US Politics Thread (2021-24)

[ganbaru]

^ Not a bad way to describe the situation.

Ryan Grim: How The Soviets Outdid The U.S. In Afghanistan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFZIaHcoCuY

[serenade_beta]

I thought I saw news about the Taliban but did not really pay attention the past couple of days, so I only just read about it, and what?! The Afghan government lost to them?!

Not that I have any good or bad impressions about the Afghan government's abilities. Just surprised at a government just losing like that.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

I thought I saw news about the Taliban but did not really pay attention the past couple of days, so I only just read about it, and what?! The Afghan government lost to them?!

Not that I have any good or bad impressions about the Afghan government's abilities. Just surprised at a government just losing like that.

It's easy to lose a fight when you don't start fighting in the first place.

[ramlaen]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exc...es-2021-08-20/

If at this point you are still clinging to conspiracy theories about Russians or insurrections, shame on you.

[cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by ramlaen

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exc...es-2021-08-20/

If at this point you are still clinging to conspiracy theories about Russians or insurrections, shame on you.

Coordinated or not, they still stormed the capital after being egged on by Trump. They still sought to forcibly overturn the election and many sought to kill senators and representatives over it. Coordinated or not, it was still an insurrection.

[Honoakari]

From what I remember, the 'insurrection' was for the most part a group of aimless douchebags. Taking selfies...

A real insurrection would have been much more violent. People with nothing to lose, killing left and right...

No one died on the 'politician' side that day. Call it an insurrection if you want, but I don't think they even tried.

[Key Board]

ironically, I think the movement has been dampened by Q drops that keep on promising that Trump will do something and overturn the election

As a result these people are content to wait and see what happens. They're treating it like the rapture. They're just wait gleefully until the promised day.

But every time a promised date fails to pass, more of these people are radicalized and join actual armed groups on Telegram.

QAnon on Telegram: From Antisemitism to Nazism the case of GhostEzra
https://insightintohate.substack.com...m-antisemitism

//

[ramlaen]

https://www.politico.com/amp/news/20...vacuate-506957

This admin gave the Taliban a kill list...

[AnimeFan188]

‘A Total F*cking Disaster’: Inside Seth Moulton’s Secret Trip to Kabul

"Seth Moulton saw things during his trip to Afghanistan that were “truly out of this
world.” He spent about 15 hours on Tuesday at the airport in the capital city of
Kabul, the epicenter of America’s messy withdrawal from the nearly 20-year war
there. The Massachusetts congressman described the scene as “the most visceral,
raw view of humanity that I will probably ever see in my life,” with “thousands
upon thousands” of refugees camped out and “desperate” to fly out of the
country, which was overtaken by fundamentalist Taliban forces. The experience left
Moulton more convinced than ever that President Joe Biden made grave mistakes
in his handling of the exit.

Moulton was on his way back from Kabul in the wee hours of Thursday morning
when he spoke to New York about the trip, during a layover in Madrid.

“The thing that everybody needs to understand, even if you completely agree with
the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw, the way they have handled this
has been a total fucking disaster,” said Moulton, who traveled to the country with
Representative Peter Meijer, a Republican from Michigan. “It will be measured in
bodies, because a lot of people are dying because they can’t get out.”"

See:

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/arti...abul-trip.html

[Sugetsu]

My hate for the corporate media has grown exponentially after their selective coverage of the war in Afghanistan. 20 years and they never . mentioned the thousands of civilians we killed, the American lives lost, the 2+ trillion dollars wasted...
The media is so bought out that they are making the case for going back into the war. The reason is obvious, there is too much money at stake for the defense industry and media to lose.

I am sorry, but i hope no one in this forum is dumb enough to believe the media narrative. I am ABSOLUTELY sure that there is foul at play in this evacuation. Where is the logic in attacking during the withdrawal?
All these bad optics only serve to reinforce the idea that we should have never left.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Sugetsu

My hate for the corporate media has grown exponentially after their selective coverage of the war in Afghanistan. 20 years and they never . mentioned the thousands of civilians we killed, the American lives lost, the 2+ trillion dollars wasted...
The media is so bought out that they are making the case for going back into the war. The reason is obvious, there is too much money at stake for the defense industry and media to lose.

I am sorry, but i hope no one in this forum is dumb enough to believe the media narrative. I am ABSOLUTELY sure that there is foul at play in this evacuation. Where is the logic in attacking during the withdrawal?
All these bad optics only serve to reinforce the idea that we should have never left.

Assuming they're from Daesch? It embarasses both the Talibans and the Americans, and it pulls the spotlight back to them. What's not to like?

[Sugetsu]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Assuming they're from Daesch? It embarasses both the Talibans and the Americans, and it pulls the spotlight back to them. What's not to like?

Put yourself in their shoes: you have an invading force in your country for 20 years; they are now withdrawing. Is it wise to interrupt this process which can also make a case for this invasion to continue?

It is obvious that the same people who want to remain in the country forever, also paid or coerced a militant force to do the dirty work. After all we have a well documented track record of doing just that throughout the middle east for decades.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Sugetsu

Put yourself in their shoes: you have an invading force in your country for 20 years; they are now withdrawing. Is it wise to interrupt this process which can also make a case for this invasion to continue?

Yes. Not only is resisting the American invader is their stock in trade, it isn't even them (Daesch) who defeated the Americans.

Also, at this point, a few terrorist attacks in Afghanistan aren't going to make them turn around and reinvade.

[Jaden]

Well, it's not like the Afghanistan withdrawal was done out of any anti-war principle. Even Trump as president wasn't really anti-war. It's just that particular occupation which could not be justified.

I think it's the end of US military occupations, and instead there will be bombing, hit-and-run type of counter-terrorism, and proxy wars.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Jaden

I think it's the end of US military occupations, and instead there will be bombing, hit-and-run type of counter-terrorism, and proxy wars.

.. and real wars. Biden knows that the USA army resources are stretched thin at a time Xi "I do not look like Winnie Pooh" Jinping is ever more aggressive against Taiwan and any country that wants to send merchandise thru sea in southeast Asia and Vladimir "I am not a midget" Putin is one excuse short of invading east Ukraine or Belarus.

[Key Board]

Originally Posted by Sugetsu

Put yourself in their shoes: you have an invading force in your country for 20 years; they are now withdrawing. Is it wise to interrupt this process which can also make a case for this invasion to continue?

don't terror cells operate independently.
They might not always see the long term picture.

If anything else, I think Daesh wants the US to stay in some capacity.
Which they'll probably get even without this.

They also want to slow down the Taliban from consolidating power.
It also makes good propaganda because they've lost some cred to the Taliban.

It would be easy to reposition yourself as the more pure brand.
They just need to use the narrative that the Taliban is soft on the US


//

[ramlaen]

And now that we have the transcript of the call between Biden and Ghani, we have a US president who asked a foreign leader for a favor in return for military aid. That sure sounds a lot like the accusation that was used to impeach Trump.

https://www.reuters.com/world/exclus...on-2021-08-31/

[cyberdemon]

Biden isn’t required to help a foreign country without expecting compensation for the US. He can’t be expected to fight for people, using American lives, who won’t fight for themselves. Trump expected personal compensation. Big difference.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by cyberdemon

Biden isn’t required to help a foreign country without expecting compensation for the US. He can’t be expected to fight for people, using American lives, who won’t fight for themselves. Trump expected personal compensation. Big difference.

For the repubs the afghanistan pullout is benghazi 2.0, you will hear about this for years to come, specially if trump loses in 2024. Because like with obama, they have nothing but straws to grasp.

[cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

For the repubs the afghanistan pullout is benghazi 2.0, you will hear about this for years to come, specially if trump loses in 2024. Because like with obama, they have nothing but straws to grasp.

Not to mention they will omit Trumps I’ll fated deal with the Taliban that led to this and pretend that the decision was entirely Biden’s. Nvm that he lacked much of a choice as a result of said deal. the attack by the isis wasn’t something either the us or the taliban foresaw too. US intelligence didn’t foresee it, so how is Biden supposed to know it would happen.