“President Joe Biden warned that conditions in Kabul during the final days of the U.S. evacuation remain “extremely dangerous” and said his military commanders informed him during a briefing Saturday morning that another attack is “highly likely in the next 24-36 hours.”
“I directed them to take every possible measure to prioritize force protection, and ensured that they have all the authorities, resources and plans to protect our men and women on the ground,” Biden said.” Newsmax
Comment: Biden, DoD and State have accepted the notion that the Taliban are acting in good faith. This is a bad mistake. For the jihadis, all of them, we are the enemies of God and it is acceptable in their belief systems, all of them, to dissimulate (lie) to us under the principle of takkiya which allows them to deceive the kuffar (infidels) to advance and protect the interest of the ‘umma (the worldwide community of believers) which each group believes it should lead and control. These jihadi groups may war with each other, but with regard to kuffar they are one.
The airfield itself is indefensible. Any US second lieutenant would tell you that the high ground provided by the flanking buildings and the ridge behind them are the key terrain. The jihadis know that.
There may well be further ground suicide attacks, but air operations can be shut down by fire either from the key terrain or by observation and adjustment from that terrain. Without air ops to the base structure outside Afghanistan for logistics, a siege on the aerodrome would be a nightmare.
I pray that AC-130s, armed drones and other armed aircraft with a long loiter time would be available to support in such an event.
Until our people are all out everything depends on the calculations of the Taliban for the future. pl
https://www.newsmax.com/headline/kabul-airport-attack/2021/08/28/id/1034154/
It would seem that someone was practicing shooting at an C-130 taking off from Kabul the other day:
https://www.timesnownews.com/international/article/afghanistan-italian-evacuation-plane-comes-under-fire-as-it-takes-off-from-kabul-airport-say-reports/804174
More info:
“An Italian Air Force plane, being utilized as part of the evacuation effort, has come under fire as it took off from Kabul airport, according to a Sky TG24 journalist onboard the aircraft. No injuries have been reported.
On Thursday, an Italian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules came under machine-gun fire as it took off from Hamid Karzai airport in the Afghan capital of Kabul. A Sky TG 24 journalist who was onboard the aircraft said that barrage did not hit the aircraft, but the pilot was forced to take evasive action.”
Sky’s Italian media arm said that military sources had confirmed the shooting. It is believed that there were around 98 Afghan civilians onboard the aircraft.
Military sources have confirmed that there is no damage to the plane. Many people onboard were shaken up by the events, the Sky journalist reported, as the pilot’s evasive action seemingly saw the aircraft quickly gain altitude.
https://www.rt.com/news/533135-italy-evacuation-plane-under-fire-kabul/
If the Biden touted attack does not happen, does Biden get to claim he “saved us”?
It is not only to the Kuffar that they are allowed to lie. Like Arabs, the value system and priorities of the Afghans are different than Western values and priorities.
The definition of a lie is completely different than the Western definition of a lie.
As a side note, it is also interesting to note that there is no difference in the ethics and attitude of Muslim or Christian Arabs for example. It is not a religious thing as much as it is a cultural thing.
But, yes, though there are always individual exceptions (though rare), as a general rule Afghanis cannot be “trusted” in the Western sense of the concept of trust chiefly because, like in Arab society, Afghan society does not contemplate the existence of the individual outside the context of the extended family. Promises made by individuals are always subject to the will of the tribe eventually.
guidoamm
Islamic culture and beliefs are closely related to and originating from Arab traits. Muslim willingness to deceive has a specific sanction for deceit to the infidel in takkiya.
I for one am heartened that 17 intellegence agencies that were so certain of Russia Collusion but had no idea the Afghan army would change sides took only 24 hours to identify and kill some guy they can’t name.
Fred
Not only that but
“No civilian collateral losses”
Most likely it took only 24 hours because they didn’t actually actually identify the guy. The name and locations were given to them. The 24 hours was spent verifying (I hope) and setting up. The name most likely came from the Taliban who will never under any circumstances admit it. There are other possibilities. I consider actual US intelligence work to fall fairly far down the list. Possible, but not the most likely explanation.
fredw,
“There are other possibilities.”
Like Biden the Butcher and his backers are desperate to do some CYA.
You confuse me. CYA is a motivation, not a mechanism. An aspersion of motives rather than a possible explanation. CYA motivations are compatible with any of the possible mechanisms for identifying a target including unexpected effectiveness of US intelligence. So attributing the 24 hour response to CYA appears to be meaningless.
Perhaps the post was meant to suggest dishonesty. If so, it should state so. Does the post mean to say that they just pulled the identity out of a hat. Plenty of possibilities, admittedly. But that assumes a particular dishonest mindset that also seems to me pretty inept over any time period longer than a few days. The airport bombing was a small though dramatic part of a big mess. No possible retaliation is going to turn the evacuation into anything other than a disaster.
I guess that I also am engaging in a bit of mind reading based on my limited experience of intelligence work. I would never accuse US (or any other) intelligence of an excessive devotion to honesty. But based on what I observed many years ago, I envision the US military and intelligence people trying to act in ways that preserve as much flexibility and leverage as can be achieved. Obviously they had to hit back. Obviously they had to avoid triggering the bloodbath that we all know is very possible. So they worked with somebody who had better access than they did to identify a target whose demise might have the right sort of inhibitory effect. I doubt that they picked a name out of a hat. I hope they targeted somebody who would be recognized by the other players as deserving. And the more accurate the identification, the better effect it would have on the people we want to influence. In short, I am willing to believe that our intelligence people did as well as they could in a tough situation with no possibility of even moderately good outcomes.
fredw,
“I am willing to believe that our intelligence people did as well as they could ”
The Afghan government they helped create over the past two decades collapsed a great deal faster than the Russia Collusion hogwash our intelligence people sold us. The only reason it is not a bloodbath yet is the Taliban.
fred
IMO it is probably fairer to say that the leadership of the IC failed us in the Russia Collusion hoax.
On the other hand, the warning that was issued beforehand means that US intelligence was aware that something was in process. Perhaps it’s the “24 hours” that is wrong. Certainly the official story doesn’t hold water, but my prior comment may have been unfair to our intelligence guys.
All
I received a proposed comment from Keith Harbaugh that accused me of hating Muslims. I do not hate Muslims. I DO hate jihadis and their groups. All of them, every single one.
Can’t help thinking of zionist Irgun and Hagganah that gained ground and protected zionist settlers while Palestine/future Israel was still under British mandate; contended with British thru most of WWII; then harried, even attacked and bombed, i.e. carried out terrorist actions against British protectors including bombing site of British administration and hanging British soldiers, until the British bugged out.
https://www.bol.com/be/nl/p/zionist-terrorism-and-imperial-response/9200000008333892/
One of the heads of those terrorist organizations, and a number of its proud participants, became elected leaders of Israel.
So, the British Empire colonized large parts of the globe with a clear mission – the protection and well being of populations.
Cool revision.
Biden forced to carry out Trump’s Afghan withdrawal terms – everything was contingent on the fact the US would rain fire and hell on any violation of the terms Trump set for Afghan withdrawal security.
Biden did not send these drone attacks on ISIS suicide bombers – Biden merely exercised the terms of the Trump agreement, which promised this swift retaliation. Be sure to thank Trump for leaving you with these no nonsense withdrawal terms, Mr President.
Deap,
No. He changed it to leave on 9/11.
Should have said Biden is –now– forced to carry out Trump’s initial terms, regarding instant retaliation if/when there are any withdrawal agreement violations. Or perhaps, the military is acting independently with these drone attacks, recognizing their C-I-C is currently AWOL.
Biden’s new set of withdrawal terms indeed did delay the original Trump agreement date. But I don’t think Biden’s revised timeline agreement, that was intended to create the Biden 9-11 photo op, established the same quid pro quo’s for violation of terms other than Biden’s threat of “international scorn” if they did not behave nicely.
Did Biden yet again plagiarize Trump policy, and then tries to pass it off as his own?
Per Sucki – “Of course they will comply, since they want have good relations with the rest of the world after we are gone.” (Or words to that effect.)
Deap
You mean like the Isis caliphate did in Syria and Iraq?
Well, the military got some valuable practice already when they chose to act contrary to President Trump’s wishes regarding withdrawal from Syria.
And now that they have gotten that bit between their teeth, not having to actively disobey orders from the CiC (since he is likely drooling down his shirt front, and indisposed as to exercising his responsibilities) gives them all of the scope that they need. I mean, they have some problems with reputational damage to worry about right about now, so looking as if they are on top of something is all to the good for the Politicals at the top.
But not so good for the Republic, when the Constitutional order of civilian government having command oversight over the military is being so clearly tossed aside. Whoopsie.
The good news:
The Taliban must now take over the difficult tasks of governing a country that isn’t a country and never was, and that has been in a state of war or anarchy for almost half a century. Furthermore, conquest of power is always a dangerous moment for a revolutionary movement, for now the question of who whom must be answered and the great enemy that held everything together is gone. All of this will consume the time and attention of the Taliban for the immediate future.
China, Russia and Iran formed a strong working relationship in the Syrian war. That alliance will be working with Pakistan to drag the Taliban into good international behavior. They all have things to offer and China is willing to put a whole lot of money on the table. So if the Taliban want to be reasonable there is a deal for them as long as they don’t genocide anyone or export terrorist insurgencies.
Many believe that the ISI is the spider at the top of the Taliban web, if that is true the Taliban will take the deal and the only export of Jihad will be aimed at India. America is an unwanted tourist as far as Pakistan is concerned, the main enemy is India. China wants peace and stability so it can build the new Silk Road and China is a crucial ally for Pakistan in the conflict with India. Under no circumstances would Pakistan sacrifice that alliance for the Uyghurs.
The bad news:
This is a revolutionary regime led by armed intellectuals the west scarcely understands. Pakistan built the Frankenstein monster but can they control it now? I wouldn’t be so sure. What the real balance of power is inside the Taliban between traditional Pashtuns and Islamic revolutionaries is unknown to us, but soon we will see.
All the above may not mean anything to men who believe they live in the end times and who understand their victory as the unfurling of the black banners over Khorasan. Those kinds of men tend to get the upper hand in a revolutionary regime.
https://twitter.com/adamhousley/status/1432187226234912771?s=21
There’ll be no accountability for the FUBAR by the top leadership. Biden, Kamala, Blinken, Austin, Sullivan, Fat Milley and the other Generals. And the IC leadership.