“U.S. officials said Tuesday that the military would have to start pulling out of Afghanistan starting this Friday in order to meet President Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline agreed to by the Taliban.” foxnews
Comment: Up until now Joe is unwavering in his “resolve” to stick to the 31 August deadline to have ALL persons to be evacuated out of the country. The logistics of removing the protective force require that the withdrawal begin by 27 August (Friday).
It is generally thought by people I know that the US Government does not know how many people in Kabul have an expectation and right to evacuation. The Taliban, under the direction of a former mujahid named haqqani are turning a lot of people away from entry to the airport. It is NOT thought by people I know that the evacuation goal can be met under these circumstances in the time allotted.
Joe wants to be quickly gone from Afghanistan forever so that he and his bosses can get on with the business of their soft coup against the US constitution.
He is under a lot of pressure from both left and right. He wants to leave, but sentiment against abandonment is growing. The foxnews images of partying Democrat nabobs are accelerating that process.
Will the jihadis fight to expel us from the airport? We will see. pl
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-troops-afghanistan-friday-deadline-taliban-extend
This is the hardest moment for the US post 911. This failure has already been analysed to death and enough fingers have pointed at the boondoggle nature of the forever wars and the profiting leaches and interventionists who have undermined all the lofty stated goals.
I dread what messages and images we will observe this anniversary of 911 with. Will the PTB take heed of their fallibility and moderate or will they pursue an agenda which further deepens domestic rifts? Biden was supposed to be the center that holds, but he may not recover politically after this fiasco. Can they find a better front man who can bring people together? The Soviets struck out after 3 tone-deaf geriatrics. History rhymes.
Everyone knows who his replacement is and they will be much worse.
Wonder what Tulsi is up to.
Tulsi needs to stay in retirement with her husband. I care too much about her to see her run again. She and hubby will have no stressful issues to deal with. Stay safe, may the Lord be with you, and surf’s up.
Tulsi has a Locals channel that you can join if you want to know what she’s up to
https://tulsi.locals.com/
I’m afraid the American people aren’t ready for Tulsi. She tried hard in the New Hampshire primaries, but made no headway whatsoever. That surprised me. Her non-interventionist ideas should have excited the Bernie Democrats and Independents as well as the new “America First” Republicans. Her social ideas are liberal to an extreme, which certainly will scare off half the voters, but should have excited the other half. Her environmental stance should excite the hard core environmentalists, even if it turns off capitalists and “own the lib” Republicans. She wouldn’t sign on to the Green New Deal because it was soft on nuclear power. I’m really surprised so many here find her appealing with her social and environmental stances. She’s definitely Hawaiian through and through and I have no problem with that at all.
Always liked Tulsi. She was a victim of the R2P crowd after she visited Assad. Sure, Assad was a dictator, but the R2P’ers were completely blind to the jihadi headchoppers among the so-called freedom fighters? And I guess they forgot that Kerry and Jimmy Carter had visited Assad much earlier before the uprising. Carter had even visited Papa Hafez Assad just a few years after the Hama Massacre in 82, which reduced the old city center to rubble with bombing, shelling, armor, and even some never-investigated reports of cyanide gas.
And what sealed Tulsi’s fate was the support she got from Fox and from the Russian press. That killed any chance she had in the primary. But she still served a good role in waking people up to the wars pushed by both neocons on the right and the R2P crowd on the left.
Release the Afghan impounded gold and reserve funds, and promise a ~ $10K ‘Exit Fee’ for each person with ‘papers’ delivered to the Kabul Airport, and see what happens.
Maybe even sweeten the deal with a weapons buy-back plan – it might make an extended Kabul presence OK with the Taliban.
Eric,
Pay extortion up front. Then pay a ransom per head. Wonderful idea. What is their counter offer going to be? What is your leverage, a threat to re-invade?
I suggested making a ca$h offer, the price is negotiable. Since you brought up leverage, perhaps we also offer to stop making threats, and leave the Country alone?
Does the USA no longer have the expertise and discipline to conduct an orderly retreat, neither militarily nor diplomatically?
Eric Blair
The fault is altogether Biden’s. The US military is trying to cope with his orders.
Sir I beg to differ with you about US military coping with his orders, when former President Trump the very same military undermined his efforts to get out of Afganistan in which ever way possible.
Muralidhar Rao
Ah, no. It s the opposite situation. They wanted to fight forever in Afghanistan. With Biden he has limited their freedom of action and ordered them to abandon our citizens and our friends.
And none of the political suck up generals can speak up and explain the myriad inherent problems.
TV
Keane and Bolduc are speaking the truth.
Since the generals have had well over 12 months notice of an impending departure I think that they have had plenty of time to draw up plans for a better organised departure. As usual the grunts are doing their best under very trying circumstances, whilst the top brass blame everyone except themselves.
Bp
The staffs at the JCS and CENTCOM will have drawn up a wide spectrum of plans which were reviewed at the WH by people who probably only dimly understood them. The one being executed surely represents one of the more adverse circumstances and Joe Joe is badly interfering with it in his dotage. BTW. You are in the UK. “Grunt” in the US denotes infantry enlisted soldiers.
One theory of this mess was that the swamp deliberately botched it.
Too much money at stake.
We know that whenever a President talked about pulling out, the generals pleaded for more money and more resources and promised to turn it around.
These generals were either total buffoons and/or full-time liars.
Contractors got filthy rich and promised the clownish generals lavish retirements.
TV
“buffoons and/or full-time liars.” Both
But, it is a former mujahid named Haqqani, who leads the Taliban, or, are several Haqqanis?
By images I have been watching at an interesting Twitter account b ya guy who asures having followed the Taliban for the last decade or so, I have seen at least two Haqqanis, one with a big head/big turban, black beard, talking to a council of multiethnic afghans, and another one, older than this, with white beard talking to a SOF unit while all were sit in a garden….
How many Haqqanis they are?
Why do they enjiy such predicament amingst afgahn of all walks of life?
Everybody seems to hear them with full attention…
May be TTG can answer…
Asha K
You are insulting. You think I am senile like Biden?
Not, at all.
I am just asking, asked at MoA too, nobody answered…
No, I do not think you are senile, I am in a mess with these Haqqnis realy, I am just curious…
I thought also there was one Haqqani..until I saw the old one…talking to the SOF..they were hearing him as if he was a father..
Asha, there are a butt load of Haqqanis. It’s not one or two people with the same name. The Haqqanis are a prominent family among the Pashtun tribes. They’ve been referred to as the Haqqani Network for well over 20 years. They first gained prominence as member’s of Reagan’s heroic mujahideen fighting the Russians. However they later became friendly with both the Taliban and Al Qaeda and remained so ever since. The ISI denied they supported the Network, but I don’t believe a word they say. I’ve seen reports that the Haqqani Network has been put in charge of Kabul security by the Taliban. They’re in the thick of this whole jihadi mess.
I have been told from someone close to me who was specifically targeting the Haqqani network that they are well organized, are family run, have a base in Pakistan, are most definitely integrated with the ISI, are among the most dedicated of the antiAmericans and are drug dealer kingpins to boot. Bad dudes.
And these bad dudes will surely be a prominent part of whatever Taliban government is eventually established. I’ve seen photos of the Badri 313 unit taking charge of security around the airport. The Haqqani are running the show in Kabul.
I get the feeling many of the Taliban would rather do it right this time and not impose their way on all Afghans through force, using a hearts and minds approach to bring their brothers and sisters back to the true path. The Haqqani are not of this mindset.
Agree. But the Haqqini sound more like a mafia crime family than pure jihadis. I dunno. Maybe it’s possible to be both? Maybe they are cynical and use religion as a control? Maybe that’s a distinction without meaning in practical application. Again, I don’t understand what these guys are, exactly, and what the would mean for Afghanistan
TTG
This is when it will get interesting, after August 31st when the external foe keeping “the Taliban” together has gone. After that the hardcore jihadists’ version of the future will meet the Islamic nationalist faction’s version of what Afghanistan should look like. Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a night of the long knives play out. China & Russia will support the nationalist faction, of course.
Barbara Ann,
The nationalist faction will likely not be as ruthless as the jihadi faction. Many Uighyurs were cannon fodder in Syria. Not sure how many from the Stans & the Caucasus landed up in the Syrian bloodletting. Chechens were big there in the head-chopping business.
We can be certain that trouble will be hatched in Kashmir and other parts of India with a Hindu nationalist government running the show there. That will play well in Islamabad & Beijing. Russia is of course playing both sides providing S-400s to both of them.
I am sending a link to a rather hard-hitting paper on the Borg’s role in the Afghanistan affair by John Brenner which I think will interest you Colonel:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2021/08/the-borg-and-the-retreat-from-afghanistan-by-michael-brenner.html
Forceful article by Michael Brenner, thanks.
Biden’s comments today are an additional disgrace. Hours late for his own press conference, starts off talking about the bankrupting spending bill yet to be passed as a great bi-partisan effort and only then mentions Afghanistan. Oh, and warns us of that new threat “ISIS K”. Which is also ta-da: Anti-Taliban! I wonder where they’ve been all these years since we got bin Laden, in Pakistan – the country that sheltered him for a decades while we floundered around. I’m so glad all our allies are joined at the hip with us though; the UK Parliment members who condemned Joe just hours ago excluded of course.
How many Americans are among the “thousands” flow out so far? Tune it to find out tommorrow. How many Americans are left to get out? Tune in tommorrow….No questions, please. He’s the biggest vote getting president in American history. He can’t handle questions. On a completely unrelated note, Trump’s event in rainy Alabama had a turnout in the tens of thousdands. How many turned out at any of Joe’s events? Just wondering if any of the normies are noticing that something might be wrong.
This is no accident, people. The Powers That Be want to ruin your country. That’s why they gave you a Senile Delinquent as President – delinquent because this neglect is intentional.
As for the Cackling Hyena, don’t think she’ll be any better. Better send in PETA, before she gets in.
RedState is pretty scathing about Biden’s blood shot eyes, dead delivery, five hour delay and lies about his G-7 meeting today, a critical meeting with allies that took seven whole minutes out from his time in the basement.
Was FDR this bad in his final days? Gentleman’s agreement with the media back in those days to not report infirmities nor peccadillos.
The concurrent facts that 1) Biden has capitulated to Taliban threats of “consequences” and refused to finish the evacuation job no matter what or how long it takes, and 2) that not a single person in government has resigned in protest over this disastrous series of decisions tells me that this is an intentional course of action. They mean to do this in this exact fashion, with all its attendant consequences, and it has the acceptance and blessing of everyone involved from the top down. They are purposely f*$%ing the United States as hard as they can, as fast as they can.
My question now becomes: At the behest of whom are they doing this? Does the CCP have such an incredible amount of dirt on Joe and Hunter that they decided they could compel him to betray his country in this most public, embarrassing, and catastrophic manner? I should imagine video footage of a dead prostitute (perhaps an underage one) in Hunter’s Beijing hotel bed, or something similar, might be enough seal the deal. Or maybe there is indeed a sum of money large enough to raise Joe’s eyebrow. The man and his entire family clearly have put price tags on their own honor, and it’s not too far of a stretch to think the Chinese (or another interested party) made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
The apparatchiks in the administration are happy to go along as they see the reputation of the U.S. crumble to dust. They are among the very significant cohort of Americans who hate America and are none too sad to see it denigrated, degraded, and disparaged on the world stage.
What a difference a choice in news channels makes:
“……..DNC: President Biden has defied expectations and exceeded even his own administration’s goal in successfully ramping up evacuations from Afghanistan. Not only has President Biden evacuated nearly 60,000 people from Kabul with no American casualties, but he has taken the steps necessary to finally end a 20-year long war, bring Americans home, and keep our promise to our Afghan partners……”
DNC = Democrat National Committee
The “orderly US drawdown”of the US Embassy in Kabul plays out over time, via its daily announcements: https://af.usembassy.gov
DNC brags Biden, defying all expectations, evacuated “60,000 people”.
Daily Caller reports: …”Roughly 3,800 Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan since July 29, with an estimated 8,000 remaining in the country, an official with direct knowledge of the situation told the Daily Caller on Tuesday.
The official told the Caller that it seems “doubtful we are going to bring in 8,000 more Americans” between now and the Aug. 31 deadline.
NB: Americans are people; but people are not necessarily Americans. Details at 5pm.
I’ve seen only one person own up to screwing up in Afghanistan in plain language without excuses. That man is Admiral Mullen. In 2011, after we killed bin Laden, he argued for doubling down and in his words, I thought we could turn it around, obviously, I was wrong.” He said we should have left at that time. Oddly enough, Biden was arguing for just that. Get the Americans out and to hell with the Afghans, including those that helped us. That’s an ugly look for Biden IMO, but he wouldn’t have gotten any argument from Trump or Miller who both wanted no part of Afghan refugees. Those two worked hard to ensure that outcome up to 20 January.
It appears that Biden, Kamala, Pelosi, the Sec. State, Sec. Defense, National Security Advisor, Pentagon brass, Centcom commander, et al are not only getting the pass but being protected by the corporate media, think-tanks and the pundit class.
The message is already look we’ve airlifted tens of thousands. This has been a great success. And now we’re out of Afghanistan.
The 24×7 hysteria if this clusterfuck happened under Trump would have been at DEFCON 1 levels.
What does that say about the state of our nation?
https://twitter.com/baldingsworld/status/1430569567043166222?s=21
The point is that there’s no consequence for FUBAR in the US government anymore as long as you’re in the protected class. “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job”- George Bush!! Where’s the questioning of Obama, Petraeus, Gates, Brennan, et al on the “surge” and why anyone should take these clowns seriously? Instead we have them pontificating with major airtime. That’s how unserious of a country we’ve become.
Nancy Pelosi has already moved on to high-lighting even more Jan 6 witch hunt investigation demands – all Trump and WH correspondence. Afghanistan is now officially – so yesterday.
Drilling down the details about those Left Behind: California students and parents on a summer field trip to Afghanistan.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/middle-east-north-africa/569307-dozens-of-california-students-parents-stranded