Afghanistan: Mission Accomplished

[TopCat]

And each captured city will undermine government forces' will to fight

By all accounts the majority of Afghan forces melt away at the Taliban approach. The rest switch sides.

 

[Pickman's model]

By all accounts the majority of Afghan forces melt away at the Taliban approach. The rest switch sides.

I wonder if the us used the same trainers in Afghanistan as trained the Iraqi army to oppose daesh

 

[Yossarian]

All so incredibly predictable and inevitable - as kebabking or somebody mentioned upthread, service in Afghanistan was the centrepiece of many military careers, and the sunk cost fallacy was what kept the US, UK, and other NATO powers there for 20 years.

But we're never going to see the military top brass acknowledge that their mission was a total failure and everybody killed over there in the last 20 years died for nothing, some Pentagon spokesman said this week that they did their best and it's "their country to fight for now."

 

[ska invita]

some Pentagon spokesman said this week that they did their best and it's "their country to fight for now."

literally Biden said that

Afghanistan war: Biden says he does not regret troop withdrawal

The US president urges Afghan leaders to fight for their nation, as more cities fall to the Taliban.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[David Clapson]

Easy for Biden to blame previous administrations and leave the Afghans to be terrorised for ever.

Maybe we should have a poll to see which catastrophe has surprised people the most with its unexpected speed: (a) Taliban (b) climate change.

 

[YouSir]

By all accounts the majority of Afghan forces melt away at the Taliban approach. The rest switch sides.

Some will go to militias and warlords, which at this point is probably the best hope of halting the Taliban. If Kabul falls it'll be horrific.

 

[YouSir]

There's a lot of money tied up in Kabul. Property values rocketed when Nato were there. Aid agencies were charged astonishing rents...higher than London. The Afghan diaspora invested huge sums in building projects. They had faith that the country had a future. What with Western fears about Afghanistan becoming a base for international terrorists again, I find it hard to imagine that the US will abandon Kabul and the airport. I think they'll find an excuse to garrison it. There are lots of expensive fortifications already there. It would be very galling to just give them to the Talibs. And if that looks likely, all the educated Afghans will leave and make a new life elsewhere. Lots of them are already leaving.

From what I hear there's not many places left to go, borders are all closing and visas aren't easy.

 

[Yossarian]

With US military sources telling reporters Kabul could fall in 30 days, the Afghan government has offered the Taliban a power-sharing arrangement - with a 10th provincial capital falling to them Thursday, I think they'll press on with a power-taking arrangement.

Taliban claims to have taken Kandahar as onslaught continues

The armed group has been advancing rapidly across Afghanistan seizing at least 11 provincial capitals in a week.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Flavour]

there would be something sort of morbidly poetic were the Taliban able to take Kabul on September 11th. that's 30 days time

 

[gosub]

there would be something sort of morbidly poetic were the Taliban able to take Kabul on September 11th. that's 30 days time

Like I said. I will mostly be drinking that day.

However BBC is saying Virginia currently publicly estimating 90 days

 

[brogdale]

Beardies not taking any time...

 

[Flavour]

Herat apparently fallen now, the 3rd biggest city in the country, and fighting underway in Kandahar, the 2nd biggest

 

[weltweit]

I believe the Afghan army outnumbered the Taliban and had been trained by the US and UK, but it seems they didn't have the stomach for the fight if reports are to be believed.

 

[RainbowTown]

Just an absolute mess, an absolute waste and an absolute tragedy.

 

[Yossarian]

20 years to train an army that barely lasted 20 days.

 

[Ax^]

you think after 100 years in afganistian the west including Russia just never got the country

it train a small army but never understood the culture of the country

 

[Pickman's model]

I believe the Afghan army outnumbered the Taliban and had been trained by the US and UK, but it seems they didn't have the stomach for the fight if reports are to be believed.

cf iraq

 

[weltweit]

cf iraq

?

 

[Pickman's model]

?

It's obvious to anyone who watched with admiration the way the us-trained Iraqi army bore itself in the face of the outnumbered and outgunned forces of daesh several years back

 

[Ax^]

cf

compare

 

[David Clapson]

I believe the Afghan army outnumbered the Taliban and had been trained by the US and UK, but it seems they didn't have the stomach for the fight if reports are to be believed.

No shit Sherlock.

 

[cloudyday]

Anyone know if Afghanistan contains lithium? there was a meeting between the Chinese and the taliban recently, will be interesting to see if anything develops out of that.

 

[Ax^]

almost if you want to end up calling yourself a superpower you have to invade afganistan


i'm assume as i never played its like risk

 

[weltweit]

No shit Sherlock.

Should have given the guns to the women and girls who have more to lose.

 

[Pickman's model]

Anyone know if Afghanistan contains lithium? there was a meeting between the Chinese and the taliban recently, will be interesting to see if anything develops out of that.

Yes, Afghanistan contains fuck tons of lithium. And gold. And lots of other minerals Mining in Afghanistan - Wikipedia. Which makes biden's blasé let them eat lead the more perplexing

 

[Ax^]

was the withdrawl not set up before his tenure long before

the wierd thing about the republicians and trumpers, which is almost the same thing now

is the rather daft support for trump for not starting any more american funded wars


aside from the race war at home



it would be used against biden in the next election if he changed course

its why america is a bit shit

 

[newme]

US is fucked, in every way imaginable. I feel privileged to be in one of the most economically deprived areas of Europe before brexit fucked that up to our own idiocy. As I can live better on my income for a whole family than a double income US family with some kids and I have three.

 

[brogdale]

Yes, Afghanistan contains fuck tons of lithium. And gold. And lots of other minerals Mining in Afghanistan - Wikipedia. Which makes biden's blasé let them eat lead the more perplexing

Yep & I can't see that the beardies will fuck around too much up in the Wakhan corridor, tbh.

 

[miss direct]

Brits have been to leave too. Someone I know is there working as a freelance journalist. She won't be leaving.

 

[brogdale]

Brits have been to leave too. Someone I know is there working as a freelance journalist. She won't be leaving.

Yep, this is what winning looks like...