Afghanistan: Mission Accomplished

[not-bono-ever]

They never got fully rid of them as the borders were porous and the terrain harsh. Still analogue soi disant AQ around now despite years of being hunted by the great Satan. Odds and sods coming in from other areas and a steady influx of Pakistani jihadis has kept the franchise buoyant

 

[Gramsci]

Wrong post.

 

[Gramsci]

Worth a read:

The Other Afghan Women

In the countryside, the endless killing of civilians turned women against the occupiers who claimed to be helping them.

www.newyorker.com

. In their first operation, they kidnapped all the schoolteachers in the valley, many of whom supported girls’ education, and slit their throats.

The Mujadiheen first operation in this woman's area was to murder teachers brought in by Communist government to teach girls.

This is the Mujadiheen that US ended up funding to fight Communists in Afghanistan. The terrible Communist who wanted more rights for women and land reform.

Shows where real priority for US really was.

To add. When US went back in to topple Taliban they put back in power local Mujadiheen warlords who had replaced the Communist government. Who ended up behaving so badly that in some rural areas like this return of Taliban was seen as least worst option. As well as heavy handed behaviour of NATO troops. Notice in article its not just US political strategy that was the problem.

Either Mujadiheen or Taliban women's rights weren't going to improve. It was that Taliban are less corrupt.

 

[spring-peeper]

oopsy

US Kabul drone strike appears to have killed an Afghan who worked for a US aid group: report

The U.S. government's account of a drone strike launched against a suspected terrorist in Afghanistan toward the end of the military withdrawal from Kabul is being challenged by a report suggesting the victim was not a threat to the United States.

www.foxnews.com

The U.S. government's account of a drone strike launched against a suspected terrorist in Afghanistan toward the end of the military withdrawal from Kabul is being challenged by a report suggesting the victim was not a threat to the United States.

According to a New York Times report, the drone attack that American officials said killed an ISIS terrorist carrying a bomb in a car toward U.S. troops may have killed a man with no ties to ISIS and who was carrying water to family members.

This happened late last month that the drone strike was in response to an imminent threat by suspected suicide bombers.

 

[zahir]

Thread on the drone strike

 

[gosub]

September 11th. I will mostly be drinking

Mission accomplished.

 

[MickiQ]

Pen Farthing ‘so happy’ after animal rescue workers escape Afghanistan

The former marine was forced to leave his Afghan staff behind amid chaotic scenes in Kabul.

www.standard.co.uk

Some good news for a change it seems that the controversial Mr Farthing's staff and their families have made it to safety even if they had to walk some of the way.

 

[ska invita]

i think there were people in the us military who were trying to make things better, to work within the afghan cultural system rather than imposing their own

Even if these " work within the afghan cultural system" types had been more dominant, the difference between a Roman form of invasion and a Mongol one doesnt change the fact it shouldnt be happening. This is what winds me up with "US/UK need to learn lessons" blah blah, as if the problem was one of method. The one lesson they need to learn is to stop being imperialists.

 

[Pickman's model]

Even if these " work within the afghan cultural system" types had been more dominant, the difference between a Roman form of invasion and a Mongol one doesnt change the fact it shouldnt be happening. This is what winds me up with "US/UK need to learn lessons" blah blah, as if the problem was one of method. The one lesson they need to learn is to stop being imperialists.

I think you look at what I post and the words change in front of your eyes to something which differs from what I've said. I haven't said lessons must be learned, I was talking about why their defeat was inevitable. Go back and read the post again.

 

[gosub]

World

www.24matins.uk

 

[Dogsauce]

oopsy

US Kabul drone strike appears to have killed an Afghan who worked for a US aid group: report

The U.S. government's account of a drone strike launched against a suspected terrorist in Afghanistan toward the end of the military withdrawal from Kabul is being challenged by a report suggesting the victim was not a threat to the United States.

www.foxnews.com

This happened late last month that the drone strike was in response to an imminent threat by suspected suicide bombers.

They’ve now admitted this was a mistake. Horrible shit. Kind of sums up the whole game though, this final cruel act.

Afghanistan: US admits Kabul drone strike killed civilians

An inquiry finds the strike, days before the US pullout, killed 10 members of a family - not militants.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[krtek a houby]

Afghan refugees not convinced by Operation Warm Welcome

“The Home Office has a legal duty to provide at least minimal support to otherwise destitute asylum seekers, but arrangements by the Home Office and its contractors to house those waiting in interim publicly funded accommodation are medically dangerous.”

‘Send us home,’ beg Afghan refugees stuck in UK hotels

What a mess.

 

[teqniq]

Grim:

 

[Badgers]

Afghan refugees not convinced by Operation Warm Welcome

“The Home Office has a legal duty to provide at least minimal support to otherwise destitute asylum seekers, but arrangements by the Home Office and its contractors to house those waiting in interim publicly funded accommodation are medically dangerous.”

‘Send us home,’ beg Afghan refugees stuck in UK hotels

What a mess.

Grim indeed and I don't doubt it.

However...

I have around 400 refugees in my 'ward' and all in a fairly good hotel. In the main they are all happy and the council has staff permanently on site dealing with all the paperwork and medical needs. They cover travel costs for any appointments and have to say the food and general service (drinks and such) are all excellent. Am about to have curry myself in fact

There are courses and activities for kids and adults running every day which look decent.

They are all happy as can be given the horrid circumstances. I only manage their Covid welfare but am there about 10 hours a week at the moment.

 

[Badgers]

Despite the above positives ^ I am well aware that these people had homes, family and lives in Afghanistan that is all gone. They are now on Universal Credit and living in a hotel room (nice enough as it is) which must be terrible to contemplate in a strange land. Relatives and friends left behind and they will be 'located' wherever the UK decides.

A shit war and a shit state of affairs

 

[Dogsauce]

We should be having some refugees coming to my school as they have spaces in reception and can probably fit some in in other years - quite a lot of families in the area have moved away in recent times (possibly Covid-related doing that run for the country thing) so we’re under capacity. Glad they get to come here to a ‘good’ school in a nice area and aren’t just getting shunted into the worst places.

 

[ska invita]

They’ve now admitted this was a mistake. Horrible shit. Kind of sums up the whole game though, this final cruel act.

Afghanistan: US admits Kabul drone strike killed civilians

An inquiry finds the strike, days before the US pullout, killed 10 members of a family - not militants.

www.bbc.co.uk

I cant get over this - as you said, sums up everything in one "final" act of slaughter

 

[SpookyFrank]

We should be having some refugees coming to my school as they have spaces in reception and can probably fit some in in other years - quite a lot of families in the area have moved away in recent times (possibly Covid-related doing that run for the country thing) so we’re under capacity. Glad they get to come here to a ‘good’ school in a nice area and aren’t just getting shunted into the worst places.

There will be a lot of shunting and warehousing I fear, with so many of the good or even passable schools oversubscribed already.

 

[MickiQ]

We should be having some refugees coming to my school as they have spaces in reception and can probably fit some in in other years - quite a lot of families in the area have moved away in recent times (possibly Covid-related doing that run for the country thing) so we’re under capacity. Glad they get to come here to a ‘good’ school in a nice area and aren’t just getting shunted into the worst places.

Mrs Q's secondary school which is rated as excellent took about a dozen Afghan kids from an earlier intake a couple of years ago, caused a mild ruckus I understand since they usually get twice as many applicants as they have places.
There were parents complaining that their kids couldn't get a space because they had lost out to one of these and other parents who wanted to know why if the school could make extra places for these it couldn't make extra spaces for local kids.

 

[weltweit]

Winter is coming and there isn't enough food.

 

[MrCurry]

Winter is coming and there isn't enough food.

And things are even worse in Afghanistan.

 

[weltweit]

And things are even worse in Afghanistan.

I wouldn't have tried to make a joke about the fact that millions of poor and innocent people are going into winter facing starvation because of the power games being played by their and other people's politicians.

Perhaps when the photos of starving children start coming in you might change your tune?

 

[Pickman's model]

I wouldn't have tried to make a joke about the fact that millions of poor and innocent people are going into winter facing starvation because of the power games being played by their and other people's politicians.

Perhaps when the photos of starving children start coming in you might change your tune?

 

[yield]

“Hell on Earth”: Millions of Afghans Face Starvation as U.S. & West Freeze Billions in Gov’t Funds
Democracy Now. November 16, 2021

Humanitarian and economic conditions are rapidly deteriorating in Afghanistan, where the U.N. estimates that more than half of the population suffers from acute hunger. The country has fallen into an economic crisis after the U.S. and other Western countries cut off direct financial assistance to the government following the Taliban takeover in August. Taliban leaders are also unable to access billions of dollars in Afghan national reserves that are held in banks overseas.

“Forty million civilians were left behind when the NATO countries went for the door in August,” says Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who recently visited Afghanistan and with refugees in Iran, where as many as 5,000 Afghans are fleeing everyday. “They told me very clearly, ‘We believe we will starve and freeze to death this harsh winter unless there is an enormous aid operation coming through.’”

 

[ska invita]

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Afghanistan economic meltdown one of worst in history, UN says

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

www.ft.com

The UN has forecast that Afghanistan’s gross domestic product will contract 20 per cent within a year following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, representing one of the worst economic meltdowns in history. “[It’s] an economic contraction that we’ve never seen before, ever,” said Abdallah Al Dardari, the UN Development Programme’s Afghanistan head and a former deputy prime minister of Syria. “I’m comparing with Venezuela, Lebanon and so on — we haven’t seen such an immediate, abrupt drop.” A UNDP report published on Wednesday said such a contraction took five years of civil war in Syria to achieve, and was expected to worsen to 30 per cent next year.
-----------

Hundreds of thousands of workers are owed months of salaries, hospitals are on the brink of collapse and nine out of 10 Afghans are expected to fall below the poverty line by next year. More than half of the 39m population require food assistance, with about a quarter facing “emergency” food insecurity and potential famine. “Even in very bad situations like Lebanon, they still have access to some remittances from the Lebanese diaspora,” said Adnan Mazarei, an economist at the Peterson Institute think-tank in the US, and one of the report’s authors. “In the case of Venezuela, there’s still oil. Afghanistan is almost in a class by itself.

.....

“Even if the assets are unfrozen, humanitarian aid doubles and triples, it will not be enough to mitigate let alone avert the crisis that we’re seeing,” said Zafiris Tzannatos, a professor at the American University of Beirut. “Now we’ve fallen off the cliff. No matter how much we provide, still there is a crisis that is sliding to become a catastrophe.”

 

[Pickman's model]

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Afghanistan economic meltdown one of worst in history, UN says​

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

www.ft.com

The UN has forecast that Afghanistan’s gross domestic product will contract 20 per cent within a year following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, representing one of the worst economic meltdowns in history. “[It’s] an economic contraction that we’ve never seen before, ever,” said Abdallah Al Dardari, the UN Development Programme’s Afghanistan head and a former deputy prime minister of Syria. “I’m comparing with Venezuela, Lebanon and so on — we haven’t seen such an immediate, abrupt drop.” A UNDP report published on Wednesday said such a contraction took five years of civil war in Syria to achieve, and was expected to worsen to 30 per cent next year.
-----------

Hundreds of thousands of workers are owed months of salaries, hospitals are on the brink of collapse and nine out of 10 Afghans are expected to fall below the poverty line by next year. More than half of the 39m population require food assistance, with about a quarter facing “emergency” food insecurity and potential famine. “Even in very bad situations like Lebanon, they still have access to some remittances from the Lebanese diaspora,” said Adnan Mazarei, an economist at the Peterson Institute think-tank in the US, and one of the report’s authors. “In the case of Venezuela, there’s still oil. Afghanistan is almost in a class by itself.

.....

“Even if the assets are unfrozen, humanitarian aid doubles and triples, it will not be enough to mitigate let alone avert the crisis that we’re seeing,” said Zafiris Tzannatos, a professor at the American University of Beirut. “Now we’ve fallen off the cliff. No matter how much we provide, still there is a crisis that is sliding to become a catastrophe.”

I wonder about the extent to which this catastrophe was anticipated by biden played a part in his decision to depart as he did. I mean, the Taliban get what they want - yanks etc out, fall of the occupiers government - but the Americans shit all over them by handing them a really poisoned chalice

 

[IC3D]

Any illusion that the US care for the Afghan people must be gone now after clearing out the bank and leaving civic institutions with no way of paying workers.
Admittedly the bank was full of US money and they were the defacto state employer.

 

[ska invita]

I wonder about the extent to which this catastrophe was anticipated by biden played a part in his decision to depart as he did. I mean, the Taliban get what they want - yanks etc out, fall of the occupiers government - but the Americans shit all over them by handing them a really poisoned chalice

we can only guess...but my guess is he was asap following through on the withdrawal he wanted during Obama era, and shits given to the fallout register zero.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I wonder about the extent to which this catastrophe was anticipated by biden played a part in his decision to depart as he did. I mean, the Taliban get what they want - yanks etc out, fall of the occupiers government - but the Americans shit all over them by handing them a really poisoned chalice

Anyone who has taken up that chalice has been poisoned by it, including the US. If the US had used the money spent on Afghanistan to fix American infrastructure and internal issues, we'd have been much better off. The Afghans would probably have been better off in the long run too if the world's superpowers stopped messing around there.

 

[Pickman's model]

Anyone who has taken up that chalice has been poisoned by it, including the US. If the US had used the money spent on Afghanistan to fix American infrastructure and internal issues, we'd have been much better off. The Afghans would probably have been better off in the long run too if the world's superpowers stopped messing around there.

Everyone wants to have a crack at conquering the unconquerable