Lying to buy time Grace. Get ready, I warned you all.
President Joe Biden
- Thread starter tenacious
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Back when this crap started, so far back that I can't find it, so far back that it was before this forum existed, I wrote up a compact list of all the empires that thought they could conquer Afghanistan, starting with Alexander of Macedonia. One point I remember is when we funded the Taliban to make things difficult for the Russians back in the '80s. Yes, the same Taliban. I think 60 Minutes filmed a ride-along with Taliban sniping at Russian tanks and helicopters with US-supplied weapons.
I'm starting to wonder if the Taliban are just the locals trying to protect their country. WTF is it that everyone wants over there Espola? Honest Q here fellas and grace. What could be so important? I'm bascially being called the same thing the Taliban are being called, which terrorist. I wont lie, I smoked some really good hash back in the day but that's it. Here's a 100% true story. When 9/11/01 hit is us all in the face and we lost all of our privacy, I was a sales manager for a yellow page company. When W, both Dicks, poor old Colin ((he got played)) and all the Senators voted, "yes for death & destruction & war" I was for it. I hate to admit this but I have to be honest. My son was born in March 2001 and I was so for other parents who had ds and dd to send their loved ones to fight these terrorist that attacked our buildings. Anyway, we send our troops and the war is on.
My #1 gift was taking newbies out cold calling and to see if they can hang in the real world. I got two reps straight out of training class the day we were bombing the hell out Kabul and take over airport. I get a woman who just graduated from USC and I get this middle aged older guy named Ahmad Rashad. I swear this is a true story. I tell Ahmad I will take Susie out today and you tomorrow. The girl was a complete know it all and I was told she was going to be #1 rep from a sale class of over 50 and a future boss lady. The intel on Ahmad was he going to need help and probably won't make the cut. Our turnover was very high in YP real world. Getting told to F off all day is not easy on one's pride. Anyway, I take know it all out on her first sales day and she quit before lunch. She felt she knew it all and did not want me to talk, just stand next to her and she will close all the deals. Let me just say she didnt take being told, "no thanks" all the time. Last I heard she was selling drugs to doctors.
Now let's talk about Ahmad. I get in the car with him on first day of war and I ask, "Ahmad, where are you from." He says, "Afghanistan." I wont bore you with all the cool stuff that happen and how he and I and my wife became very good friends. He was #1 and became a boss man for the company. God is good
what-happened
GOLD
Certainly plenty of shade to be thrown at the Saudis. They've played both sides of the tracks for some time and will likely continue to do so. Our relationship with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf States is nuanced and complex - no way to cover that on a youth soccer forum.
Hideouts and safe havens are important places to deny. We can chew gum and walk at the same time, The horn of africa is a pretty good example. Afghanistan was the right place and right time for intervention after 9-11. Tangible bad guy(s), easy to find, easy to defeat..and should have been easy to get out.
Anyone critical of how the Taliban took over Afghanistan should take a careful look at the parallels in how the Saud family took over Arabia (which wasn't even a single country when they started).
what-happened
GOLD
Very few here in the US actually care how the Taliban take over. They are going to be brutal. They will likely continue their purge, roll back the few civil rights gains accomplished over the last 20 years, and rule with an iron fist. Many will die, girls in the major cities will no longer go to school. They may have learned their lesson in testing US resolve for certain things and have certainly become more savvy in regards to international politics.
time will tell.
Ya man, like that Atta fella. Dude was flying big ass plane into steel so strong no way 747 even goes through it. They found his passport in mint condition a few blocks down the street. No way Jose. The window frames were made of very strong steel as well as the middle of the Twin Towers. Those planes are basically made of tin foil and wood and had no business going through like that. Lord please help the world. We need help. Help!!!
Hüsker Dü
DA
We have backed the wrong people for decades. We suck.
what-happened
GOLD
Until sunday, no one cared about Afghanistan. Biden may drop in the polls. Once the MSM stops being sanctimonious about something they haven't really cared about, they'll go about the task of polishing up the turd and pushing other agendas.
If anything Biden should be given credit (maybe) for not listening to more lies from Generals, Diplomats, Defense Contractors, etc. 3 more months, 3 more years wouldn't have mattered. The afghan Army is a fake army, built on fake payrolls and empty chairs. They were never going to fight for anyone. You can't convince an army to fight for a nation that really doesn't exist.
Who knows, maybe this is a more progressive Taliban, one that wants to be part of the world community. One that understand that their hold on power is tenable at best if they decide to provide safe harbor to bad actors. Next time we don't stay, we just fly over and leave. We can do that at will, over and over again.
The public doesn’t care about Afghanistan. The taliban could slaughter thousands and most people would yawn. They do care about the United States looking ridiculous and the Biden presidency was sold on the basis that the grownups were back. That’s why this is an almost fatal wound to Biden. The argument had been he is carter 2.0. It would take something radical to turn that around at this point and he has just under a year to do it. It’s also a final straw coming on a long list of issues (some within his control and many not)
note Reagan was able to turn around the recession and Beirut, but Biden is no Reagan and there’s the added problem that he is very obviously in decline.Impossible? No. Daunting? Yes. Once an impression sticks it is very very hard to turn it around.
what-happened
GOLD
I'm no Joe Biden fan, to say the least. In this case, he (or someone) decided to not listen to anymore of the BS coming from the Pentagon and others who've been getting rich off of this ill fated adventure. It could be a fatal wound if the dems eat their own, which they could. The writing has been on the fall for Afghanistan for some time.
To be fair, I think trump would have had to navigate the same waters, the same optics, and similar scenarios. There are tactical things that could have been done differently but the end result is the same. The end state is to evacuate the embassy staff, make arrangements to evacuate contractors and other US citizens, and figure out how to get as many AFghans out as possible. We are not going to get all of them out. Next week no one will care about who didn't get out. We'll be back to COVID theater and partisan frothing at the mouth. So much easier for the MSM to do. They are completely out of their element with this afghan scenario. The people they have one to provide commentary are part of the reason why all of this is a disaster. It's a joke.
How did Reagan turn around Beirut? We also left there with tails tucked between legs..unfortunately.
What I heard was a bunch off horse shit. He's sending 7,000 troops back dude. I would be pissed off if I were heading back to Kabul. This makes zero sense. If he actually pulled everyone out the right way, then everyone would be gone. Instead you got people dropping out of the sky from planes because they would rather take the chance hitching a ride on the outside of a C-17 then get their heads chopped off by the new Religious Elders. Woman are in a world of hurt & abuse again. How freaking sad. One big disaster this is. I spoke to really good pal today who gave up 18 months of his life trying to fix things with the people and his heart is ripped to pieces after that speech. This is horrible and no son or dd should have to go back to help in these conditions
what-happened
GOLD
everyone who spent a day in Afghanistan is emotional. There is no right way to do this. We've been putting lipstick on this pig since 2002. The right thing is to leave now. The afghans have had 10-15 years to figure it out, we've been there for 20. . Obviously no amount of training, funding, support helped them achieve anything. Their government has been and will always be corrupt. We've made them rich beyond belief. Now they will seek asylum somewhere and live out the rest of their lives fully funded by your tax dollars. It's certainly a sad state of affairs. Doesn't change the fact that if it doesn't happen now, it's going to happen later.What I heard was a bunch off horse shit. He's sending 7,000 troops back dude. I would be pissed off if I were heading back to Kabul. This makes zero sense. If he actually pulled everyone out the right way, then everyone would be gone. Instead you got people dropping out of the sky from planes because they would rather take the chance hitching a ride on the outside of a C-17 then get their heads chopped off by the new Religious Elders. Woman are in a world of hurt & abuse again. How freaking sad. One big disaster this is. I spoke to really good pal today who gave up 18 months of his life trying to fix things with the people and his heart is ripped to pieces after that speech. This is horrible and no son or dd should have to go back to help in these conditions
That's just Grace being loyally non-political.
There was a better way that's for damn sure. The right way was never to be there in the first place, right?
