BRKG US Embassy in Kabul: potential security threats outside, advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport & avoid airport gates at this time
- Thread starter jward
- Start date
jward
passin' thru
Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
20m
Level 1:
JUST IN - Biden admin has issued a "warning order" to U.S. carriers. White House prepares to activate Civil Reserve Air Fleet for #Kabul airlift out of Afghanistan.
++++++++++++++++++
John Brady
@Jbrady2852
20m
Replying to
@disclosetv
Public recognition that the military airlift capability is not enough. The Civil Reserve Air Fleet voluntary program involving the DOT, DOD and the U.S. civil air carrier industry in a partnership to augment DOD aircraft capability during a national defense related crisis
@disclosetv
20m
Level 1:
JUST IN - Biden admin has issued a "warning order" to U.S. carriers. White House prepares to activate Civil Reserve Air Fleet for #Kabul airlift out of Afghanistan.
++++++++++++++++++
John Brady
@Jbrady2852
20m
Replying to
@disclosetv
Public recognition that the military airlift capability is not enough. The Civil Reserve Air Fleet voluntary program involving the DOT, DOD and the U.S. civil air carrier industry in a partnership to augment DOD aircraft capability during a national defense related crisis
Heliobas Disciple
TB Fanatic
Don't forget Brennan and Kerry.
Imho, it's more than funneling arms, they're building a jihadi army so that if they lose their hold and control over the American military in the months ahead, they have a FULLY ARMED military now based out of Afghanistan consisting of jihaids who are vicious psychopathic soldiers, who can be used at their bidding to threaten any western nation, NATO, EU, or USA/Canada with horrific terrorist attacks in order to get them to fold to their demands. Biden/Pelosi/Feinstein, etc - they're working with China, whose interests align nicely with the muslims right now. But the 0bama cabal is working with the muslims.
Think of the timing. Just a few weeks ago we were wondering if Israel and the UK and a few other European nations would exact revenge on Iran for the droning of their ship. There was speculation on whether Israel would even act on their own or would there be an alliance. Now - crickets. No one is going to go after Iran in the middle of the clusterf**k that is Afghanistan. Intentional imho. That's what this is all about. Cover for Iran and army building. (using the taliban, the Haqqanis, AQ and Isis who we've always suspected was supported by 0bama and co).
HD
night driver
ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Nah. Benghazi isn't even on the board for comparisons. Think Dien Bien Phu or Khartoum for comparison
And yeah, Annabasis is starting to look like a preferred, GOOD outcome.
I was relating the lack of concern/action on the part of the administration
zer0 went to bed and joe goes on vacation
This is all about shuffling tens upon tens of thousands of Afgans around the globe. It's not about rescuing Americans.
Think about how many Afgans they are considering if the gov has to commandeer our commercial airline fleet.
What about regular domestic civil airliner operations? Weren't the airlines already short staffed?
Fair Use Cited
---------------
U.S. Considers Ordering Commercial Airlines to Help in Afghan Evacuation
The Biden administration is making preparations to invoke an emergency civil aviation program, while adding to the number of U.S. bases that can house Afghan evacuees
By Gordon Lubold and Alison Sider
Updated Aug. 21, 2021 6:54 pm ET
WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is planning a dramatic ramp-up of its airlift from Kabul by making preparations to compel major U.S. airlines to help with the transportation of tens of thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan, while expanding the number of U.S. military bases that could house Afghans.
The White House is expected to consider activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, or CRAF, created in 1952 in the wake of the post-World War II Berlin Airlift, to provide nearly 20 commercial jets from up to five airlines to augment U.S. military efforts to transport Afghan evacuees from bases in the region, according to U.S. officials.
Officials are considering alternatives for ramping up the evacuation effort, which include expanding the number of bases in the region to reduce overcrowding, officials said, a move that could augment the use of civilian airlines or avert the need for them. Additional military bases in the U.S. also are being designated to provide housing for arriving Afghan evacuees.
The civilian planes wouldn’t fly in or out of Kabul, which fell to Taliban rule Aug. 15, officials said. Instead, commercial airline pilots and crews would help to ferry the thousands of Afghans and others who are stranded at U.S. bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Germany.
The involvement of the commercial airliners would relieve the pressure on those bases, which are fast filling up with Afghan evacuees as the U.S. expands efforts to fly them out of the airport in Kabul. Thousands of Afghans at risk of retaliation from the Taliban because of their association with U.S. forces have flooded the airport in the past week.
More
U.S. Considers Ordering Commercial Airlines to Help in Afghan Evacuation - WSJ
Think about how many Afgans they are considering if the gov has to commandeer our commercial airline fleet.
What about regular domestic civil airliner operations? Weren't the airlines already short staffed?
Fair Use Cited
---------------
U.S. Considers Ordering Commercial Airlines to Help in Afghan Evacuation
The Biden administration is making preparations to invoke an emergency civil aviation program, while adding to the number of U.S. bases that can house Afghan evacuees
By Gordon Lubold and Alison Sider
Updated Aug. 21, 2021 6:54 pm ET
WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is planning a dramatic ramp-up of its airlift from Kabul by making preparations to compel major U.S. airlines to help with the transportation of tens of thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan, while expanding the number of U.S. military bases that could house Afghans.
The White House is expected to consider activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, or CRAF, created in 1952 in the wake of the post-World War II Berlin Airlift, to provide nearly 20 commercial jets from up to five airlines to augment U.S. military efforts to transport Afghan evacuees from bases in the region, according to U.S. officials.
Officials are considering alternatives for ramping up the evacuation effort, which include expanding the number of bases in the region to reduce overcrowding, officials said, a move that could augment the use of civilian airlines or avert the need for them. Additional military bases in the U.S. also are being designated to provide housing for arriving Afghan evacuees.
The civilian planes wouldn’t fly in or out of Kabul, which fell to Taliban rule Aug. 15, officials said. Instead, commercial airline pilots and crews would help to ferry the thousands of Afghans and others who are stranded at U.S. bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Germany.
The involvement of the commercial airliners would relieve the pressure on those bases, which are fast filling up with Afghan evacuees as the U.S. expands efforts to fly them out of the airport in Kabul. Thousands of Afghans at risk of retaliation from the Taliban because of their association with U.S. forces have flooded the airport in the past week.
More
U.S. Considers Ordering Commercial Airlines to Help in Afghan Evacuation - WSJ
Last edited:
Heliobas Disciple
TB Fanatic
MORE:
Thanks to US, Taliban has an air force now, 11 military bases
With the US-led NATO forces hastily exiting Afghanistan, a windfall awaits the Taliban that includes an army of well-trained soldiers equipped with latest weapons and gadgets, well-planned military bases but most importantly, something the Taliban never dreamt of—an air force, reports senior...
www.etvbharat.com
Thanks to US, Taliban has an air force now, 11 military bases
Published on: Aug 16, 2021, 6:28 PM IST
With the US-led NATO forces hastily exiting Afghanistan, a windfall awaits the Taliban that includes an army of well-trained soldiers equipped with latest weapons and gadgets, well-planned military bases but most importantly, something the Taliban never dreamt of—an air force, reports senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah.
New Delhi: Riding on a victory wave replete with a hasty US withdrawal and an abject capitulation by the Afghan army, to say that the Taliban has become stronger may be an obvious understatement. The insurgent organization may soon gleefully lay its hands on the vast array of military resources left behind.
Just to help the Afghan government provide security in Afghanistan, the US had pumped in about $89 billion as of June 30, 2021. With the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghan government’s sudden fall, it would be safe to assume that a substantial chunk of those investments has fallen into the Taliban hands.
Just to give an idea, according to the US government official figures, in the three months from April to June 2021, the US handed over to the Afghan National Defense and Security forces (ANDSF) six A-29 light attack aircraft, 174 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvees), about 10,000 2.75 inch high-explosive rockets, 61,000 40-mm high explosive rounds, 9,00,000 rounds of .50 calibre ammo, and 20,15,600 rounds of 7.62 mm bullets.
While a stock-taking exercise is yet to begin in the war-ravaged country because of the prevailing circumstances, it is very likely that the Taliban may have taken possession of most of those assets.
Broadly, the US-led NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan has given on a platter to the Taliban something that the largely ragtag outfit of insurgents possibly never dreamt of—an up and running air force, a professionally-trained and well-equipped military most of whom gave in to the insurgents along with their fighting equipment and expansive and state-of-the-art military bases.
Air force assets
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) operates three types of helicopters which include the 45 UH-60 Blackhawks, 50 MD-530s, and 56 Mi-17 helicopters besides its A-29 Super Tucano fighters (23 in number), C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, C-208 utility aircraft, and AC-208 fixed-wing aircraft.
In total, the AAF has an inventory of 211 air platforms of which 167 were operable as of June 30, 2021. However, a problem that may dog the Taliban in operating these platforms will be finding operators and aviators, mechanics and locating spares.
Military bases
The 11 bases and military complexes recently handed over to the ANDSF are New Antonik, Kandahar airfield, Camp Morehead, New Kabul Complex, Blockhouse, Camp Stevenson, Camp Dwyer, Camp Lincoln (Camp Marmal), Camp Arena, Bagram airfield and the Resolute Support headquarters (RSHQ) which was handed over to the Afghan government on June 6, 2021.
ANDSF
The latest figures reveal that the total number of ANDSF personnel was 300,699 — 182,071 in the defence ministry and 118,628 deployed with the interior ministry—including 6,312 female personnel. They are all trained in modern military administration, logistics and tactics either in Afghanistan or in countries abroad including India.
That there was a lack of motivation on part of ANDSF to play second ally to the US-led NATO militaries was getting very obvious. It reflected in the widespread surrenders to the Taliban without a single bullet getting fired in many cases. A vastly unanalyzed and conspicuous emerging trend was the growing cases of insider attacks where ANDSF personnel turned on their own. As a result, there were at least 26 insider attacks in just three months from April to June killing at least 81 ANDSF personnel.
But whatever was possible and easily movable, the US took back. As of July 5, 2021, the US Central Command had flown out 984 C-17 transport aircraft loads from Afghanistan carrying more than 17,074 pieces of equipment with the excess equipment handed over to the ANDSF.
~~~~~~~~~~
Heck the Taliban are so tight into the airport perimeter that they could use M2s or M240/PKMs and be just as effective, if not more so.
greysage
On The Level
The American regime is emptying Afg to make it easier and better for ours and Afghanistan’s Chinese masters.
Armyvet75
Contributing Member
The Taliban would face a long list of obstacles if it sought to operate the equipment itself, using the remaining airplanes and helicopters to form the basis of an ad-hoc air force.MORE:
(fair use applies)Thanks to US, Taliban has an air force now, 11 military bases
With the US-led NATO forces hastily exiting Afghanistan, a windfall awaits the Taliban that includes an army of well-trained soldiers equipped with latest weapons and gadgets, well-planned military bases but most importantly, something the Taliban never dreamt of—an air force, reports senior...www.etvbharat.com
Thanks to US, Taliban has an air force now, 11 military bases
Published on: Aug 16, 2021, 6:28 PM IST
With the US-led NATO forces hastily exiting Afghanistan, a windfall awaits the Taliban that includes an army of well-trained soldiers equipped with latest weapons and gadgets, well-planned military bases but most importantly, something the Taliban never dreamt of—an air force, reports senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah.
New Delhi: Riding on a victory wave replete with a hasty US withdrawal and an abject capitulation by the Afghan army, to say that the Taliban has become stronger may be an obvious understatement. The insurgent organization may soon gleefully lay its hands on the vast array of military resources left behind.
Just to help the Afghan government provide security in Afghanistan, the US had pumped in about $89 billion as of June 30, 2021. With the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghan government’s sudden fall, it would be safe to assume that a substantial chunk of those investments has fallen into the Taliban hands.
Just to give an idea, according to the US government official figures, in the three months from April to June 2021, the US handed over to the Afghan National Defense and Security forces (ANDSF) six A-29 light attack aircraft, 174 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvees), about 10,000 2.75 inch high-explosive rockets, 61,000 40-mm high explosive rounds, 9,00,000 rounds of .50 calibre ammo, and 20,15,600 rounds of 7.62 mm bullets.
While a stock-taking exercise is yet to begin in the war-ravaged country because of the prevailing circumstances, it is very likely that the Taliban may have taken possession of most of those assets.
Broadly, the US-led NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan has given on a platter to the Taliban something that the largely ragtag outfit of insurgents possibly never dreamt of—an up and running air force, a professionally-trained and well-equipped military most of whom gave in to the insurgents along with their fighting equipment and expansive and state-of-the-art military bases.
Air force assets
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) operates three types of helicopters which include the 45 UH-60 Blackhawks, 50 MD-530s, and 56 Mi-17 helicopters besides its A-29 Super Tucano fighters (23 in number), C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, C-208 utility aircraft, and AC-208 fixed-wing aircraft.
In total, the AAF has an inventory of 211 air platforms of which 167 were operable as of June 30, 2021. However, a problem that may dog the Taliban in operating these platforms will be finding operators and aviators, mechanics and locating spares.
Military bases
The 11 bases and military complexes recently handed over to the ANDSF are New Antonik, Kandahar airfield, Camp Morehead, New Kabul Complex, Blockhouse, Camp Stevenson, Camp Dwyer, Camp Lincoln (Camp Marmal), Camp Arena, Bagram airfield and the Resolute Support headquarters (RSHQ) which was handed over to the Afghan government on June 6, 2021.
ANDSF
The latest figures reveal that the total number of ANDSF personnel was 300,699 — 182,071 in the defence ministry and 118,628 deployed with the interior ministry—including 6,312 female personnel. They are all trained in modern military administration, logistics and tactics either in Afghanistan or in countries abroad including India.
That there was a lack of motivation on part of ANDSF to play second ally to the US-led NATO militaries was getting very obvious. It reflected in the widespread surrenders to the Taliban without a single bullet getting fired in many cases. A vastly unanalyzed and conspicuous emerging trend was the growing cases of insider attacks where ANDSF personnel turned on their own. As a result, there were at least 26 insider attacks in just three months from April to June killing at least 81 ANDSF personnel.
But whatever was possible and easily movable, the US took back. As of July 5, 2021, the US Central Command had flown out 984 C-17 transport aircraft loads from Afghanistan carrying more than 17,074 pieces of equipment with the excess equipment handed over to the ANDSF.
~~~~~~~~~~
View attachment 284747
First, the Taliban aren’t trained pilots capable of safely flying the aircraft, using its sensors and loading and deploying weapons.
“”They may actually be able to get it airborne,” “but they’d probably be more dangerous to their own wellbeing than they would [be] to people on the ground.”
Eventually, the Taliban could find qualified pilots, “but as far as a threat to the region, I don’t think it’s something that’s a credible threat that we are that overly concerned about,”
An even larger hurdle for the Taliban would be the cost, expertise and logistics associated with maintaining the aircraft, an expensive proposition that involves servicing aircraft before and after flight, conducting repairs and buying spare parts.
rob0126
Veteran Member
If the commies are for this, then their is something really wrong with it.
Are they going to fly in the taliban firstclass?
rob0126
Veteran Member
Maybe. But if a taliban fighter wants to kamikazi, he wouldnt have a need for repairs or know how to activate complex weapons systems.
Also, dont they have some cessnas?
My daughter is a FA for United and volunteered for the CRAF yesterday when it opened up. I’m not too thrilled.
8t won't matter. Unless they can get the Chinese or some other proxy to do their maintenance, none of those aircraft will, be running within 6 months.
I've beat this dead horse before, but see if you can get a little out of print paperback called "Last Flight From Iran".. by Robin Sterling. It's autobiographical by a young woman working for Bell Helicopter International... her coworkers motto towards the end was "Stay and die with BHI!"
They were tasked with training Iranian pilots, mechanics and inspectors. To say it didn't go well, is a massive understatement. Just one example- when inspecting aircraft, a single "red X" is a grounding condition- no exceptions. Aircraft don't move until that condition is fixed. Period.
The Iranian inspectors were passing helicopters with TEN RED Xs! One of the "repaired" a broken main hydraulic line on a chopper with STRING! They had to start every class by teaching them which end of a screwdriver you held, and how to use a hammer!
These people truly are still back in the dark ages. Most simply aren't capable of handling modern technology.
Summerthyme
Last edited:
Melodi
Disaster Cat
I've heard reports that already some of this equipment is being sent to Pakistan, I think the "smarter" heads in the Taliban (for a given degree of smart) realize they can't service or maintain them; but they can sell or trade them to Pakistan in exchange for food, money and other supports.
Not much, $5 an hour I think
AlfaMan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
MORE:
(fair use applies)Thanks to US, Taliban has an air force now, 11 military bases
With the US-led NATO forces hastily exiting Afghanistan, a windfall awaits the Taliban that includes an army of well-trained soldiers equipped with latest weapons and gadgets, well-planned military bases but most importantly, something the Taliban never dreamt of—an air force, reports senior...www.etvbharat.com
Thanks to US, Taliban has an air force now, 11 military bases
Published on: Aug 16, 2021, 6:28 PM IST
With the US-led NATO forces hastily exiting Afghanistan, a windfall awaits the Taliban that includes an army of well-trained soldiers equipped with latest weapons and gadgets, well-planned military bases but most importantly, something the Taliban never dreamt of—an air force, reports senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah.
New Delhi: Riding on a victory wave replete with a hasty US withdrawal and an abject capitulation by the Afghan army, to say that the Taliban has become stronger may be an obvious understatement. The insurgent organization may soon gleefully lay its hands on the vast array of military resources left behind.
Just to help the Afghan government provide security in Afghanistan, the US had pumped in about $89 billion as of June 30, 2021. With the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghan government’s sudden fall, it would be safe to assume that a substantial chunk of those investments has fallen into the Taliban hands.
Just to give an idea, according to the US government official figures, in the three months from April to June 2021, the US handed over to the Afghan National Defense and Security forces (ANDSF) six A-29 light attack aircraft, 174 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvees), about 10,000 2.75 inch high-explosive rockets, 61,000 40-mm high explosive rounds, 9,00,000 rounds of .50 calibre ammo, and 20,15,600 rounds of 7.62 mm bullets.
While a stock-taking exercise is yet to begin in the war-ravaged country because of the prevailing circumstances, it is very likely that the Taliban may have taken possession of most of those assets.
Broadly, the US-led NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan has given on a platter to the Taliban something that the largely ragtag outfit of insurgents possibly never dreamt of—an up and running air force, a professionally-trained and well-equipped military most of whom gave in to the insurgents along with their fighting equipment and expansive and state-of-the-art military bases.
Air force assets
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) operates three types of helicopters which include the 45 UH-60 Blackhawks, 50 MD-530s, and 56 Mi-17 helicopters besides its A-29 Super Tucano fighters (23 in number), C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, C-208 utility aircraft, and AC-208 fixed-wing aircraft.
In total, the AAF has an inventory of 211 air platforms of which 167 were operable as of June 30, 2021. However, a problem that may dog the Taliban in operating these platforms will be finding operators and aviators, mechanics and locating spares.
Military bases
The 11 bases and military complexes recently handed over to the ANDSF are New Antonik, Kandahar airfield, Camp Morehead, New Kabul Complex, Blockhouse, Camp Stevenson, Camp Dwyer, Camp Lincoln (Camp Marmal), Camp Arena, Bagram airfield and the Resolute Support headquarters (RSHQ) which was handed over to the Afghan government on June 6, 2021.
ANDSF
The latest figures reveal that the total number of ANDSF personnel was 300,699 — 182,071 in the defence ministry and 118,628 deployed with the interior ministry—including 6,312 female personnel. They are all trained in modern military administration, logistics and tactics either in Afghanistan or in countries abroad including India.
That there was a lack of motivation on part of ANDSF to play second ally to the US-led NATO militaries was getting very obvious. It reflected in the widespread surrenders to the Taliban without a single bullet getting fired in many cases. A vastly unanalyzed and conspicuous emerging trend was the growing cases of insider attacks where ANDSF personnel turned on their own. As a result, there were at least 26 insider attacks in just three months from April to June killing at least 81 ANDSF personnel.
But whatever was possible and easily movable, the US took back. As of July 5, 2021, the US Central Command had flown out 984 C-17 transport aircraft loads from Afghanistan carrying more than 17,074 pieces of equipment with the excess equipment handed over to the ANDSF.
~~~~~~~~~~
View attachment 284747
After Vietnam fell, they ended up with a lot of our equipment as well. The Vietnamese were able to use the air force assets they captured for at least 10 years after the fall. Apparently they got spares for the F-5s and A-37s and C-123's and C-130s from French companies using a shell business scheme.
No doubt the A-29s will stay flyable with parts from the Brazilians (who made the planes), the rest from China and God knows who else.
They captured enough gear to fight for years, folks.
thompson
Certa Bonum Certamen
She and the other volunteers are in my prayers.
Josie
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Or are they just acting stupid to get the dumb Americans to do the work for them?
Well, there was certainly tons of that going on... its the absolute PEAK status to have the title and prestige but get someone else to do everything involved with the job except signing the bottom line!
If you can find the book, ifascinating read. Not long at all, but excellent.
Summerthyme
Wildweasel
F-4 Phantoms Phorever
That's IF those A-29s and other aircraft were not taken out by the B-52 strikes sent to prevent their being used by the Taliban.
If they used dumb bombs, some may not have been hit because of drop spacing.
If they used cluster bombs, particularly sensor fused ones that home in on equipment, very few are likely to have been missed.
If they let the crews play with the SNIPER pods recently installed on B-52s, using 500lb Paveway smart bombs the BUFFs could have orbited the base plinking aircraft hour hours until there were no targets left.
I read about the strike last week and have been waiting to hear about results. Could be an interesting read.
crossbowboy
Certifiable
If only, dear Weasel. If only...
Tristan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
bw
Fringe Ranger
Problem being, that's people already at the airport or people the other countries are bringing in. No Americans are being brought in by our guys, and I bet damn few Afghan nationals who helped us. In other words, after the airport is clear, we still have between 8k and 80k left as hostages.
An Afghan hostage won't bring much, but an American hostage given the right treatment will make for a great (that is, horrible) photo op.
Heliobas Disciple
TB Fanatic
Exactly!
It's confusing to me that in 2021 people are still underestimating the Taliban. No one thought a terrorist in a cave in Afghanistan could take down the WTC, let alone forever change life in the USA. They did both (Patriot Act, Homeland Security, the 'Islamphobia' accusations, etc). Supposedly no one thought the Taliban could take over Afghanistan in just a few days. They just did. I'm sure if you asked the average wonk in the State Dept or the Pentagon they'd give some of the same responses I'm reading on this thread. They can't use the planes, they can't maintain the planes, etc etc etc. First of all - we just spent 20 years in Afghanistan training their military how to do exactly that. They say 40% of those military folk just defected to the Taliban. Second of all - they can sell them to someone who does know how to use them or maintain them. And third of all - they can pay someone to maintain them and/or train them how to use them. They were also left tons of cash, and/or can raise cash by selling some of that equipment. Bottom line - they have the men, they have the equipment, many of them were trained while in the Afghanistan military how to use them, they are aligned with the Pakistanis who know how to use them. And they can pay people to maintain them.
And here's another article I found:
Biden administration appears to have stockpiled military equipment for Taliban months before collapse
It appears that the Biden administration was stockpiling military equipment for the Taliban before the collapse of the Afghan government for months.
thelibertyloft.com
Biden administration appears to have stockpiled military equipment for Taliban months before collapse
by Liberty Loft News
August 19, 2021
WASHINGTON — For months, the Biden administration was stockpiling military equipment for the Taliban before the collapse of the Afghan government. The report comes from Reuters who shares that well over a month before the Taliban’s march across the country, the Biden administration was sending military equipment to Afghanistan amid a “planned withdrawal.”
The plans of the Biden administration were not very well thought out or executed. But perhaps this was the plan all along.
According to Reuters, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters, “They’ll continue to see a steady drumbeat of that kind of support, going forward.”
The Biden administration had continued to ship new firearms, drones, communication gear, and more to the nation that they had plans to abandon in just a few short weeks. Even as the Taliban takeover continued, the shipments continued. The Taliban has bragged about the equipment they obtained, with videos of helicopters and firearms posted online.
According to one official, reported by Reuters, “the current intelligence assessment was that the Taliban are believed to control more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.” That’s not just a few pieces of military equipment, that’s essentially a start-up kit for a defense force.
Reuters reports that the Biden administration is very concerned about the large amount of equipment that was left behind. According to reports, the administration has contemplated airstrikes to take out large pieces of equipment, but it has yet to put together a plan.
Officials report they are less concerned about the equipment because it is technologically advanced. They state it takes significant maintenance time and training to operate. Perhaps that was before China and Russia both have claimed their interest in Afghanistan.
Both nations will be racing to make friends with the Taliban. They refuse to call the Taliban terrorists and have technology similar to that of the United States. It is possible that they provide the training necessary to the Taliban regime.
While the Biden administration will claim that the equipment left behind was not stockpiled for the Taliban, what other explanation is there? As the Taliban raced across the country, taking it down in just over 1 week, the administration did nothing to stop them. They did not create a plan to evacuate Americans, the military, military equipment, or anything else. It’s as if the Biden administration was asleep.
The Biden administration states that their biggest focus is on how to get trapped Americans out of the nation. At least 15,000 Americans were trapped and abandoned as the US raced to evacuate the military and some refugees.
Heliobas Disciple
TB Fanatic
Lara Logan posted this on her facebook page on Sunday.
View: https://www.facebook.com/100001103456931/posts/4351797928200279/
(fair use applies)
Lara J Logan-Burkett
14 hrs ·
Here are a few basic facts on where we are in Afghanistan to help you sort through the propaganda/spin:
- The US has the technological capability to wipe any enemy off the battlefield. This is obviously not being used - why not? Afghans know this and to them it is a clear indication that the US wants this outcome.
- There has never been a defeat of this nature in the history of the US because this one comes with the shame of betrayal, written in the blood of our allies and innocent Afghans. It has been engineered by the US and the US is pushing this forward still, in spite of the chaos and the criticism. Actions speak louder than words.
- The natural conclusion Afghans and every other US ally draws from this is that the US is weak - not in capability - but in terms of political will.
- The only thing standing between the US as the world’s superpower and the total end of US power/authority is the US itself - American political leadership on both sides of the aisle. One side hates America as much as their enemies and is driving this - the other has rolled over and/or is actively complicit - the effect is the same.
- The Taliban has broken the “peace deal” it made with the US a thousand times over so there is no deal and obviously no peace. The US could stop the Taliban right now with the full force of the technologically advanced US military and clean up this mess.
- This would include strategic UAV strikes with UAV’s that can see through anything, day or night and bombing Taliban targets. Cut off their supply lines, infiltration and exfil routes in and out of Pakistan and elsewhere, have the US State department OPENLY DEMAND Pakistan stop supporting the proxy terrorist army, destroy in place the US weapons seized by the Taliban and whatever stockpiles remain, hand over to the Afghan govt leaders and US-trained commandos/special operations forces who are fighting in the Pansjir Valley, Baghlan, the Salang tunnel other areas etc.
- The US has a history of destroying weapons/equipment left behind - look at the OBL raid and the helicopter that was downed. If the US does not destroy it’s weapons/equipment now in place, it tells our allies and our enemies that we are willfully handing them over/giving it to them.
- The US is monitoring all Taliban communication systems 24/7. There are no surprises and anyone saying/pretending we did not or do not know something is worthless.
- The Taliban are a terrorist regime - the number two in their leadership is Siraj Haqqani whose terrorist organisation, the Haqqani Network, was declared an FTO by the US in 2012. Siraj Haqqani’s brother Anas and their uncle, have been leading the so-called “peace talks”. This means the US has been negotiating with terrorists in violation of US law. No one will hold this government to account if both Republicans & Democrats do not demand accountability.
- The same propaganda tactics are in play in Afghanistan and you need to realise some of what you see has been stage-managed for political reasons and may not be as it appears. Some surrenders were real - but deals were made ahead of time and the cameras there to capture it as if it were just unfolding spontaneously. Some Afghan leaders did NOT a surrender - they were lured into traps and arrested - but the Taliban is controlling the message. Other Afghan leaders are under house arrest and not necessarily willing participants in the meetings you see them in - Or able to say anything other than what they are told. We do not know the truth, but our intelligence agencies do. And therefore our leaders do too.
- Don’t hold your leaders to the same standard and expectations that make sense for people with no inside track, no intelligence, no real time visibility or access to foreign leaders etc. They know more than we do - for example, they know what is in the secret annexes to the so-called US “peace deal” with the Taliban. So don’t make it easy for them to lie.
- As long as the media which has traditionally been regarded as credible and still dominates information flow in this country is not doing it’s job, Americans as a whole will be denied the ability to make up their minds based on truth. Political deceit and narratives that are false/partially true lead to bad decisions - not good ones. And the powerful propaganda gods hiding behind charities, civil society and academia etc should not be allowed to engineer the destruction of everything Americans on both sides hold dear. We can no longer allow them to “discredit” people because they disagree with a radical political agenda that is based on annihilating the US as a country and life as we have known it.
- Hispanic media is blaming the Afghans, telling it’s audience that the US a warned the Afghans months ago and they should have been prepared. That false narrative leaves out many things - such as the US pulling air support from Afghan Special operations who rely on mobility by design and cannot be effective on the scale needed to stop this invasion without that capability. At the same time, the US took the maintenance capability away from the Afghan Air Force - pulling out the contractors who keep their planes running. It also told the Taliban and al Qaeda the timeline for withdrawal, broke the morale of the Afghan security forces by announcing total withdrawal of the strategic and tactical capabilities those forces brought to the fight, did nothing to stop weapons and arms sent in by Pakistan that were flowing across the border, with US Intel agencies watching these things happen in real time.
- Also, the Taliban is not fighting alone - as Pakistan’s proxy this is really a Pakistani invasion. And their strongest allies are China, Qatar, Iran and others who have already promised international recognition and sent Taliban forces in with bucketloads of cash to sweeten the deal. Which would you choose as a local Afghan district leader already surrounded and outnumbered with no cavalry in the skies? Choosing to live one more day is not necessarily the same as surrender and this story is not over. The Afghan resistance are fighting every day but left out of the media and political narratives.
- Before he become President, Ashraf Ghani presided over the ‘disarmament and demobilization” process - but primarily took the guns/stockpiles of US allies from the north and left weapons in the hands of the Taliban. US leaders criticsed their own allies from the north more than Pakistan, who support of the Taliban was and remains the single, defining line between defeat and victory on the Afghan battlefield.
- The US media quickly echoed the narrative of US allies/warlords from the north = bad, writing many stories about their human rights abuses and so on, equating their actions to the Taliban. Al Qaeda and others who often got a pass. This was also Pakistan’s narrative and served US enemies while distancing the US from it’s allies - those same allies are now fighting once again, but so far without support or recognition from the Biden administration.
- This distortion was also echoed by human rights organisations who called out both sides but gave them parity.
- The US Military, OSD, Generals and so on all echoed the State Dept narrative on Pakistan publicly - I reported this year after a year as a correspondent for 60 Minutes. It was this: Pakistan can and should do better - sure - but they are doing all they can and things are getting better all the time”. Not only was that a lie, it led to where we are today with Pakistan engineering a complete takeover of power by their proxy.
- Not one single leader ever stopped Pakistan and anyone who does not understand what that means, can go to Arlington cemetery. There you will find many of the soldiers who died because of Pakistan’s support for America’s enemies, while our own political leaders were drinking tea in Islamabad or having lunch in DC with Pakistani lobbyists like the Podesta Group.
- That is still happening right now - while unarmed Afghan civilians are being shot outside the airport and US allies are being hunted by the Taliban and al Qaeda, the Ashraf Ghani’s lobbyist for years in DC, Claire Lockhart, is on the phone with journalists selling the narrative that serves his interests and whoever is backing him. So the President-that-fled lives to fight another day, while Americans citizens, allies and soldiers bear the burden of these political decisions and their elected, political leaders effectively do NOTHING to stop the US hurtling towards the end of American power, authority and the idea itself.
- Four US Presidents and so far not one of them did anything about Pakistan when it was obviously from day one this would be the deciding factor.
- Political “talks” with the Afghan government are about one thing only: demanding surrender and submission to the Islamic Emirate - ie: Afghan leaders must take the oath of “bayat” - swear allegiance, the same way Siraj Haqqani swore bayat to Osama Bin Laden, and Ayman Al Zawahiri swore bayat to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, and the Islamic Emirate of the Taliban when he took over AQ after OBL was killed.
- The Vice President of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, and Ahmad Masood, the son of the revered Northern Alliance commander, Ahmad Shah Masood, are among many Afghan leaders who did not surrender and are still fighting. They are and have been US allies for decades, even during the Soviet time. The US could still stand by their allies - and should. Yet all US leaders on both sides are talking about is the Taliban. Why?
- Any talk of projecting power in the world is meaningless if you allow terrorists to defeat the world’s superpower - and a defeat of this magnitude, shrouded in shame and betrayal, is more than just being obliterated militarily and politically, it is a moral annihilation that will define the very idea of America as morally bankrupt, weak and irrelevant.
- That makes every American vulnerable and the country less safe - at the very moment those in power have admitted (Mayorkis) the southern border is “lost” - and effectively wide open. This suits those who believe in open borders - obviously. It means the border agencies are reduced to the role of actors playing their part on the political stage - theatre of the absurd rather than real security. Once again those in power not only created this, this is what their policy and their actions are in practice, playing out in full view of all with little to no understanding publicly of the damage to national security, no acknowledgement of the threat by US leaders and no action to mitigate, stop or reverse.
- The idea that US enemies are not already exploiting this strategic weakness to their advantage is ridiculous - yes - but more importantly another false narrative being kept alive by the think tanks, charities and civil society organisations who are forcing the narrative to stay narrowly focussed on the immigration agenda. Assuming none of this is impacted by or related to the events in Afghanistan is yet another connection missed by US voters - why? Because their leaders and media are failing them - and the organisations we have come to trust and rely on are actively deceiving us for political reasons.
- If one of the goals here is to isolate the US so major adversaries like China can finish the job, then expect more actions that reaffirm to US allies that the world’s superpower is weak and worthless. Expect the US to be challenged on every front - from Taiwan to Israel and beyond. Multiple fronts at the same time would reinforce the strategic weakness of a nation without friends.
- If you think this is just about Afghanistan and what the Afghans did or did not do, nation building or not etc - congratulations! You have successfully been totally blindsided and deceived. This is not about staying in Afghanistan or not staying - it is simply about one thing: the American idea. Is it real or fake? Worth defending or not? Noble or worthless? Strong or weak?
- No matter how it appears, this is not simply a left vs right dilemma - this is about right and wrong.
- The Taliban did not ‘just’ acquire better weapons from they they have seized. From early this year, Taliban propaganda has shown their fighters with thermal scopes, night vision, American rifles etc.
- Nevertheless, like the US, the advanced weapons the Taliban has now taken over are useless if they don’t use them - or in their case, know how. The US has been prevented from using their capability by political leaders/political will - the Taliban have the will but many have no idea what to do with the technology. With time that will change - the Chinese and others can show them how - teach/train them.
- You often hear Republicans say Democrats are much more organized and disciplined and stay on message - that is not just a function of discipline. It is rule by fear - Democrats who step out of line are savaged by the same machine that destroys any American who dares to exercise their first amendment rights or oppose them politically. If you want to know what the US looks like when these people have absolute power, look anywhere where tyranny and fear are the way of life instead of freedom. We’re on our way there.
- Americans are being deceived into believing disaster and defeat in Afghanistan are the only outcome at this point. That is a false choice that serves only this country’s enemies, “another foreign and domestic” - as per the constitution. Those who want the US to be weak, isolated and easy to wipe out completely will prevail if Americans allow themselves and this country to be defined by the way this is being done. Everyone can see this empowers America’s enemies only - not it’s people or it’s allies or anyone anywhere who believes in freedom.
- The US government is preparing to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. The Taliban is run by al Qaeda terrorists like Siraj Haqqani and many others. Ask yourself why - on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 - the United States government is giving those responsible for the worst terrorist attack on this nation in it’s history, power, legitimacy, strategic weight, global recognition, weapons, advanced military equipment and millions of dollars, including your tax dollars.
- Why is the US handing this country’s enemies victory on an unprecedented scale, taking orders from the Taliban, prevailing on their better nature and saying stupid things on TV such as, “if the Taliban keeps their word” or “if the Taliban allows this or that” - apart from being abjectly stupid and devoid of truth, it’s real purpose is to entrench the idea that this outcome is unstoppable and the US is powerless.
- Morons in the last administration have said there was real optimism about the Taliban back then - they are as stupid as they are useless. However, those with power now who are branding every American with the lark of betrayal and moral bankruptcy are the real threat to the survival of this country because their actions demonstrate they want this outcome. If that is incorrect and they do not want this, they have the option, advanced technology and military capability to change it all in hours - literally hours. Don’t take my word for it - watch what they do and don’t do as well.
- Former US ambassadors, intelligence operators, Military leaders, Special Operations soldiers, pilots and so on - academics, policy experts, diplomats, elected leaders on both sides and more - this is a defining moment for all of you and for the American people. If you do not do all you can do in this moment to do what is right and stand up for principle, that will be your legacy handed down throughout history when the end of freedom as a way of life is taught for generations to come.
Is that what the American people want and how they want to be viewed in the world? As traitors who stood by while their allies were slaughtered at the hands of their enemies?
Is that where Americans expected to be two decades after 9/11? Selling out to the terrorists responsible for the murder of close to 3000 innocent American people?
If “we the people” are truly the government in the United States of America, then this is your government, your legacy and your choice. And history will record this as such.
There is only one truth.
Watch my special airing tonight on Afghanistan. It was filmed before all this happened but you didn’t have to be a genius to see it coming - remember that when Milley and co say they had no idea….
View: https://www.facebook.com/100001103456931/posts/4351797928200279/
(fair use applies)
Lara J Logan-Burkett
14 hrs ·
Here are a few basic facts on where we are in Afghanistan to help you sort through the propaganda/spin:
- The US has the technological capability to wipe any enemy off the battlefield. This is obviously not being used - why not? Afghans know this and to them it is a clear indication that the US wants this outcome.
- There has never been a defeat of this nature in the history of the US because this one comes with the shame of betrayal, written in the blood of our allies and innocent Afghans. It has been engineered by the US and the US is pushing this forward still, in spite of the chaos and the criticism. Actions speak louder than words.
- The natural conclusion Afghans and every other US ally draws from this is that the US is weak - not in capability - but in terms of political will.
- The only thing standing between the US as the world’s superpower and the total end of US power/authority is the US itself - American political leadership on both sides of the aisle. One side hates America as much as their enemies and is driving this - the other has rolled over and/or is actively complicit - the effect is the same.
- The Taliban has broken the “peace deal” it made with the US a thousand times over so there is no deal and obviously no peace. The US could stop the Taliban right now with the full force of the technologically advanced US military and clean up this mess.
- This would include strategic UAV strikes with UAV’s that can see through anything, day or night and bombing Taliban targets. Cut off their supply lines, infiltration and exfil routes in and out of Pakistan and elsewhere, have the US State department OPENLY DEMAND Pakistan stop supporting the proxy terrorist army, destroy in place the US weapons seized by the Taliban and whatever stockpiles remain, hand over to the Afghan govt leaders and US-trained commandos/special operations forces who are fighting in the Pansjir Valley, Baghlan, the Salang tunnel other areas etc.
- The US has a history of destroying weapons/equipment left behind - look at the OBL raid and the helicopter that was downed. If the US does not destroy it’s weapons/equipment now in place, it tells our allies and our enemies that we are willfully handing them over/giving it to them.
- The US is monitoring all Taliban communication systems 24/7. There are no surprises and anyone saying/pretending we did not or do not know something is worthless.
- The Taliban are a terrorist regime - the number two in their leadership is Siraj Haqqani whose terrorist organisation, the Haqqani Network, was declared an FTO by the US in 2012. Siraj Haqqani’s brother Anas and their uncle, have been leading the so-called “peace talks”. This means the US has been negotiating with terrorists in violation of US law. No one will hold this government to account if both Republicans & Democrats do not demand accountability.
- The same propaganda tactics are in play in Afghanistan and you need to realise some of what you see has been stage-managed for political reasons and may not be as it appears. Some surrenders were real - but deals were made ahead of time and the cameras there to capture it as if it were just unfolding spontaneously. Some Afghan leaders did NOT a surrender - they were lured into traps and arrested - but the Taliban is controlling the message. Other Afghan leaders are under house arrest and not necessarily willing participants in the meetings you see them in - Or able to say anything other than what they are told. We do not know the truth, but our intelligence agencies do. And therefore our leaders do too.
- Don’t hold your leaders to the same standard and expectations that make sense for people with no inside track, no intelligence, no real time visibility or access to foreign leaders etc. They know more than we do - for example, they know what is in the secret annexes to the so-called US “peace deal” with the Taliban. So don’t make it easy for them to lie.
- As long as the media which has traditionally been regarded as credible and still dominates information flow in this country is not doing it’s job, Americans as a whole will be denied the ability to make up their minds based on truth. Political deceit and narratives that are false/partially true lead to bad decisions - not good ones. And the powerful propaganda gods hiding behind charities, civil society and academia etc should not be allowed to engineer the destruction of everything Americans on both sides hold dear. We can no longer allow them to “discredit” people because they disagree with a radical political agenda that is based on annihilating the US as a country and life as we have known it.
- Hispanic media is blaming the Afghans, telling it’s audience that the US a warned the Afghans months ago and they should have been prepared. That false narrative leaves out many things - such as the US pulling air support from Afghan Special operations who rely on mobility by design and cannot be effective on the scale needed to stop this invasion without that capability. At the same time, the US took the maintenance capability away from the Afghan Air Force - pulling out the contractors who keep their planes running. It also told the Taliban and al Qaeda the timeline for withdrawal, broke the morale of the Afghan security forces by announcing total withdrawal of the strategic and tactical capabilities those forces brought to the fight, did nothing to stop weapons and arms sent in by Pakistan that were flowing across the border, with US Intel agencies watching these things happen in real time.
- Also, the Taliban is not fighting alone - as Pakistan’s proxy this is really a Pakistani invasion. And their strongest allies are China, Qatar, Iran and others who have already promised international recognition and sent Taliban forces in with bucketloads of cash to sweeten the deal. Which would you choose as a local Afghan district leader already surrounded and outnumbered with no cavalry in the skies? Choosing to live one more day is not necessarily the same as surrender and this story is not over. The Afghan resistance are fighting every day but left out of the media and political narratives.
- Before he become President, Ashraf Ghani presided over the ‘disarmament and demobilization” process - but primarily took the guns/stockpiles of US allies from the north and left weapons in the hands of the Taliban. US leaders criticsed their own allies from the north more than Pakistan, who support of the Taliban was and remains the single, defining line between defeat and victory on the Afghan battlefield.
- The US media quickly echoed the narrative of US allies/warlords from the north = bad, writing many stories about their human rights abuses and so on, equating their actions to the Taliban. Al Qaeda and others who often got a pass. This was also Pakistan’s narrative and served US enemies while distancing the US from it’s allies - those same allies are now fighting once again, but so far without support or recognition from the Biden administration.
- This distortion was also echoed by human rights organisations who called out both sides but gave them parity.
- The US Military, OSD, Generals and so on all echoed the State Dept narrative on Pakistan publicly - I reported this year after a year as a correspondent for 60 Minutes. It was this: Pakistan can and should do better - sure - but they are doing all they can and things are getting better all the time”. Not only was that a lie, it led to where we are today with Pakistan engineering a complete takeover of power by their proxy.
- Not one single leader ever stopped Pakistan and anyone who does not understand what that means, can go to Arlington cemetery. There you will find many of the soldiers who died because of Pakistan’s support for America’s enemies, while our own political leaders were drinking tea in Islamabad or having lunch in DC with Pakistani lobbyists like the Podesta Group.
- That is still happening right now - while unarmed Afghan civilians are being shot outside the airport and US allies are being hunted by the Taliban and al Qaeda, the Ashraf Ghani’s lobbyist for years in DC, Claire Lockhart, is on the phone with journalists selling the narrative that serves his interests and whoever is backing him. So the President-that-fled lives to fight another day, while Americans citizens, allies and soldiers bear the burden of these political decisions and their elected, political leaders effectively do NOTHING to stop the US hurtling towards the end of American power, authority and the idea itself.
- Four US Presidents and so far not one of them did anything about Pakistan when it was obviously from day one this would be the deciding factor.
- Political “talks” with the Afghan government are about one thing only: demanding surrender and submission to the Islamic Emirate - ie: Afghan leaders must take the oath of “bayat” - swear allegiance, the same way Siraj Haqqani swore bayat to Osama Bin Laden, and Ayman Al Zawahiri swore bayat to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, and the Islamic Emirate of the Taliban when he took over AQ after OBL was killed.
- The Vice President of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, and Ahmad Masood, the son of the revered Northern Alliance commander, Ahmad Shah Masood, are among many Afghan leaders who did not surrender and are still fighting. They are and have been US allies for decades, even during the Soviet time. The US could still stand by their allies - and should. Yet all US leaders on both sides are talking about is the Taliban. Why?
- Any talk of projecting power in the world is meaningless if you allow terrorists to defeat the world’s superpower - and a defeat of this magnitude, shrouded in shame and betrayal, is more than just being obliterated militarily and politically, it is a moral annihilation that will define the very idea of America as morally bankrupt, weak and irrelevant.
- That makes every American vulnerable and the country less safe - at the very moment those in power have admitted (Mayorkis) the southern border is “lost” - and effectively wide open. This suits those who believe in open borders - obviously. It means the border agencies are reduced to the role of actors playing their part on the political stage - theatre of the absurd rather than real security. Once again those in power not only created this, this is what their policy and their actions are in practice, playing out in full view of all with little to no understanding publicly of the damage to national security, no acknowledgement of the threat by US leaders and no action to mitigate, stop or reverse.
- The idea that US enemies are not already exploiting this strategic weakness to their advantage is ridiculous - yes - but more importantly another false narrative being kept alive by the think tanks, charities and civil society organisations who are forcing the narrative to stay narrowly focussed on the immigration agenda. Assuming none of this is impacted by or related to the events in Afghanistan is yet another connection missed by US voters - why? Because their leaders and media are failing them - and the organisations we have come to trust and rely on are actively deceiving us for political reasons.
- If one of the goals here is to isolate the US so major adversaries like China can finish the job, then expect more actions that reaffirm to US allies that the world’s superpower is weak and worthless. Expect the US to be challenged on every front - from Taiwan to Israel and beyond. Multiple fronts at the same time would reinforce the strategic weakness of a nation without friends.
- If you think this is just about Afghanistan and what the Afghans did or did not do, nation building or not etc - congratulations! You have successfully been totally blindsided and deceived. This is not about staying in Afghanistan or not staying - it is simply about one thing: the American idea. Is it real or fake? Worth defending or not? Noble or worthless? Strong or weak?
- No matter how it appears, this is not simply a left vs right dilemma - this is about right and wrong.
- The Taliban did not ‘just’ acquire better weapons from they they have seized. From early this year, Taliban propaganda has shown their fighters with thermal scopes, night vision, American rifles etc.
- Nevertheless, like the US, the advanced weapons the Taliban has now taken over are useless if they don’t use them - or in their case, know how. The US has been prevented from using their capability by political leaders/political will - the Taliban have the will but many have no idea what to do with the technology. With time that will change - the Chinese and others can show them how - teach/train them.
- You often hear Republicans say Democrats are much more organized and disciplined and stay on message - that is not just a function of discipline. It is rule by fear - Democrats who step out of line are savaged by the same machine that destroys any American who dares to exercise their first amendment rights or oppose them politically. If you want to know what the US looks like when these people have absolute power, look anywhere where tyranny and fear are the way of life instead of freedom. We’re on our way there.
- Americans are being deceived into believing disaster and defeat in Afghanistan are the only outcome at this point. That is a false choice that serves only this country’s enemies, “another foreign and domestic” - as per the constitution. Those who want the US to be weak, isolated and easy to wipe out completely will prevail if Americans allow themselves and this country to be defined by the way this is being done. Everyone can see this empowers America’s enemies only - not it’s people or it’s allies or anyone anywhere who believes in freedom.
- The US government is preparing to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. The Taliban is run by al Qaeda terrorists like Siraj Haqqani and many others. Ask yourself why - on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 - the United States government is giving those responsible for the worst terrorist attack on this nation in it’s history, power, legitimacy, strategic weight, global recognition, weapons, advanced military equipment and millions of dollars, including your tax dollars.
- Why is the US handing this country’s enemies victory on an unprecedented scale, taking orders from the Taliban, prevailing on their better nature and saying stupid things on TV such as, “if the Taliban keeps their word” or “if the Taliban allows this or that” - apart from being abjectly stupid and devoid of truth, it’s real purpose is to entrench the idea that this outcome is unstoppable and the US is powerless.
- Morons in the last administration have said there was real optimism about the Taliban back then - they are as stupid as they are useless. However, those with power now who are branding every American with the lark of betrayal and moral bankruptcy are the real threat to the survival of this country because their actions demonstrate they want this outcome. If that is incorrect and they do not want this, they have the option, advanced technology and military capability to change it all in hours - literally hours. Don’t take my word for it - watch what they do and don’t do as well.
- Former US ambassadors, intelligence operators, Military leaders, Special Operations soldiers, pilots and so on - academics, policy experts, diplomats, elected leaders on both sides and more - this is a defining moment for all of you and for the American people. If you do not do all you can do in this moment to do what is right and stand up for principle, that will be your legacy handed down throughout history when the end of freedom as a way of life is taught for generations to come.
Is that what the American people want and how they want to be viewed in the world? As traitors who stood by while their allies were slaughtered at the hands of their enemies?
Is that where Americans expected to be two decades after 9/11? Selling out to the terrorists responsible for the murder of close to 3000 innocent American people?
If “we the people” are truly the government in the United States of America, then this is your government, your legacy and your choice. And history will record this as such.
There is only one truth.
Watch my special airing tonight on Afghanistan. It was filmed before all this happened but you didn’t have to be a genius to see it coming - remember that when Milley and co say they had no idea….
Heliobas Disciple
TB Fanatic
Interesting twitters:
View: https://twitter.com/kelliwardaz/status/1429615886969626632
Dr. Kelli Ward@kelliwardaz
https://twitter.com/kelliwardaz
Sums it up.
View: https://twitter.com/derekahunter/status/1429615363206127616
Derek Hunter@derekahunter
Says the guy who spent the last 6 months comparing January 6th to 9/11 and the Civil War, and the last President to Hitler. Maybe sit this one out, Joe.
View: https://twitter.com/kelliwardaz/status/1429615886969626632
Dr. Kelli Ward@kelliwardaz
https://twitter.com/kelliwardaz
Sums it up.
View: https://twitter.com/derekahunter/status/1429615363206127616
Derek Hunter@derekahunter
Says the guy who spent the last 6 months comparing January 6th to 9/11 and the Civil War, and the last President to Hitler. Maybe sit this one out, Joe.
Redleg
Veteran Member
Not to mention aircraft fuel. When I see pictures of them with nvg, it's same thing. Need special batteries to operate. Maybe they plan to sell these since they won't be operational after a few months when they run out.
Limner
Deceased
Jason Brodsky
@JasonMBrodsky
2m
#BREAKING: US Embassy in Kabul warns "because of potential security threats outside the gates at Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport & avoid airport gates at this time..." unless instructions given. #Afghanistan.
Has anyone else wondered if all these Americans are part of a blood ritual sacrifice????
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
most nvg run on AA batteries, or at least the goggles
jward
passin' thru
washingtonpost.com
Biden says safe zone around Kabul airport to expand, as Pentagon enlists commercial airlines to aid evacuations
Karoun Demirjian, John Hudson, Dan Lamothe, Adela Suliman
7-9 minutes
President Biden said Sunday that the U.S. military is “executing a plan” to move stranded American citizens to the Kabul airport in greater numbers, including through an expansion of a safe zone around the facility and by creating conduits for people to access the compound “safely and effectively.”
“Our first priority in Kabul,” Biden said in remarks at the White House, “is getting American citizens out of the country as quickly and as safely as possible.”
The president would not say how the plan for “increased rational access to the airport” is being carried out or whether U.S. troops have expanded their perimeter outside the airport and further into Kabul, which could put them at heightened risk of attack from Taliban factions manning security checkpoints and Islamic State operatives who, U.S. officials warn, pose a serious threat.
President Biden on Aug. 22 vowed again to prioritize evacuating American citizens from Afghanistan. (The Washington Post)
In recent days, the Qatari ambassador to Afghanistan has escorted small groups of Americans into the airport, according to two people familiar with the effort who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation. American citizens have been instructed to meet at rally points in the city, and the ambassador then accompanies them to guarantee safe passage, these people said. Qatar has served as an intermediary between the United States and the Taliban at several stages of the American withdrawal, sponsoring peace talks and serving as the first point of refuge for many evacuees.
The operational shift comes as U.S. commanders gear up for what officials hope will be a dramatic acceleration of evacuations from Afghanistan in the coming days, enlisting domestic commercial airliners and a number of foreign allies to aid the effort.
Evacuations had slowed over the past couple days, as backlogs in way stations like Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar prevented planeloads of people from departing Kabul, grounding planned flights out and degrading humanitarian conditions at the already overcrowded airport.
The addition of 18 commercial airplanes — activated, the Pentagon announced Sunday, as part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet — is intended to address those bottlenecks. The jetliners, contracted from domestic airlines United, American, Atlas, Delta, Omni and Hawaiian, will not be flown into Kabul, but used instead to move those taken to places like Qatar on to other destinations in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Persian Gulf. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier in the weekend that 13 countries had pledged to temporarily host evacuees, while an additional 12 had agreed to serve as transit points.
Biden said Sunday that the mobilization represented a “first stage,” leaving the possibility that more flights could be added to the effort.
On Saturday, the U.S. military operated 14 evacuation flights that took about 3,900 people out of the country, while 35 other planes evacuated approximately the same number, according to White House and Pentagon officials. That’s up twofold from Friday — but still short of the 5,000 to 9,000 people per day that senior military officials have said they have the capability to evacuate themselves.
About 28,000 people have been evacuated since Aug. 14, including 11,000 over the weekend, Biden said. “We see no reason why this tempo will not be kept up,” the president told reporters.
Yet the backlog remains significant — particularly at the Kabul airport, where people have been waiting for days in increasingly squalid conditions to learn when it might be their turn to board a plane to safety. Over 10,000 people had crammed themselves inside the airport perimeter on Sunday, as more clamored to get in.
The crush and chaos outside the airport killed seven Afghan civilians, including a toddler, on Saturday, according to the British military. Although it appears the Taliban has tried to disperse those crowds, some Afghans stayed anyway, according to a senior U.S. official. The gates to the airport remain closed to most people Sunday, the official said, though U.S. citizens and Afghans with approved special immigrant visas are being let through.
Many American citizens and U.S.-approved Afghans, however, are still sheltering in place, awaiting instruction for when it is safe to come to the airport. Over the weekend, the State Department issued a warning to U.S. citizens, telling them not to approach the airport unless expressly notified by a U.S. government official.
Last week, the Biden administration estimated there were up to 15,000 Americans remaining in Afghanistan. Officials said Saturday that about 2,500 had left the country.
U.S. officials are in contact with Taliban leaders to try to negotiate assurances of peaceful passage to the airport. But as Blinken noted during a television appearance Sunday, the Taliban “are in control of Kabul. That is the reality.”
U.S. lawmakers and Biden administration officials gave an update on the withdrawal of Americans and allies from Afghanistan on Aug. 22. (Mahlia Posey/The Washington Post)
The Taliban’s leaders are presently in Kabul, discussing how to form a government. On Sunday, a senior member of the Taliban’s ruling council said that although the militant group would respect an amnesty for Afghan citizens, including those who cooperated with the United States, it would not apply to “troublemakers” or those “who are creating law and order situations.”
The State Department’s warning also was motivated in part by threats that the Islamic State might be targeting Americans.
“The threat is real. It’s acute. It is persistent. And it is something we’re focused on with every tool in our arsenal,” Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Sunday on CNN. During remarks later in the day, the president added that “we’re under no illusions” about the severity of the threat posed by the Islamic State.
The Islamic State has long been at odds with the Taliban. But the Taliban remains aligned with al-Qaeda, the group behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks that prompted the United States to invade Afghanistan 20 years ago. Blinken acknowledged during an interview on Fox News that remnants of al-Qaeda remain in Afghanistan, though he insisted that the group’s capacity to launch a similar attack on the U.S. homeland “is vastly, vastly diminished.”
Neither Blinken nor Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who appeared Sunday on ABC News, would say whether U.S. forces would be allowed to go beyond the narrow perimeter of the Kabul airport — or whether they thought Biden should extend the Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan, to ensure that the maximum number of American citizens and Afghans eligible for U.S. entry are evacuated. The president indicated that such conversations are underway within the administration but that he remains hopeful it won’t be necessary to stay there any longer.
Amy B Wang, Haq Nawaz Khan, Paul Kane and Matt Viser contributed to this report.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/08/22/afghanistan-biden-evacuations/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=wp_main
Biden says safe zone around Kabul airport to expand, as Pentagon enlists commercial airlines to aid evacuations
Karoun Demirjian, John Hudson, Dan Lamothe, Adela Suliman
7-9 minutes
President Biden said Sunday that the U.S. military is “executing a plan” to move stranded American citizens to the Kabul airport in greater numbers, including through an expansion of a safe zone around the facility and by creating conduits for people to access the compound “safely and effectively.”
“Our first priority in Kabul,” Biden said in remarks at the White House, “is getting American citizens out of the country as quickly and as safely as possible.”
The president would not say how the plan for “increased rational access to the airport” is being carried out or whether U.S. troops have expanded their perimeter outside the airport and further into Kabul, which could put them at heightened risk of attack from Taliban factions manning security checkpoints and Islamic State operatives who, U.S. officials warn, pose a serious threat.
President Biden on Aug. 22 vowed again to prioritize evacuating American citizens from Afghanistan. (The Washington Post)
In recent days, the Qatari ambassador to Afghanistan has escorted small groups of Americans into the airport, according to two people familiar with the effort who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation. American citizens have been instructed to meet at rally points in the city, and the ambassador then accompanies them to guarantee safe passage, these people said. Qatar has served as an intermediary between the United States and the Taliban at several stages of the American withdrawal, sponsoring peace talks and serving as the first point of refuge for many evacuees.
The operational shift comes as U.S. commanders gear up for what officials hope will be a dramatic acceleration of evacuations from Afghanistan in the coming days, enlisting domestic commercial airliners and a number of foreign allies to aid the effort.
Evacuations had slowed over the past couple days, as backlogs in way stations like Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar prevented planeloads of people from departing Kabul, grounding planned flights out and degrading humanitarian conditions at the already overcrowded airport.
The addition of 18 commercial airplanes — activated, the Pentagon announced Sunday, as part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet — is intended to address those bottlenecks. The jetliners, contracted from domestic airlines United, American, Atlas, Delta, Omni and Hawaiian, will not be flown into Kabul, but used instead to move those taken to places like Qatar on to other destinations in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Persian Gulf. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier in the weekend that 13 countries had pledged to temporarily host evacuees, while an additional 12 had agreed to serve as transit points.
Biden said Sunday that the mobilization represented a “first stage,” leaving the possibility that more flights could be added to the effort.
On Saturday, the U.S. military operated 14 evacuation flights that took about 3,900 people out of the country, while 35 other planes evacuated approximately the same number, according to White House and Pentagon officials. That’s up twofold from Friday — but still short of the 5,000 to 9,000 people per day that senior military officials have said they have the capability to evacuate themselves.
About 28,000 people have been evacuated since Aug. 14, including 11,000 over the weekend, Biden said. “We see no reason why this tempo will not be kept up,” the president told reporters.
Yet the backlog remains significant — particularly at the Kabul airport, where people have been waiting for days in increasingly squalid conditions to learn when it might be their turn to board a plane to safety. Over 10,000 people had crammed themselves inside the airport perimeter on Sunday, as more clamored to get in.
The crush and chaos outside the airport killed seven Afghan civilians, including a toddler, on Saturday, according to the British military. Although it appears the Taliban has tried to disperse those crowds, some Afghans stayed anyway, according to a senior U.S. official. The gates to the airport remain closed to most people Sunday, the official said, though U.S. citizens and Afghans with approved special immigrant visas are being let through.
Many American citizens and U.S.-approved Afghans, however, are still sheltering in place, awaiting instruction for when it is safe to come to the airport. Over the weekend, the State Department issued a warning to U.S. citizens, telling them not to approach the airport unless expressly notified by a U.S. government official.
Last week, the Biden administration estimated there were up to 15,000 Americans remaining in Afghanistan. Officials said Saturday that about 2,500 had left the country.
U.S. officials are in contact with Taliban leaders to try to negotiate assurances of peaceful passage to the airport. But as Blinken noted during a television appearance Sunday, the Taliban “are in control of Kabul. That is the reality.”
U.S. lawmakers and Biden administration officials gave an update on the withdrawal of Americans and allies from Afghanistan on Aug. 22. (Mahlia Posey/The Washington Post)
The Taliban’s leaders are presently in Kabul, discussing how to form a government. On Sunday, a senior member of the Taliban’s ruling council said that although the militant group would respect an amnesty for Afghan citizens, including those who cooperated with the United States, it would not apply to “troublemakers” or those “who are creating law and order situations.”
The State Department’s warning also was motivated in part by threats that the Islamic State might be targeting Americans.
“The threat is real. It’s acute. It is persistent. And it is something we’re focused on with every tool in our arsenal,” Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Sunday on CNN. During remarks later in the day, the president added that “we’re under no illusions” about the severity of the threat posed by the Islamic State.
The Islamic State has long been at odds with the Taliban. But the Taliban remains aligned with al-Qaeda, the group behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks that prompted the United States to invade Afghanistan 20 years ago. Blinken acknowledged during an interview on Fox News that remnants of al-Qaeda remain in Afghanistan, though he insisted that the group’s capacity to launch a similar attack on the U.S. homeland “is vastly, vastly diminished.”
Neither Blinken nor Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who appeared Sunday on ABC News, would say whether U.S. forces would be allowed to go beyond the narrow perimeter of the Kabul airport — or whether they thought Biden should extend the Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan, to ensure that the maximum number of American citizens and Afghans eligible for U.S. entry are evacuated. The president indicated that such conversations are underway within the administration but that he remains hopeful it won’t be necessary to stay there any longer.
Amy B Wang, Haq Nawaz Khan, Paul Kane and Matt Viser contributed to this report.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/08/22/afghanistan-biden-evacuations/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=wp_main
Bubble Head
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Yes.Has anyone else wondered if all these Americans are part of a blood ritual sacrifice????