About 8,000 US troops are deploying to secure evacuations from Kabul

GDS_Starfury · August 31, 2021, 07:22:56 PM

imagine the experience of an Afghani family that was in Kabul 36 hours ago and in now in LA.

Gusington · August 31, 2021, 07:26:53 PM

Is there much difference?

GDS_Starfury · August 31, 2021, 07:35:39 PM

how could you not see the culture shock.

Dammit Carl! · August 31, 2021, 07:55:44 PM

Sincerely wish for the best for them.

Jarhead0331 · August 31, 2021, 08:08:47 PM

Quote from: GDS_Starfury on August 31, 2021, 07:35:39 PM
how could you not see the culture shock.

I'd take culture shock over being dead. Taliban is going house to house murdering those left behind. The videos coming out of kabul are chilling.

GDS_Starfury · August 31, 2021, 08:34:42 PM

well those people should have done something about that after all of this time.
Im not trying to sound shitty, or that I dont have empathy and all the other feelings Im supposed to have as a decent human being.
however, at what point do you just detach from all of that like you would an ex wife and say fuck it, not my problem anymore.
we did better then most, didnt lose our "empire" and its always going to be a shithole country.

Sir Slash · August 31, 2021, 10:14:46 PM

I think we made it our problem when we went in back in 2001. And then laid our National Honor on the line by promising we wouldn't abandon them to death and chaos, the very words Sen. Biden used back then. And a lot of them believed us and DID do something about it. Right up until they woke-up one morning and found our military had fled Bagram Airbase without even telling them we were leaving. Some friends and allies we are. But who cares, right? They're just a shithole country after all.

GDS_Starfury · August 31, 2021, 10:20:19 PM

this is where we skirt the political side of this. Biden didnt broker the original deal to leave afghanistan.

GDS_Starfury · August 31, 2021, 10:23:08 PM

it actually doesn't matter who's in office. there was no way this exit was going to happen without a perceived optic of shitshow.

Gusington · September 01, 2021, 07:17:15 AM

^I agree with that. We had to leave at some point. No matter when that would be it wasn't going to be easy.

Dammit Carl! · September 01, 2021, 07:47:40 AM

Ain't that the truth.

Jarhead0331 · September 01, 2021, 07:51:02 AM

Quote from: Gusington on September 01, 2021, 07:17:15 AM
^I agree with that. We had to leave at some point. No matter when that would be it wasn't going to be easy.

Few disagree with the general principle that our escapade over there had run its course. That is a totally separate issue. The large white elephant in the room is over how the withdrawal was accomplished. There were numerous tactical and strategic errors that absolutely could have and should have been avoided plain and simple. There is no excuse. There is no justification and simply stating that it would have been shitty no matter how, when and who is a total cop out and avoids holding those responsible to account. Had this fiasco happened under Trump, lol! how do you think the media and the Trump hating world would have reacted? It's a rhetorical question because you all know. The fact that some even try to blame Trump for this even now is hysterical.

Now I'm not criticizing anyone here for not casting blame because that would be political and we've banned that kind of thing around here for now, but let's not kid ourselves about the double-standard, emmmk?

Gusington · September 01, 2021, 08:51:48 AM

I don't think it would matter who the POTUS was at the moment of our final withdrawal from Afghanistan, there would be mistakes made no matter what.

There are people out there who believe we should have stayed in Afghanistan 'forever' if it would have made the US even slightly more safe and secure.

Sir Slash · September 01, 2021, 11:03:59 AM

And I'm not one of those. If the Afghans wouldn't fight for their own freedom/independence, then there's no point in our doing it for them. And I won't go into the details of the policy Biden inherited as Prez. and his claims to have been straight-jacketed into following it, he certainly never mentioned that fact when he was running for the job. But to pretend like this was inevitable or is now some kind of great victory for freedom is to purposefully deny the truth of an American surrender and deliberate renouncing of promises made to others. There's not enough lipstick in the whole world to put on this pig and claim it's pretty.

Toonces · September 01, 2021, 12:48:12 PM

I would actually like to see an investigation into how this evacuation came to be such a CF, and lay the blame accordingly.

And by "lay the blame" I mean identify who made what decisions that made to this mess so that they can stand up and admit, yes I made that decision, it was wrong, and I apologize to the American people. And then maybe lose their job.