The withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan

[GaryK]

If there was no fear of US troops being in danger, I think the administration would be glad to continue evacuations into September.

My concern is for those Afghans who will very likely be persecuted and/or killed because of helping the most powerful military in the world over the last 20 years. It's hard for me to understand how the most powerful nation with the most powerful military in the world could allow this to happen.

Really? When was the last time the US military got involved in a major civil war in a remote part of the world for purely humanitarian reasons? The word "allow" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. How much of the internal affairs of other countries happen because the US "allows" it or doesn't "allow" it? As you say, we are the most powerful nation with the most powerful military in the world and yet there is still crime and poverty in West Virginia. And people are even being killed. How can we "allow" that to happen in our own country?

What alternative foreign and military policy would you have advocated over the past 20 years? Do you think an extra trillion of US dollars would have done the trick?

Did you read the NBC article I posted earlier? That's what I'm referencing.

[Grace]

If there was no fear of US troops being in danger, I think the administration would be glad to continue evacuations into September.

My concern is for those Afghans who will very likely be persecuted and/or killed because of helping the most powerful military in the world over the last 20 years. It's hard for me to understand how the most powerful nation with the most powerful military in the world could allow this to happen.

The Taliban gave the ultimatum that the August 31rst deadline for troop withdrawals is the 'red line' . Of course Biden will do as these terrorists say. You can be sure that ALL citizens, all Afghan partners and Special Forces who aided the troops will NOT be out of the country by that time. And you can be sure the administration via Jen Psaki, will lie and make the excuse that those left behind, didn't want to leave. Jen Psaki keeps touting the amount of people they are getting out. If Biden and Jen Psaki were alive in 1912 they would be saying: "The Titanic is now on track to be the largest lifeboat evacuation in history...I would not say that this is anything but a success."

What Biden is leaving behind, as a gift for the murderous Taliban :
600,000 weapons
75,000 vehicles
208 planes

[Josh]

This is an interesting thread. I find myself in agreement with Ken and am puzzled where the other posters are coming from.

Makes me think some of us are just consuming too much news.

[Grace]

This is an interesting thread. I find myself in agreement with Ken and am puzzled where the other posters are coming from.

Makes me think some of us are just consuming too much news.

It's not that ANYONE wanted the war to continue. It's that Biden should have started the exit a long time ago.

[Josh]

This is an interesting thread. I find myself in agreement with Ken and am puzzled where the other posters are coming from.

Makes me think some of us are just consuming too much news.

It's not that ANYONE wanted the war to continue. It's that Biden should have started the exit a long time ago.

I suspect whoever was on the receiving end of the $2T spent in Afghanistan was interested in the situation lasting longer.

I agree - Biden should have helped Obama exit Afghanistan, which Obama made a campaign promise to do. Once he was in office, his advisors talked him out of it.

[Humble Disciple]

Psaki says Afghanistan evacuation cannot be called ‘anything but a success’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 08193.html

The Biden administration is either delusional or completely lying to the American people.

While it was the right decision to leave Afghanistan, it was handled in the worst way possible.

Let’s also not forget that Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan, right after winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

[Josh]

Let’s remember that conservatives and liberals, left and right, united to get us in this war in the first place.

As there is now peace in what was a war torn area, I cannot help but rejoice, as “sin is a disgrace to any people, but righteousness exalts a nation”.

[Heirbyadoption]

As there is now peace in what was a war torn area, I cannot help but rejoice, as “sin is a disgrace to any people, but righteousness exalts a nation.”

This is interesting. Are you defining "peace" as the absence of direct military conflict between two armed forces?

[Ken]

This is an interesting thread. I find myself in agreement with Ken and am puzzled where the other posters are coming from.

Makes me think some of us are just consuming too much news.

I'm not an isolationist. I'm for engagement with the rest of the world. I'm just not generally in favor of using the military for that purpose.

I would note that China seems to be kicking our butts in terms of engagement in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. But they aren't doing it by sending troops and building military bases. They are doing things like building dams, highways, and even light rail transit systems in places like Ethiopia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addis_Ababa_Light_Rail Which seems a lot more useful than things like massive multi-billion dollar military air bases in places like Bagram Afghanistan.

[Josh]

As there is now peace in what was a war torn area, I cannot help but rejoice, as “sin is a disgrace to any people, but righteousness exalts a nation.”

This is interesting. Are you defining "peace" as the absence of direct military conflict between two armed forces?

It’s better than firing cruise missiles at wedding parties, yes. Peace with the absence of war.

Of particular note is that the Taliban took over the country with very little violence or bloodshed. I think that also “exalts a nation”.