I guess we lost the Afghanistan War

[byco42]

that will be a smarter strategy than sending in a relative handful of light infantry to prop up a regime widely seen as openly corrupt, tainted with drug money (that our intelligence agencies were probably running), and uniting the entire country against us by making sheep herders into "enemy combatants" and seeing "al qaeda" behind every rock in the country.

blowing up their wedding parties with drone strikes probably didn't help either.

However, I?m not so sure that the Taliban will willingly accept the ?offer it can?t refuse.?

 

[Spartanmack]

Let China make deals with them to buy natural gas and rare earth metals to finance the Taliban's brutality. They're in for a rude awakening if they think they're going to be able to take ownership over Afghanistan's natural resources with a piece of paper. Evidence suggests the Afghans aren't likely to accept a Chinese or international court ruling. But China probably has no interest in empire building based on how they've handled Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. Get your popcorn ready.

 

[Michchamp]

This isn't about whether we won or lost, I'm simply mocking the ridiculous claim that somehow we're the root cause of the instability - Afghanistan has been unstable for centuries. .

I've seen pictures of Afghanistan from the mid-70's, prior to the Soviet Union's intervention. it looked pretty stable to me. it was more secular than I would have expected, the women were dressed like western women, and I guess it was a satellite of sorts of teh USSR. I haven't read this yet, but it has some of the pictures

 

[Michchamp]

If the US government had to choose between a stable country governed by a secular socialist or communist government with ties to the USSR, and a Islamist theocracy cranking out extremism and terrorism, I'm pretty sure they'd go with the latter.

it's paid dividends in the form of defense appropriations, and reasons to crack down on and increase surveillance of its own citizens.

 

[Spartanmack]

I've seen pictures of Afghanistan from the mid-70's, prior to the Soviet Union's intervention. it looked pretty stable to me. it was more secular than I would have expected, the women were dressed like western women, and I guess it was a satellite of sorts of teh USSR. I haven't read this yet, but it has some of the pictures

hmmm, you were able to find a website named after a left wing Australian politician that blames the US for women being oppressed in Afghanistan. It even has a picture of women in a city center dressed in western attire from 1978. I'm convinced - the whole country of Afghanistan must have been stable. My bad. (note, this post contains rather heavy sarcasm)

 

[Spartanmack]

If the US government had to choose between a stable country governed by a secular socialist or communist government with ties to the USSR, and a Islamist theocracy cranking out extremism and terrorism, I'm pretty sure they'd go with the latter.

it's paid dividends in the form of defense appropriations, and reasons to crack down on and increase surveillance of its own citizens.

Where did those goal posts go? it's not a question of which the US government would choose. It's a question of whether stability existed at all - it's a prerequisite for saying the US destabilized the country.

 

[Michchamp]

Where did those goal posts go? it's not a question of which the US government would choose. It's a question of whether stability existed at all - it's a prerequisite for saying the US destabilized the country.

Just making an observation.

Personally, I assume - based on our track record - the US had some hand to play in the original instability in the late 70's. We were definitely active in the country after the Soviets invaded, and I assume were still playing some role there long after they left. it just didn't get news coverage here in the states.

 

[Michchamp]

Looks like CNN is giving more coverage to Afghanistan now.

We never stopped bombing the country, despite announcing we pulled out.

Bombing a place is not good, but at least we built a couple schools for women in Kabul, back 10 years ago (we probably later bombed them on accident though - whoops!)

 

[tinselwolverine]

Looks like CNN is giving more coverage to Afghanistan now.

We never stopped bombing the country, despite announcing we pulled out.

Bombing a place is not good, but at least we built a couple schools for women in Kabul, back 10 years ago (we probably later bombed them on accident though - whoops!)

These things happen.

We built them - that?s what matters.

 

[tomdalton22]

Looks like CNN is giving more coverage to Afghanistan now.

We never stopped bombing the country, despite announcing we pulled out.

Bombing a place is not good, but at least we built a couple schools for women in Kabul, back 10 years ago (we probably later bombed them on accident though - whoops!)

well...the bombs are already there. Who knows...maybe they expire. Easier to drop them over there than take them back to the states to dispose of them.

 

[tinselwolverine]

well...the bombs are already there. Who knows...maybe they expire. Easier to drop them over there than take them back to the states to dispose of them.

Use ?em or lose ?em, right?

 

[Spartanmack]

well...the bombs are already there. Who knows...maybe they expire. Easier to drop them over there than take them back to the states to dispose of them.

Use ?em or lose ?em, right?

the story says the bombs weren't already in Afghanistan, but they're there now.

 

[Thumb]

well...the bombs are already there. Who knows...maybe they expire. Easier to drop them over there than take them back to the states to dispose of them.

Yes, I'm pretty sure all bombs have a "best dropped before ././." date on them.

If they expire we'll have to ship them back to the 'States and sell them at Dollar General or something.

 

[Spartanmack]

More signs of stability being brought by the Taliban. But I'm sure they learned their lesson and won't harbor anti-western terrorists or become a hot bed for terrorist recruitment and training camps. Even if they do, it will be worth the stability they bring.

 

[tinselwolverine]

More signs of stability being brought by the Taliban. But I'm sure they learned their lesson and won't harbor anti-western terrorists or become a hot bed for terrorist recruitment and training camps. Even if they do, it will be worth the stability they bring.

Well hell, the guys whose faces they tarred and then dragged through the streets with nooses around their necks were accused of theft.

I wouldn?t want them to go quite that far, but I wouldn?t mind if the Los Angeles police department and the LA County Sheriff?s Department were afforded a little bit more of that kind of latitude.

 

[tinselwolverine]

Yes, I'm pretty sure all bombs have a "best dropped before ././." date on them.

If they expire we'll have to ship them back to the 'States and sell them at Dollar General or something.

It?s a flexible date.

?Best dropped before January 20th of the next year following the election of the next Democrat to assume the Office of President of the United States.?

Otherwise they just fucking go to waste.

 

[Michchamp]

More signs of stability being brought by the Taliban. But I'm sure they learned their lesson and won't harbor anti-western terrorists or become a hot bed for terrorist recruitment and training camps. Even if they do, it will be worth the stability they bring.

After all the deceptions we've seen from our military and intelligence agencies, going all the way back to Vietnam, I don't believe any of this stuff is true anymore. Or if it is, we - and the allies we've propped up there - do the same damn thing, and our media just ignores it.

The Taliban can have their fucking country. We should stop bombing it and spending money to prop up a corrupt, incompetent and sleazy regime.

 

[tinselwolverine]

After all the deceptions we've seen from our military and intelligence agencies, going all the way back to Vietnam, I don't believe any of this stuff is true anymore. Or if it is, we - and the allies we've propped up there - do the same damn thing, and our media just ignores it.

The Taliban can have their fucking country. We should stop bombing it and spending money to prop up a corrupt, incompetent and sleazy regime.

Look on the bright side ? our government and the media have been bend over backwards forthcoming regarding the coronavirus pandemic as a make up for their previous acts of deceit.

 

[Michchamp]

Look on the bright side ? our government and the media have been bend over backwards forthcoming regarding the coronavirus pandemic as a make up for their previous acts of deceit.

and only like 700,000 or so of our fellow Americans have died because of it.

 

[tinselwolverine]

and only like 700,000 or so of our fellow Americans have died because of it.

After all the deception we?ve seen from our public health bureaucrats and elected leaders, going all the way back to March 2020, I don?t believe any of this stuff is true.