• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Biden to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by 9/11/21

Louis Gossett Jr said:
I mean negotiating directly with the Taliban with no input from the government you have propped up for 20 years is pretty fucking bad. Was bound to happen to some degree but that pretty much solidified anyone in power leaving or cutting their own deals with the Taliban. Also the people doing that negotiating from the United States knew what a horrible idea it was considering they made sure to mention every other sentence the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban.
Click to expand...

Given the events of the last seven days, is it possible that they already knew that the Afghani government might not have been a indispensable party to the future government of Afghanistan?
 
WokeandBroke said:
Given the events of the last seven days, is it possible that they already knew that the Afghani government might not have been a indispensable party to the future government of Afghanistan?
Click to expand...

so when Trump negotiated with the Taliban, did he just make them really, really promise, or even pinkie swear, that they wouldn't take over things?
 
BarcaDeac said:
so when Trump negotiated with the Taliban, did he just make them really, really promise, or even pinkie swear, that they wouldn't take over things?
Click to expand...

That's not what I said. I asked, what is wrong with Trump's deal? We basically had a cease fire until the withdrawal date from the US POV (no combat deaths since last year). I don't think working directly with the people that were going to inevitably be in charge is the greatest sin. They're the real party in interest anyways, as we can all plainly see. Do you believe the Afghan government is a reliable partner?
 
WokeandBroke said:
That's not what I said. I asked, what is wrong with Trump's deal? We basically had a cease fire until the withdrawal date from the US POV (no combat deaths since last year). I don't think working directly with the people that were going to inevitably be in charge is the greatest sin. They're the real party in interest anyways, as we can all plainly see. Do you believe the Afghan government is a reliable partner?
Click to expand...

this is a circular argument - Trump delegitimized the Afghan government by negotiating with the Taliban
 
WokeandBroke said:
Hey Phan, do you have any thoughts on this Administration's handling of the withdrawal in Afghanistan?
Click to expand...
I have thoughts, of course, but I'm trying to read and learn before I spout off some nonsense. My three or four contributions to this thread aren't super substantial, sure, but I'm only counting two potentially useful posts out of your thread-leading...63.

Cut out the trolling and the gotchas and one-liners and have a conversation like a normal person.
 
 
A good thread here:
 
Just a couple points that seem pretty skewed by Americans and media at home judging this thing. First, hunt down some video on the Afghans being trained as soldiers, then consider the fact that a bunch of people just killed themselves thinking they could cling onto some landing gear all the way to America. You can't apply your normal rational standards to the situation - even handled in a nearly optimal way, whatever that would have been, the exit period would have been a debacle. The idea that we just could have started earlier and avoided any issues is a laughable supposition, but it's being thrown around all over the place.

Second, the repeated "couldn't have gone any worse" stuff, in the wake of zero American casualties to this point (I think), when Trump had drawn us down to a number of troops that could have easily been overrun by the Taliban were it not for us setting an exit date and sticking to it, is also nuts. There absolutely could have been battles, bombings, they could have taken over both sides of the airport, etc. And if we fly on the hour we can still get tens of thousands of people out in a matter of days.

The speed at which the Taliban took over was a massive fuckup. It puts the ball completely in their court as far as who they allow to leave and when. If there had been even minor resistance, it takes a week or two, and we'd have had time to leverage the cities for evacuations of others. This could go south fast, or the Taliban could let folks leave who want to so they don't force more US soldiers to return.

Criticism is absolutely warranted, but it's being delivered through a lens that is completely detached from reality.
 
Good points. Gop loves to set the narrative And they have many good foot soldiers like jh to accomplish this.
 
ChrisL68 said:
Good points. Gop loves to set the narrative And they have many good foot soldiers like jh to accomplish this.
Click to expand...

In this case, that narrative is "If you have to use a pressure washer to clean out crushed human remains from the landing gear, it's not going all that well."
 
ChrisL68 said:
Good points. Gop loves to set the narrative And they have many good foot soldiers like jh to accomplish this.
Click to expand...

This has turned into a complete homer board to defend whatever narrative your party likes. It would be humorous if not sad to complete lack of logic and rationalization to defend asinine positions. Take off your blinders as even Dems are blasting Biden as seen below. The issue is not staying or leaving Afghanistan or whatever you think of Trump's negotiating with Taliban, but executing withdrawal of american citizens and those Afghans that supported the US efforts. Some have said Biden had been communicating we would be out by 9/11 but guess what it is 8/18. He should have been crystal clear in communications to those there as I'm sure some even doubted 9/11 given he is a politician. It is now well known that he dismissed virtually every intelligence and military voice that warned him that it could quickly deteriorate with the path Biden chose instead of focusing on evacuations first. complete disaster and glad there are some actual Dems that haven't lost their ability to reason and see it for what it is. Not to mention the public spectacle to the world of incompetence.

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a scathing assessment of Joe Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and pledged his committee to investigate its “flawed execution.”

The senator said the committee would “seek a full accounting” of the US exit, Donald Trump’s “flawed negotiations” with the Taliban, and the Biden administration’s failure to anticipate the rapid collapse of Afghan security forces despite assurances.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top