ALERT We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport - UPDATE: AT LEAST THIRTEEN U.S. SERVICE MEMBERS HAVE BEEN KILLED IN ACTION!

J

jaw1969

Senior Member
jward said:
Indeed. White hot burns far hotter... seems to help to remember that it takes this
level of outrage and fury to penetrate into the masses consciousness; unfortunately
it takes enough people finally seeing and feeling this before we can set about getting er fixed :(
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On second though Deleted my post
 
Tex88

Tex88

Veteran Member
Gimpywarrior said:
Been thinking about what happened Having served in the Mideast (not afghan) I have seen these types of things. Think 1983. We went there and chased the Taliban out and fought them for years. A government was formed and we supported it. Joe get elected, Joe pulls our troops our, the government falls under Joe's watch, the Taliban takes over again, Joe depends on the Taliban to protect out troops, our troops die, Joe brings in 1000's of unvetted Afghans (how many are Taliban or ISIS K) and will soon abandon US citizens. But it is not his fault. I think I see a pattern here and ask myself a simple question. Planned?
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You’re giving him too much credit.
Also, who negotiated the troop pullout? I think there’s a thread about this. Who failed to plan for it? Who went there in first place knowing damn well neither the Soviets nor the British Empire were able to win there?
Blaming it ALL on Biden is giving him entirely too much credit. It was always going to end this way.
 
J

jaw1969

Senior Member
Tex88 said:
You’re giving him too much credit.
Also, who negotiated the troop pullout? I think there’s a thread about this. Who failed to plan for it? Who went there in first place knowing damn well neither the Soviets nor the British Empire were able to win there?
Blaming it ALL on Biden is giving him entirely too much credit. It was always going to end this way.
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No it's his baby.... He threw away all the plans for an orderly retreat ignored multiple people saying that it was going to end this way.. and then at the last he ignored his intelligent community saying there was going to be an attack yesterday this is all on his shoulders.
 
adgal

adgal

Veteran Member
jward said:
Nile Gardiner
@NileGardiner
55m

The view from Britain's most influential newspaper: Joe Biden has blood on his hands and his presidency will not recover
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1431243423697285120
View: https://twitter.com/NileGardiner/status/1431243423697285120?s=20
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Joe Biden has blood on his hands and his presidency will not recover
We are slowly learning the full extent of Joe Biden's culpability for the Afghanistan debacle

ByNick Allen IN WASHINGTON27 August 2021 • 7:00am

President Joe Biden pauses as he listens to a question about the bombings at the Kabul airport

President Joe Biden pauses as he listens to a question about the bombings at the Kabul airport CREDIT: AP
Joe Biden now has not only Afghan, but American, blood on his hands. And it will stain his presidency forever.
Had the retreat from Kabul just been a shambolic mess his reputation could feasibly have been salvaged, slowly, over the next few years as attention returned to domestic affairs.
But the names of 13 brave US troops who died in Thursday's suicide bomb attack will be indelibly linked to the man who sent them there.
Kabul airport will be Mr Biden's Saigon. His Iran hostage crisis. His Watergate. And it is no one's fault but his own.
We are slowly learning the full extent of Mr Biden's culpability for the Afghanistan debacle.
There were those who opposed closing Bagram Air Base, which could have been used for evacuations.
The CIA told him the Afghan army might collapse to the Taliban in a matter of days.
Placeholder image for youtube video: 4X0Rum2DAoc


Retired General David Petraeus, who knows a lot more about Afghanistan than Mr Biden, and many others, told him to leave 2,500 troops in the country.
But no, the president didn't listen to any of them.
For political reasons, Mr Biden was determined to have everyone out before the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Throughout this chaotic operation, and despite dissent from allies, he seemed to have an unshakable belief that he was right. As one national security official told me, Mr Biden believed it was "my way or the highway".
For nearly 50 years he has been wrong on a host of foreign policy issues. Now, we have a deadly new chapter in that long litany of failure.
Placeholder image for youtube video: 5Uc80I7V5sY


By chance, Mr Biden was in the Situation Room at the White House when news of the terrorist attack broke. It was about 9.40am in Washington.
As this dark day in US and Afghan history unfolded, Americans waited for the president to appear on TV and reassure the nation.
But hour after hour passed with not a word from the Commander-in-Chief. This was not how to show leadership in a crisis.
Eventually, nearly eight hours after the attack, Mr Biden shuffled into the White House East Room. He looked shattered.
His voice was hoarse, his eyes teary. There were long pauses as he spoke.
At one point an inquisitor from Fox News asked him if he felt responsible for what had happened.
Mr Biden clasped his hands and bowed his head as if in prayer. It seemed an age before he raised it again. Eventually he admitted, yes he was responsible. But a moment later, he blamed Donald Trump.
Placeholder image for youtube video: sIaAYNVxHlU


He vowed to "hunt down" the terrorists and "make them pay," and that pledge will grab the headlines.
But, regardless of whether it happens, the events of Thursday have shaken his presidency to the core.
Republicans are calling for his resignation, impeachment, or removal under the 25th Amendment for being unable to discharge his duties. He is in freefall in the polls.
His presidency has unravelled astonishingly quickly, after just eight months.
"Should Biden step down or be removed for his handling of Afghanistan? Yes," said Nikki Haley, the Republican former ambassador to the United Nations. "But that would leave us with Kamala Harris, which would be ten times worse. God help us."

Elise Stefanik, a senior Republican congresswoman, said Mr Biden had "blood on his hands". Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate said terrorists had been emboldened because "our politicians grow tired of fighting them".
What many, including Democrats, found most shocking about Mr Biden's disastrous handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal was that US intelligence was being shared with the Taliban.
It emerged that America has been relying on the Taliban to help prevent terrorist attacks at the airport, and to screen for would-be bombers approaching.
"We can’t trust the Taliban with Americans’ security," said Senator Bob Menendez, the Democrat chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
For Mr Biden the political repercussions of the Kabul atrocity are disastrous.
The idea that he could govern with some bipartisan Republican support is now lost. Some in his own party have come to see him as a liability. And the rest of the world is wondering what awful blunder will come next.
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
I think we often tend to forget those are two separate arguments.
Why we went in and whether we should have is one.

But this issue is about how the decision to leave has been handled,
and the enormous unforced errors at every turn and the blood,
treasure and influence that have been squandered.
and as always, the worst of it is the untold numbers of innocents who'll suffer for the hubris,
indifference and incompetence that's been shown. And to add insult to injury, as Americans,
it's our names that have been signed to that check.
 
S

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
jward

jward

passin' thru

Lara Seligman
@laraseligman



JUST IN: Maj. Gen. Taylor corrects the record, says there was not two explosions near the Baron hotel yesterday but only one. Lots of confusion and chaos yesterday, he's not sure how that information was provided incorrectly.

There were 89 flights total yesterday out of Kabul totaling 12,500 evacuees in a 24 hour period, he says. This includes 300 American citizens, bringing total to 5100. Overall evacuees since operation began: 111,000

9:51 AM · Aug 27, 2021·Twitter Web App
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Jack Detsch
@JackDetsch
17m

U.S. has been talking to Taliban to improve their manning of checkpoints, and there has been a lessening of crowds near Kabul Airport, according to sr mil official. Gen. Frank McKenzie said yesterday U.S. asked Taliban to shut down roads near the airfield to prevent car bombers
 
jward

jward

passin' thru





Walid Phares
@WalidPhares
7m


Major General Taylor of the #Pentagon confirms that the US military is coordinating with the Taliban and "cooperating with them." Was that part of the #TalibanDeal? Was Congress informed? We are exchanging intel with the Jihadists. Will the US provide weapons to the Taliban?

Basically what the American public is learning, because of the attacks on the #Kabul Airport, that the #Biden Administration has already partnered with the #Taliban, a Jihadi enemy. This is a national security crisis in the United States.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sky News
@SkyNews
4m

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby is asked how the US can say with "such certainty" that the Taliban was not involved in yesterday's attack in Kabul. Mr Kirby pushes back against this, saying: "We've not been certain about that at all". Latest: https://trib.al/dPyLgH3
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1431275511607664640
View: https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1431275511607664640?s=20
 
The Hammer

The Hammer

Has No Life - Lives on TB
jward said:

Walid Phares
@WalidPhares
7m


Major General Taylor of the #Pentagon confirms that the US military is coordinating with the Taliban and "cooperating with them." Was that part of the #TalibanDeal? Was Congress informed? We are exchanging intel with the Jihadists. Will the US provide weapons to the Taliban?

Basically what the American public is learning, because of the attacks on the #Kabul Airport, that the #Biden Administration has already partnered with the #Taliban, a Jihadi enemy. This is a national security crisis in the United States.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sky News
@SkyNews
4m

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby is asked how the US can say with "such certainty" that the Taliban was not involved in yesterday's attack in Kabul. Mr Kirby pushes back against this, saying: "We've not been certain about that at all". Latest: https://trib.al/dPyLgH3
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1431275511607664640
View: https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1431275511607664640?s=20
Click to expand...
I'm not certain they wouldn't have to circle back on what they had for breakfast a couple hours ago...
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
As Kabul burns, we need to talk about Pakistan
The country has deep links with groups like the Taliban​
Screenshot-2021-08-26-at-17.54.14.png

ISIS-K is centred in the Khorasan region of Afghanistan

The suicide bombings at the Kabul airport are almost certainly the work of the Islamic State’s “Khorasan Province” (ISKP), the branch of the organisation in Afghanistan and Pakistan that was officially recognised by Islamic State (ISIS) “Centre” in 2015. The group had been oddly quiet since the fall of Kabul, and we can now see why.


A lot of official commentary from the U.S. government and analytical work influenced by this has written off ISKP over the last few years after a series of Taliban offensives against the group. The reality was that ISKP had withdrawn from overt view and was recuperating and waiting, particularly for the prison breaks it knew would accompany a Taliban conquest of the country.


These intra-jihadi clashes became a part of the political narrative because they occurred in tandem with the so-called peace process, which excluded the Afghan government, and forced the release of thousands of jihadists, fatally wounding the Afghan state. The “process”, a cover for American withdrawal, required legitimising the Taliban, and at senior levels in both the Trump administration and the Biden administration. One way this was done was to claim the Taliban could be a counter-terrorism partner, certainly against ISKP and even against Al-Qaeda.


The Taliban cannot fight Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda has sworn an oath of allegiance to the Taliban leader, and on the battlefield they are completely intertwined. One of the most visible Taliban leaders in Kabul has been Khalil Haqqani, who is a senior operative in the Haqqani Network. This network is deeply woven into Al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan and has leaders simultaneously holding senior positions in the Taliban. These organisational overlaps are reinforced by family ties. In short, there is no real-world distinction between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.


There is a distinction between the Taliban and ISKP, and indeed a venomous hatred. But what is clear from the attack at the airport is that either the Taliban was complicit — allowing attacks that will halt an evacuation that they oppose — or the Taliban was unable to stop it. In either case it is risible to suggest that the Taliban can assist in counter-terrorism.


At root, the distinction between ISKP and the Taliban is their nature: ISKP is a non-state actor and the Taliban is a wing of Pakistan’s (deep) state. The network of jihadists that has just taken over Afghanistan — led by the Taliban and the Haqqani Network — is just the latest iteration of Pakistan’s jihad project in Afghanistan, which began no later than 1974. The ISI has recruited, trained, armed, funded, and often led the Islamist militants in Afghanistan in order to create a colonial dependency because the ISI believes it is in a civilisational war with India. And unless Pakistan controls Afghanistan, India will, and this will “encircle” Pakistan.


In the twenty years we have been in Afghanistan, despite the work of scholars like Christine Fair and Hussain Haqqani and journalists like Carlotta Gall, the Pakistan “dimension” has remained under-emphasised in the media and public discussion. Indeed, even in recent days reputable publications like the Financial Times have printed outright ISI propaganda. There are signs of this being corrected, and it is very helpful that officials like former SIS/MI6 director Sir Richard Dearlove are speaking out.


It is too late to save Afghanistan, but at least it might set us — at long last — on a better policy track in dealing with Pakistan as it is: a state sponsor of terror that has killed thousands of our people and tens of thousands of Afghans.


Kyle Orton is an independent terrorism analyst. He tweets at @KyleWOrton
unherd.com

As Kabul burns, we need to talk about Pakistan

The suicide bombings at the Kabul airport are almost certainly the work of the Islamic State’s “Khorasan Province” (ISKP), the branch of the organisation in Afghanistan and Pakistan that was officially recognised by Islamic State (ISIS) “Centre” in 2015. The group had been oddly quiet since the...
unherd.com unherd.com
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Lucas Tomlinson
@LucasFoxNews
10m

Pentagon: Yesterday’s ISIS attack at Kabul airport centered around one suicide bomber wearing a “suicide vest,”detonating explosives at 5:40 pm local time, followed by gunfire by ISIS fighters

Pentagon says it will continue blowing up equipment at Kabul airport ahead of Aug. 31 deadline. Kirby says it will be “disposed of in a responsible way.”

Pentagon “expects” future attacks on U.S. forces at Kabul airport: Kirby
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Lucas Tomlinson
@LucasFoxNews
53m

Over 5,000 U.S. troops remain “in harm’s way” at the airport in Kabul following deadly suicide attack that killed 13 U.S. troops and wounded 18: Pentagon

Pentagon: Over 5,000 Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan
 
J

jaw1969

Senior Member
jward said:
Lucas Tomlinson
@LucasFoxNews
10m

Pentagon: Yesterday’s ISIS attack at Kabul airport centered around one suicide bomber wearing a “suicide vest,”detonating explosives at 5:40 pm local time, followed by gunfire by ISIS fighters

Pentagon says it will continue blowing up equipment at Kabul airport ahead of Aug. 31 deadline. Kirby says it will be “disposed of in a responsible way.”

Pentagon “expects” future attacks on U.S. forces at Kabul airport: Kirby
Click to expand...
Bull shit
 
goosebeans

goosebeans

Veteran Member
jward said:

Walid Phares
@WalidPhares
7m


Major General Taylor of the #Pentagon confirms that the US military is coordinating with the Taliban and "cooperating with them." Was that part of the #TalibanDeal? Was Congress informed? We are exchanging intel with the Jihadists. Will the US provide weapons to the Taliban?

Basically what the American public is learning, because of the attacks on the #Kabul Airport, that the #Biden Administration has already partnered with the #Taliban, a Jihadi enemy. This is a national security crisis in the United States.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sky News
@SkyNews
4m

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby is asked how the US can say with "such certainty" that the Taliban was not involved in yesterday's attack in Kabul. Mr Kirby pushes back against this, saying: "We've not been certain about that at all". Latest: https://trib.al/dPyLgH3
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1431275511607664640
View: https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1431275511607664640?s=20
Click to expand...

"Our allies in Afghanistan"
 
TxGal

TxGal

Day by day
Just a wild guess here - some people when they are very uncomfortable in a situation, or extremely nervous, get to laughing or giggling because they just don't know what else to do.

I have to wonder if she knows she is in way over her head and giggling is her natural (and perhaps only) response.
 
The Hammer

The Hammer

Has No Life - Lives on TB
vector7 said:
Reporter asks Kamala Harris if Americans are “safer” after Biden’s botched withdrawal.

Harris walks away, laughing.
RT 39secs
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1431307155483807750
View: https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1431307155483807750?s=20
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It's clearly an automatic response, as often as she does this.

Whatever the case, it's hardly a good look when millions of people around the world are concerned and asking serious questions. It shows a lack of any concern and seriousness.

Knowing Harris, that's probably true. Don't bother her with her actual job.
 
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