Should We Stay Or Should We Go Now?

Peter Baker of the NY Times ponders possible alternatives to the Biden/Trump framing of Afghanistan as a choice between full withdrawal or significant escalation. Sure, to (mis)quote a genius SecState, at this point what difference does it make? But this factoid suggests the unpopular stalemate was achieving some US national security goals with a low level of casualties:

After drawdowns beginning under Mr. Obama, just a fraction of the troops there at the peak were left, yet military strategists said they had an outsize impact in keeping Afghan security forces in the fight without engaging in as much combat themselves.

Fewer than 100 American troops died in combat in Afghanistan over the past five years, roughly the equivalent of the number of Americans currently dying from Covid-19 every two hours. Until the devastating attack this week by ISIS-K at the Kabul airport killed 13 American service members, the military had suffered no combat deaths since the Trump agreement was signed.

Yes, 100 deaths is 100 too many if no purpose is being served. But 5,000 US troops and associated air support were apparently a huge force multiplier propping up an Afghan army with dubious morale.

“The administration is presenting the choices in a way that is, at best, incomplete,” said Meghan O’Sullivan, a deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush who oversaw earlier stages of the Afghan war. “No one I knew was advocating the return of tens of thousands of Americans into ‘open combat’ with the Taliban.”

Instead, some, including the current military leadership of Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asserted that keeping a relatively modest force of as few as 3,000 to 4,500 troops along with the extensive use of drones and close air support could have enabled Afghan security forces to continue holding off the Taliban without putting Americans at much risk.

“There was an alternative that could have prevented further erosion and likely enabled us to roll back some of the Taliban gains in recent years,” said Gen. David H. Petraeus, the retired commander of American forces in Afghanistan and former C.I.A. director who argued the mission was making progress while serving alongside Mr. Biden under President Barack Obama.

If memory serves (and it does), the idea of a light US footprint focused on counter-terrorism rather than counterinsurgency was Biden's plan back in 2009. Met with derision at the time, maybe it doesn't looks so bad now.

Seems like a shame to skip the derision from 2009:

And others, more harshly, argue that Mr. Biden’s judgment on foreign policy has often been off base.

They point out that he voted against the successful Persian Gulf war of 1991, voted for the Iraq invasion of 2003, proposed dividing Iraq into three sections in 2006 and opposed the additional troops credited by many with turning Iraq around in 2007.

“When was the last time Biden was right about anything?” Thomas E. Ricks, a military writer, wrote in a blog on Sept. 24. Mr. Ricks is affiliated with the Center for a New American Security, a research organization founded by Democrats.

Well. By 2021, not even Team Biden liked the old Biden plan (my emphasis):

 

The Biden team considered other options, including keeping a small presence of troops for counterterrorism operations or to support Afghan security forces, but reasoned that was just “magical thinking” and would take more troops than was sustainable. They discussed whether to renegotiate the Trump agreement to extract more concessions but the Taliban made clear it would not return to the bargaining table and considered the Trump deal binding.

 

"Sustainable" seems to mean "politically popular here in the US". The wind has certainly shifted here since 2009, so the national security parallel to "defund the police" carried the day.

 

And why did Biden stick with the withdrawal negotiated by Trump? One 'excuse' which Biden offered and rejected is that Trump forced his hand:

 

Following the deal, Mr. Trump reduced American forces in Afghanistan to 4,500 from 13,000. Eager to be the president to end the war, he signed a memo to the Pentagon instructing it to pull out all remaining forces by Jan. 15 before leaving office, but was talked out of it by advisers. Instead, he ordered the force drawn down to 2,500 troops in his final days, although about 3,500 actually remained.

 

For Mr. Biden, inheriting such a small force in Afghanistan meant that commanders were already left with too few troops to respond to a renewed Taliban offensive against American forces, which he deemed certain to come if he jettisoned Mr. Trump’s agreement, requiring him to send thousands more troops back in, officials said.

 

While he has suggested he had little choice because of the Trump agreement, Mr. Biden in fact was already determined to pull out of Afghanistan regardless and acknowledged in a recent interview with ABC News that “I would have tried to figure out how to withdraw those troops” even if his predecessor had not negotiated a deal with the Taliban.

 

A stranger point - Biden did modify the deal, changing the deadline from May 1 (roughly the kickoff of 'fighting season', after the poppy harvest is in)  to Aug 31, prime fightin' time. Seemingly better months were considered and rejected:

Mr. Biden’s advisers also considered extending the withdrawal deadline until the winter, after the traditional fighting season was over, to make the transition less dangerous for the Afghan government. The Afghanistan Study Group, a bipartisan congressionally chartered panel that was led by Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., a retired Joint Chiefs chairman and that included Ms. O’Sullivan, in February recommended extending the May 1 deadline and seeking better conditions before pulling out.

But Mr. Biden was warned by security specialists that the longer it took to withdraw after a decision was announced, the more dangerous it would become, aides said, so he extended it only until Aug. 31.

Some say none of this would have happened if Biden were still alive.

Comments

[sbwaters]

Yay!

Thank you, Tom!

Ahh! I can breathe again!

[Narciso]

some people know the stakes involved,

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1483504/sas-news-afghanistan-news-taliban-isis-k-boris-johnson-terror-attack-kabul-joe-biden

so why give up bagram, this was some clever clever plan, like a transition govt, floated by blinken

[Narciso]

yes this was much better,

https://www.theepochtimes.com/airstrike-targets-suicide-bomber-in-vehicle-going-to-kabul-airport-taliban_3968717.html

[henry]

I don’t know the best strategy for Afghanistan. I’m certain that leaving abruptly without telling citizens or allies is close to the worst possible strategy. Like everything else Biden decides.

[Narciso]

those people who pushed the 'russian bounties' look silly now, heck they are probably in the nsc, remember the first strike in afghanistan was against isis k back in 2017

[Narciso]

the previous mission accomplished

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-pro-government-troops-killed-strikes-largest-airbase-al-anad

[Marlene]

Good afternoon! I tried posting on JOM2 but my comments didn't post. We arrived in Florida on Friday. We have a very sick dog. Thank goodness our vet has Saturday hours, because hubby was at the door when her office opened yesterday morning. He's on three meds and seems to be feeling better. Meanwhile, we've been unpacking and getting organized.
Did Biden meet with any of the family members during the arrival at Dover? I really hope that mother called Biden a demented piece of crap to his face.

[Narciso]

indeed marlene

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/08/message_from_an_american_on_the_ground_in_afghanistan.html?

[clarice]

GOOD AFTERNOON, JOM:https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/08/bidens_botched_bug_out_.html

[jim nj]

Marlene,

Assuming you were signed in, there is a quirk in JOM2 commenting. If someone else posts a new comment before you do you have to click "submit" twice.

I had that happen to me before.

[Narciso]

in other news,

https://www.theepochtimes.com/green-card-applicants-will-soon-need-covid-19-vaccine-to-be-eligible-cdc_3969198.html

[Bela1]

Good afternoon JOM. This is so terrible wrong… so wrong
Henri, it’s as if it’s been the plan all along. I say it’s all been been intentional. TBH what In hell did this administration expect could happen? Are they all insane? They are murderous reckless pigs! I am so sick to my stomach over what’s been taking place since this creep took office. It breaks my heart to see what’s been unfolding ever since.
Great Pieces Clarice! You rocked it again!
Marlene did you have to drive down through Henri? I was thinking of you on this trip south & I hope your dog feels better.
Take care

[Narciso]

the top people are either indifferent or complicit with the taliban, with hamas, that's robert malley, that's hala jabr, some do this in furtherance of chinese interests,

[Narciso]

the goal is the collapse of the antislamist circle in the gulf, another wave of immigration like which europe suffered from the syrian backwash, with attendant terrorist events, what trump was trying to stop all the way back to 2017,

[Marlene]

Bela1...we left the cabin on Friday the 20th. Hubby drove his Jeep and I followed in my car down to the truck transport near Augusta. We stayed in Augusta, because the hotel rates in Portland were out of control. Saturday morning we visited both mothers. When we left my mother's in southern NH Saturday noon, we stopped for sandwiches and starting driving The traffic was brutal all the way from NH to CT, where stopped for the night. The Maine/NH tourists had left early to avoid Henri. Actually, from the York toll booth (in Maine) all the way to CT was a parking lot! There was less traffic on the dreaded beltway when we drove to the daughter's house than driving out of New England on the 21st!

[matt - deplore me if you must]

Leaving Bagram in the middle of the night was a coward's exit and a huge red flag to the enemy. How much of the hardware was actually U.S. owned and how much is Afghan owned is an interesting question.

They have enough vehicles to be able to cannibalize and keep the others running for a long time if they have decent mechanics. The helicopters and planes not so much. MRAP's are worthless.

The Haqqani's are the worst of the lot and to see them in high position is not a good sign.

The Afghani (currency) is essentially worthless now, so what are people going to do? The country had a heavy dependency before all of this happened and now they are cut off. I wonder if the Russians or Chinese will step in with humanitarian aid?

[clarice]

The Chinese and Russians both fear Islamacists in their own lands. It will be interesting to see what they do there.

[GUS]

Tom Maguire. It's very hard being a libtard.
I hope you get better soon. You're pissing all over yourself.

[Barbara]

The country had a heavy dependency before all of this happened and now they are cut off. I wonder if the Russians or Chinese will step in with humanitarian aid?

It will be interesting to watch what other Islamic countries do wrt to Afghanistan. I doubt that they would like to see that country turn into a satellite of either China or Russia.

[jimb]

"...wonder if the Russians or Chinese will step in..."

It seems the die already is cast.

China has pitched its "silk road" scam, now that it has clear access from China through Tibet and through Afghanistan to Iran. There's a rail line in the US through Santa Fe where the big American trains reach nearly 100 MPH -- and I'm sure the Chinese can monetize a line like that, especially if it cuts through mountains that have yet to be mined the way that extraction is possible with modern industrial mining ... In other words, the Chinese think they're going to own the road and the mines, and get paid to build them ...

Pakistan Intelligence owns Afghanistan on a superficial level, but it's allied actually with the Chinese, even though it seems we in the US pay much of their bills -- yes, we are so very clever.

Iran shares another border, and it's already doing deals with China (e.g., during the rise of the pandemic, Iran was very hard hit, mostly because it has a bunch of people, including members of leadership, flying back and forth to China) ... Iran evaded US sanctions in part by selling tanker-borne oil to the Chinese at a discount to world prices, and the Iranians would like to get full price, but they are price takers. They could see the value, however, of a pipeline that followed the Tibet-Iran rail link...

The Russians aren't part of this. They left and they'd rather spend their money and military to steal a southern sea port than to care for the humanitarian crises that advances their interests so long as it continues. Did you notice that the Russians, without explanation, are cutting gas deliveries to Europe? No problem, because the Europeans also can get gas over the ocean from us, except when they can't: most of the Gulf oil platforms are now shut down because of the hurricane, inventories already were falling faster than expected, and here in California, one of the pipelines that comes out of the Mountain States is now charging $6 at the terminus (consumers are famously noisy and upset when retail prices get near $4) ...

None of this is so hard: it's checkers, not chess, which is good because our Leaders seem not to have the moxie for chess ...

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

test

[Momto2]

Song for the week..."Am I The Only One?"
(I know I'm not because of the posters here and at JOM2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnNJv5yNZjE

[Rick Ballard]

Matt,

Do you have a read on the number of US civilians providing logistics support at Bagram? We generally have a ton of civilian contractors involved in support operations and I would bet heavily they represent the majority of Americans stuck in Afghanistan.

[Jane]

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/08/revealed-biden-turned-taliban-offer-allow-us-control-kabul-airport/

Biden turned down the Taliban’s offer to control the Kabul airport.

[Jane]

uS control

[matt - deplore me if you must]

The Taliban must be impressed by the TSA. All Haji hats, AK-47's and suicide vests must be be removed and placed in the trays provided.

Rick, I thought the only things left at Bagram after we skedaddled were jackrabbits and abandoned port-o-sans along with any Afghan Air Force inventory lying around. maybe 50-60,000 M-4's.

[Pinandpuller]

Why can’t I take ivermectin for horses?

In the words of Ingrid Newkirk: “A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.”

[Len]

From the ivermectin articles I've read, I have been left with the impression that the medicine works for horses and people. The paste versus the pill is a difference of delivery mechanism though the pill does make getting the right dose easier.

[Jim Eagle]

You want my opinion TM on us and Afghanistah n, give me second to check my watch.

How you can even empathize with this idiot boggles my mind.

[Narciso]

it's really enemy action at this point

https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw

[Pinandpuller]

Speaking of animals, they should call Naftali Bennett potassium chloride cause he put My Dawg Joe to sleep.

[Pinandpuller]

Len

I was just planning on shooting it between my toes.

[Narciso]

a more somber view

https://technofog.substack.com/p/the-troops-deserve-better

[Davod]

Rick Ballard,

They moved the contractors out much earlier, basically crippling the Afghan Air Force, which was used for moving and resupply the Afghans.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--I don’t know the best strategy for Afghanistan. I’m certain that leaving abruptly without telling citizens or allies is close to the worst possible strategy. Like everything else Biden decides.--

I agree with every word henry wrote...except "close to".

[Narciso]

baker must wear masks to avoid the smell of burning strawmen, harry stamper's crew could have done better (armageddon)

[fdcol63 🇺🇸]

The good news is that I don’t think we’ll have to play whack-a-mole hitting AQ training camps in Afghanistan in the future.

The bad news is that they’ll be here … in our own interior … made up of all the unvetted Afghan “refugees” that we’re flying in and other assorted Islamist militants flooding across the Mexican border.

Clearly, the globalist Dems and GOPe will be focused like a laser on the threat posed by American patriots and Trump voters.

[Barbara]

Narciso @6:45pm,

“Well clearly, if they were able to get up to the Marines, at the screening, at the entry point of the base, there’s a failure somewhere.
Gen. McKenzie

Pathetic.

[Len]

Pin - a delivery system I had not considered...

[Davod]

Headline on Instapundit:"PHYLLIS CHESLER: Team of Radical Feminists Rescues Thirty Afghan Feminists. “We Jews have an expression. ‘Saving one life is like saving a world.’ And here we are, a band of sisters, well on our way to having saved more than thirty worlds and counting.”

This is an inspirational read.

https://lidblog.com/rescues-thirty-afghan-feminists/

[Narciso]

yes indeed, orlando, somehow has ignored the 50 people killed the pulse shooter, they were killed by 'hate' not a virulent follower of islamist preacher,

[Jim Eagle]

Good night

[Davod]

5,100 Christian and other at-risk Afghans evacuated in private rescue mission, says Glenn Beck, Jennifer Lee 28 August 2021 | 10:30 AM

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/5100.christian.and.other.at.risk.afghans.evacuated.in.private.rescue.mission.says.glenn.beck/137311.htm

[Narciso]

questions?

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/08/29/sunday-talks-secretary-of-state-anthony-blinken-is-very-nervous-contemplating-the-full-weight-of-the-dos-and-intel-community-aligning-against-biden-over-afghanistan/comment-page-2/#comment-8037317

[clarice]

I think the suicide bomber might well have been a woman--one of the 2 women soldiers murdered had the job of examining the women and children. I don't know about the other.

[Davod]

NotTheBee., with a news video from Australia.

https://notthebee.com/article/a-student-at-the-university-of-tennessee-was-dragged-out-of-class-for-not-wearing-a-mask-and-im-starting-to-wonder-if-this-stuff-ever-ends-at-all

[Davod]

PS. 991 people died of COVID in Australia since the pandemic started. Australia has a population of 25 million.

[Narciso]

the black widows can even be more vicious then the men, but I think the martyrdom video was of a male, the ones who tried today, may be female,

[Neo]

“We have a problem,” [Abdul Ghani] Baradar, [head of the Taliban’s political wing] said, according to the U.S. official. “We have two options to deal with it: You [the United States military] take responsibility for securing Kabul or you have to allow us to do it.”

[henry]

22 barges loose on the Mississippi.

https://www.katc.com/news/covering-louisiana/hurricane-ida-knocks-22-barges-loose-in-the-mississippi-river-near-new-orleans

[Davod]

Are we the baddies (2:40)

https://youtu.be/hn1VxaMEjRU

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

I read that today's 'hit' on incoming suicide bombers actually took out an Afghan translator and his family including 4 kids.

Intel likely called in by the Taliban themselves and the US idiots bit and took out one of our 'own.'

[Davod]

Stephanie - Speechless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Narciso]

at this point, I wouldn't doubt it

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9937557/Explosion-near-Kabul-airport-rocket-hits-house.html

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

@MuslimShirzad
Kabul-U.S rocket attack:
Zamaray Ahmadi an interpreter with American troops in Afghanistan, Naseer Nejrabi an army officer, Faisal a student, Armin and Benyameen, killed with 4 other members of a family. Nasser's wedding was scheduled for tomorrow.

[Davod]

What was that about the Muslims being before the Jews:

"...Hebron was the first piece of land ever purchased by the Jews in Israel. Approximately 38 centuries ago, Abraham the forefather of the Jewish faith, purchased a cave in Hebron to bury his beloved wife, Sarah. Abraham purposely overpaid for the land so no one could deny it was his fair and square...."

https://lidblog.com/hebron-1929/

[Davod]

Hebron 1929: When Jews Learned What America’s Afghan Allies Are Learning Today. Never Trust Another Country's Promise of Protection. by Jeff Dunetz | Aug 26, 2021 | Faith/Morality, Foreign Policy/Terrorism, Israel.

https://lidblog.com/hebron-1929/

[Dave (in MA)]

Biden retaliates for the death of 13 American service members by killing six kids. Seems like kind of a big deal. No questions though. We're here to talk about the weather #BidenMustGo https://t.co/SW3BITJAvA

— Gerry Callahan (@GerryCallahan) August 30, 2021

[Dave (in MA)]

Biden learned from Obama that liberals (aka media) don’t care about children getting eviscerated by American drone strikes if the guy who ordered the strike is a Democrat.

— Steve Robinson (@BigSteve207) August 30, 2021

[Davod]

Taliban rule will be 'a long slow death' for women, Lara Logan says
Lara Logan said 'If you're lucky, you'll just be slaughtered quickly'

https://www.foxnews.com/world/taliban-women-lara-logan

[Dave (in MA)]

Had to do it...😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/XfsRx0PIzL

— il Donaldo Trumpo (@PapiTrumpo) August 30, 2021

😂😂😂

[Melinda]

"Working with CNN"? Really?

[Davod]

Dave - good one.

[Dave (in MA)]

We could use some mean tweets, a President and Commander-in-Chief about now… pic.twitter.com/ADwf52rwVw

— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) August 30, 2021

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Updating an update I left at JOM2 on the Caldor fire;

Haven't heard how much destruction Hurricane Ida is doing but Fire Caldor is poised to do a huge amount. It has refused to be contained; in fact containment dropped from 19% this morning to 13% now as the perimeter has grown. The winds have been relatively benign for almost a week to the extent it has pushed it back on itself each evening and there has been an inversion each day which suppresses growth too. It has even pushed part of it back toward my county the last couple of days.
But starting this evening the winds will be shifting and strengthening and will be from the S and SW and around 15mph with gusts to 25-30 until Tuesday night. That will push it directly at South Lake Tahoe. It's only 6 2 miles from Meyers, which is the first substantial town and 12 8 miles from the south shore of Lake Tahoe itself.
If they couldn't stop it when the wind wasn't blowing I don't know how they are going to stop it the next 48-60 hours.
There are two major escape routes on the west and east shore so if it does go bananas there is no reason anyone should die except some kook who tries to ride it out. But there are about 20,000 homes directly in its path and almost all are in the forest.
I hope and pray it doesn't do what it's trying to do, but if it does it would damage and destroy for several decades one of the most popular and picturesque spots in the US.
It might be what it takes to get these fools to take seriously the cataclysm they have wrought by suppressing fires for 100 years, but most likely it will prompt more windmills and EVs to power and ply the razed earth of the blackened golden state.
"Idiots" doesn't begin to describe it.

[clarice]

Idiots is right. I'm beginning to be grateful I'm old.

[Tom Bowler]

It might be what it takes to get these fools to take seriously the cataclysm they have wrought by suppressing fires for 100 years, but most likely it will prompt more windmills and EVs to power and ply the razed earth of the blackened golden state.
"Idiots" doesn't begin to describe it.

"Evil" describes it, Ig. These fires are caused by Climate Change, doncha know. They will only be prevented by massive taxation, international treaties, and gun control.

[James D.]

Some say none of this would have happened if Biden were still alive.

Some say none of this would have happened if otherwise-sensible people were so upset by mean tweets and a Queens accent that they voted for a lying, dementia-ridden grifter.

[Neo]

Cole's lawyers filed a motion to suppress evidence gathered against their client on the grounds that the FBI had failed to disclose in a search warrant application that a publisher of extremist literature had been paid about $144,000 over 16 years to be an informant, including $82,000 for work in the case against Cole. The confidential informant (CI) also had an earlier felony conviction that wasn't disclosed, court records show.

The filings don't identify the informant by name but describe him as a publisher who "owns and operates a publishing company that distributes white supremacist writings."
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/monfbi-suffers-another-black-eye-admits-it-hid-payments-informant-white

Are there any white supremacists who aren't being paid by the FBI ? They seem to have cornered the market of white supremacists.

[Melinda]

Catalin Cimpanu
@campuscodi
NEW: ProxyToken vulnerability can modify Exchange server configs

therecord.media/proxytoken-vul…

https://twitter.com/campuscodi/status/1432329775050371077

https://therecord.media/proxytoken-vulnerability-can-modify-exchange-server-configs/

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Cross posed from JOM2;

Let's say you have a room that is half full of irresponsible, bratty, minor and somewhat slow children and half full of normal adults.
The adults sit back and are cowed by the toddlers who proceed to break everything the adults built and scream and squawk and mess their pants and take their clothes off and pee in the corner and generally construct this absurd fantasy world that they demand the adults indulge and pretend is a legitimate worldview even though it leads to a situation where some of the brats but even more of the adults are harmed and eventually some even killed.
Who is primarily to blame for the situation that room is in?

We have allowed this to happen by being cowed. Every time we bite our tongue so as not to offend some infantile pinko, relative or stranger, who makes no effort to control his or her own tongue we are contributing to this disaster. And every time we speak up and let ourselves be shouted down by some retarded punk we are contributing to it.
It's as if when the adults arrived at the Lord of the Flies island, they let themselves be captured and roasted on the little creeps spit rather than putting the little maggots back in their place.
The adults need to take back the place from the punks before they get us all killed. The only thing stopping us is our wholly unjustified timidity in the face of their tantrums.

[clarice]

https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2021/08/30/own-your-failure-biden-voters-n2594924?300

[Melinda]

.
Here’s why this billionaire investor predicts cryptocurrencies will ‘go to zero’

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-why-this-billionaire-investor-predicts-cryptocurrencies-will-go-to-zero-11630323430

.

[Neo]

What is becoming more and more obvious is that Biden had decided to abandon the Afghan government, pure and simple. We’ve seen stories from Afghan military that Biden had than away the support system for their outposts. Taken away their servicing of aircraft. Why would they fight when they knew they were negotiated out ? Now, we have a story that Biden had the option to protect Kabul but opted to let the Taliban do it.

[henry]

Biden works for Iran. He and John Kerry still believe in Odumbo's foolish nuke deal.

[Narciso]

China, Iran and Qatar, kerry has always been a traitor, he's running out of continents to betray to them,

[henry]

Nafiseh Kohnavard @nafisehkBBC
5h

•Kabul Airport gates are impossible now.
•Flight manifests are being checked by the Taliban before the gates.
• Many of those flights are not happening as buses can’t go through the gates. This puts many vulnerable Afghans at higher risk as now the Taliban has their all info

•The US guard will be gradually replaced by the “Taliban Special Forces” sources tell me

•Serious concerns about the moment that thousands of people outside Kabul airport will realise the US guards have left the airport premier as they may storm the runaway

[Narciso]

that would be the al isha (evening prayer) unit of the haqquani brigade

[Jane]

Great column Clarice. I love Schlichter - even if I can’t spell his name.

[matt - deplore me if you must]

At this point there is no Afghan government. They're gone. Biden abandoned the "new" Afghanistan months ago. The corpse has been twitching in its death throes. Once we pulled even rudimentary support that was the signal for the Taliban to go all in. Just. Like. South. Vietnam. It's Joe's M.O.

The only people coming out of this with some honor are the field grades and troops in Kabul, the special forces rescuers and Glen Beck's crowd. The Euros did okay as well.

Now comes the long dark night of the soul as St. John of the Cross wrote. The spiritual emptiness is palpable.

Years ago I quoted from Yeats "Second Coming". The foundations were laid by Obama.

Biden has opened Pandora's box. Evil is let loose on the world and the last bastions seem to be crumbling. This ain't no party. This ain't no disco. This ain't no fooling around. It's the real deal.

But with faith all things are possible. Our Constitution is the most amazing document ever produced by man. Somehow we have to buy enough time to fumigate Washington and rebuild our tattered reputation.

The old elite have failed. But do we need an elite? Maybe that's the issue right there. We allowed them to insulate themselves. To paraphrase Otter in Animal House "We f'd up. We trusted them".

You don't fix something by doing the same things you did before expecting a different result.

So what's it going to be?

[Davod]

Emily Miller:

"We’re dealing with Kabul. There’s 7 buses of female American citizens. The CG refused to open the gate. We have a congressman with us and he had the state department reach out. MG Donahue refused. 10 minutes ago the females were taken by the Taliban. They are likely dead now."

This is criminal.
https://twitter.com/emilymiller/status/1432179085942345730

[Jane]

Simply unbelievable Davod.

[Davod]

PS. I should have written. If true, this is criminal.

[henry]

hmmm.

OneHitPopehat @Popehat
56s

Shocking to think that George Stepahnopoulos could be accused of tolerating or even helping promote a sexual predator

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bombshell-lawsuit-has-gma-co-hosts-george-stephanopoulos-and-robin-roberts-at-each-others-throats

[henry]

Popehat has a short memory... Snuffalufagus promoted Clinton. From the beginning. this is normal for him.

[Neo]

Apple and GlobalStar are up on rumor ..
The iPhone 13 is expected to use low Earth orbit ("LEO") satellite connectivity for areas that don't have 4G or 5G cellular coverage

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Michael Yon
@Michael_Yon
·
8h
JBS XO "Col Morgan eating cake while his Commander is refusing to let American women and children inside the airport to safety. Over 40 are outside right now and MG Donohue can't be bothered with a simple task because he wants to retire to a six-figure job. "Let them eat cake."

[Dave (in MA)]

More kids die in Biden-authorized drone strikes than from returning to school amid COVID.

— Steve Robinson (@BigSteve207) August 30, 2021

[Dave (in MA)]

Gen. Flynn is getting his credit cards rescinded by Chase Bank because they say that having him as a customer damages their reputation.

[sbwaters]

Now, if Chase refused to bake a cake ...

[henry]

because they say that having him as a customer damages their reputation

another win for fascism.

[Old Lurker]

"because they say that having him as a customer damages their reputation"

That's akin to a guy who pumps septic tanks for a living not washing his hands at lunchtime.

Gen Flynn is not the problem for that bank.

[Old Lurker]

Speaking of Chase Credit Cards, just last week I ranted at my wife about the incessant Wokeness of the endless commercials they ran during Tennis tournaments the last few weeks. They featured a male and female (is that OK to say?) whom I came to HATE and cringe every time the commercial was run.

[Account Deleted]

I really want to cancel my Chase Visa credit card because of them cancelling Gen. Flynn. Are there any non-woke banks left? I also have a Discover card...

[Narciso]

popehat is as deranged as the good prosecutor, they all paid the jizda (ransom) to the kellogg foundation, alison

[Narciso]

chase was one of the premier banks for nazis, so it makes a certain twisted logic

https://notthebee.com/article/the-taliban-did-not-take-over-kabul-on-august-15-we-gave-it-to-them-and-i-really-wish-i-was-exaggerating

[Narciso]

indeed,

https://nypost.com/2021/08/29/the-fatal-failure-of-gen-mark-a-milley/

[Davod]

Supposedly from a pilot of one of the civilian aircraft:
'.. They are lying to you. The state department is pressuring surrounding countries into denying us landing rights. We are being sent back to Afghanistan..."

If correct, I would imagine anyone on these aircraft will have a target on their back. It's not as if they will be able to avoid being tracked as they try to leave the airport in Kabul.

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/af55da41f688b8ac8004ee6dd1573fa6bc32b765510dc9a0f137d3bb67f035d0.jpg

[Narciso]

well we gave them the lists of who to target, and the equipment to find out,

[Melinda]

https://t.me/RealGenFlynn/635

The post with the photo of the letter, from his Telegram account.