nations can finally stop looking our children in the eye as each new generation deploys there. My biggest and most humble thank you to every man and woman that has put on a military uniform.

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4 hours ago, EricJ said:

Afghanistan always has  had a problem of tribal leaders not following the government.  It's just how it works.

heard a tale from a grunt one time, while in Kuwait after R&R waiting to head north (early 2012)

his merry band of Strykers pulled up into a village, and everyone's "oh shit" meter pegged when the entire village took to the hills. everyone except this old man

the terp asked the old man he didnt run first. "i had a good life, do what you will with me" he says

asked what he menant, he replied "you Russians always shoot all the men"

this was 2011, 2012 timeframe. that village still thought they were fighting the Soviet Union.

that is not a good country to nation build and promote democracy my friends.

 

as to how its all going, i can only look at the Nam guys and say so that how it feels.  i hope the rest of ours get out ok, and there are some ANA i worked with that i hope got out sometime between the last year and now. but many of the others i worked with ....

not suprised a bit

Edited by daddyairplanes
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Yeah our terp  got out before so he's on my FB friend list doing good. But for the others we'll have to see...

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1 hour ago, daddyairplanes said:

asked what he ment, he replied "you Russians always shoot all the men"

this was 2011, 2012 timeframe. that village still thought they were fighting the Soviet Union.

that is not a good country to nation build and promote democracy my friends.

It was known from the outset back in 2001 by most not writing in crayon that rule number One of the colonial war handbook (which this is despite the remarketing) is never invade Afghanistan!

Therefore the exit strategy was also known to be very difficult but they have had 20 years to work something out which could only include getting the natives onside. 

That quote just goes along with how do you turn a nation so backward into some kind of democracy when the majority of Afghans probably see foreign invaders with values that do nothing but insult their beliefs! Also why should they have other peoples ideals forced upon them by military invasion..........just provides more recruits for the Taliban.

 

The chosen exit strategy appears to be an exact replica of Nixon's in Nam and I am not just talking about a few Helicopter shots.............. even starting with a half arsed deal that didn't suit the Afghan government and left the Taliban in control of large parts of the country before pulling out!

On the face of it these people running this don't appear to have 2 brain cells to rub together.............it is an absolute farce and a demonstration of outright stupidity on an international scale!!

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I found this image on Facebook, and pretty much I agree  with:

238963435_4325656837494016_4834129341977690419_n.jpg

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Wish we had a map in current standards so I bomb the whole of those guys! 

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The Brits evacuated over 800 with one plane. The Americans evacuated over 600 with one plane. The Germans evacuated 7 with one plane. Well done Luftwaffe! Outstanding job!

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So Ahmad Shah Massoud's son raised the Northern Alliance flag in Panjshir and some remaining elements of the ANA and AAF have also made their way there. I guess it's 1998 again?

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30 minutes ago, Viggen said:

So Ahmad Shah Massoud's son raised the Northern Alliance flag in Panjshir and some remaining elements of the ANA and AAF have also made their way there. I guess it's 1998 again?

Did you see that on Facebook? I saw it also but it's an old photo that's been cropped. Facebook is notorious for this propaganda shit and has no accountability for it.

Here's the original photo from 2019. https://www.facebook.com/1277752765614575/photos/a.2569455773110928/2570980672958438/?type=3&source=54

Today the Northern Alliance is on the Taliban's side today or probably more correct they are indifferent. The Taliban leveraged close ties to Al-Qaeda and used some of their fighters from Tajik and Uzbek Al-Qaeda to enlist the former Northern Alliance tribes onto the Taliban's side.

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