Afghan president flees the country as Taliban move on Kabul

[Rogue Valley]

Afghan president flees the country as Taliban move on Kabul

8/15/21
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s embattled president left the country Sunday, joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan. The Taliban, who for hours had been on the outskirts of Kabul, announced soon after they would move further into a city gripped by panic where helicopters raced overhead throughout the day to evacuate personnel from the U.S. Embassy. Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected comparisons to the U.S. pullout from Vietnam, as many watched in disbelief at the sight of helicopters landing in the embassy compound. President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country, two officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief journalists. Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, later confirmed that Ghani had left. “The former president of Afghanistan left Afghanistan, leaving the country in this difficult situation,” Abdullah said. “God should hold him accountable.”

On Sunday, the insurgents entered the outskirts of Kabul but initially remained outside of the city’s downtown. Meanwhile, Taliban negotiators in Kabul discussed the transfer of power, said an Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. It remained unclear when that transfer would take place and who among the Taliban was negotiating. The insurgents tried to calm residents of the capital, insisting their fighters wouldn’t enter people’s homes or interfere with businesses. They also said they’d offer an “amnesty” to those who worked with the Afghan government or foreign forces. “No one’s life, property and dignity will be harmed and the lives of the citizens of Kabul will not be at risk,” the insurgents said in a statement. But there have been reports of revenge killings and other brutal tactics in areas of the country the Taliban have seized in recent days. Wisps of smoke could be seen near the embassy’s roof as diplomats urgently destroyed sensitive documents. Afghan forces at Bagram air base, home to a prison housing 5,000 inmates, surrendered to the Taliban, according to Bagram district chief Darwaish Raufi. The prison at the former U.S. base held both Taliban and Islamic State group fighters.

Hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants were released from confinement at Bagram Air Base. Less than 2,500 Afghans that had worked for the US military as translators have been evacuated. A least 88,000 former Afghan interpreters and contractors and their families were awaiting an evacuation that may now never happen. Clearly, Joe Biden overestimated the fighting ability of the 300,000 strong Afghanistan National Army (ANA) and underestimated the prowess and determination of 80,000 Taliban militia. You have to remember that the Talban have been fighting against the finest military in the world for 20 years. They learned a lot in the process. Afghanistan will once again become an Islamist caliphate and a nation of battered women. It seems to me that the preparation, the intelligence, and the planning for the American exit was insufficient for the task. It's no secret that the Pentagon did not agree with Biden's August 31 withdrawal date. That said, it was Donald Trump that actually forced all of this by capitulating to the Taliban in late February 2020 during the Doha negotiations. Inexplicably, the Afghan government was not included in the US/Taliban talks. Like it or not, Joe Biden is going to own this Saigon-like flight from Kabul and its aftermath. I said as much back on July 6, 2020....

While I agree that the US could not remain in Afghanistan indefinitely, I also agree that Joe Biden is going to subjectively own whatever nastiness occurs after US forces are withdrawn.

Biden's 'fall of Saigon' in Afghanistan presents worst moment yet of presidency

The Withdrawal From Afghanistan Was Destined for Disaster

 

[Craig234]

Inexplicably, the Afghan government was not included in the US/Taliban talks.

It's not inexplicable. It's the predictable result of an incompetent trump with his bad policies. The Taliban said they wanted the government left out, and trump said ok. That was that.

 

[armycowboy]

Afghan president flees the country as Taliban move on Kabul

Hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants were released from confinement at Bagram Air Base. Less than 2,500 Afghans that had worked for the US military as translators have been evacuated. A least 88,000 former Afghan interpreters and contractors and their families were awaiting an evacuation that may now never happen. Clearly, Joe Biden overestimated the fighting ability of the 300,000 strong Afghanistan National Army (ANA) and underestimated the prowess and determination of 80,000 Taliban militia. You have to remember that the Talban have been fighting against the finest military in the world for 20 years. They learned a lot in the process. Afghanistan will once again become an Islamist caliphate and a nation of battered women. It seems to me that the preparation, the intelligence, and the planning for the American exit was insufficient for the task. It's no secret that the Pentagon did not agree with Biden's August 31 withdrawal date. That said, it was Donald Trump that actually forced all of this by capitulating to the Taliban in late February 2020 during the Doha negotiations. Inexplicably, the Afghan government was not included in the US/Taliban talks. Like it or not, Joe Biden is going to own this Saigon-like flight from Kabul and its aftermath. I said as much back on July 6, 2020....



Biden's 'fall of Saigon' in Afghanistan presents worst moment yet of presidency

The Withdrawal From Afghanistan Was Destined for Disaster

I can't argue with anything you wrote. There is no good way to lose a war, and it's been obvious for years that Afghanistan was not winnable.

 

[Rexedgar]

@Rogue Valley Biden wasn’t yet elected in 2020

“They couldn’t stop the process!”

 

[COTO]

There is no good way to lose a war, and it's been obvious for years that Afghanistan was not winnable.

It's been obvious since the Soviets were driven out in the 1980's that a war in Afghanistan was not winnable.

I neither credit Pres. Biden with anything nor blame him for anything.

 

[swing_voter]

All that, right on Europe's doorstep.


Well, it's a bit of a drive. 4,480 miles on route E80 from Kabul to Paris. About 80 hours by car. 3 days and some change.


Thank God for the Atlantic.

.

 

[DataPoint]

Afghanis have been kicking foreigner butt since before Alexander's armies two and a half millennia ago.

 

[DarkWizard12]

The only thing this does is reveal how the last 20 years have been handled there. The pentagon told us time and time again that we were accomplishing much there, well....apparently not. At least we left now than waited another year.

 

[trixare4kids]

Biden has blood on his hands. Americans, allies are being told to take shelter in place, don't go to the embassy or the airport. Gunfire being heard at the airport in Kabul.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Afghan president flees the country as Taliban move on Kabul

Hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants were released from confinement at Bagram Air Base. Less than 2,500 Afghans that had worked for the US military as translators have been evacuated. A least 88,000 former Afghan interpreters and contractors and their families were awaiting an evacuation that may now never happen. Clearly, Joe Biden overestimated the fighting ability of the 300,000 strong Afghanistan National Army (ANA) and underestimated the prowess and determination of 80,000 Taliban militia. You have to remember that the Talban have been fighting against the finest military in the world for 20 years. They learned a lot in the process. Afghanistan will once again become an Islamist caliphate and a nation of battered women. It seems to me that the preparation, the intelligence, and the planning for the American exit was insufficient for the task. It's no secret that the Pentagon did not agree with Biden's August 31 withdrawal date. That said, it was Donald Trump that actually forced all of this by capitulating to the Taliban in late February 2020 during the Doha negotiations. Inexplicably, the Afghan government was not included in the US/Taliban talks. Like it or not, Joe Biden is going to own this Saigon-like flight from Kabul and its aftermath. I said as much back on July 6, 2020....



Biden's 'fall of Saigon' in Afghanistan presents worst moment yet of presidency

The Withdrawal From Afghanistan Was Destined for Disaster

You cannot "overestimate" the fighting ability of a 300 thousand strong JOBS program.
That's all the "Afghan Army" ever was, because few if any of the troops ever actually BELIEVED IN any of it, they just liked getting paychecks and not having to toil in poppy fields for it.
Biden did not over or under estimate anything, he just knew that the propped up puppet army was never going to fight for something they never believed in.
And he was handed Trump's exit strategy.
Where Biden failed is where every American president fails, taking care of the natives who helped us.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

It's been obvious since the Soviets were driven out in the 1980's that a war in Afghanistan was not winnable.

I neither credit Pres. Biden with anything nor blame him for anything.

Conventional GROUND wars in Afghanistan are unwinnable.
The only kind of war that would be winnable there would be nuclear, which OBVIOUSLY causes other significant problems, which is why we've never considered it.
Well, Trump HAS considered it, but rational people haven't.
But technically the Taliban would be dust in a matter of seconds...trouble is, so would millions of others.

 

[Craig234]

I can't argue with anything you wrote. There is no good way to lose a war, and it's been obvious for years that Afghanistan was not winnable.

There are less bad ways. We should have had plans in place to evacuate Afghans who helped us 20 years ago before the first was asked to help. Our country is shamed by this incompetence and neglect.

 

[DataPoint]

Biden has blood on his hands. Americans, allies are being told to take shelter in place, don't go to the embassy or the airport. Gunfire being heard at the airport in Kabul.

You mean Trump has blood on his hands for not winning the war: such a loser.

 

[armycowboy]

There are less bad ways. We should have had plans in place to evacuate Afghans who helped us 20 years ago before the first was asked to help. Our country is shamed by this incompetence and neglect.

We definitely dropped the ball as far as they were concerned.

 

[Mycroft]

Afghan president flees the country as Taliban move on Kabul

Hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants were released from confinement at Bagram Air Base. Less than 2,500 Afghans that had worked for the US military as translators have been evacuated. A least 88,000 former Afghan interpreters and contractors and their families were awaiting an evacuation that may now never happen. Clearly, Joe Biden overestimated the fighting ability of the 300,000 strong Afghanistan National Army (ANA) and underestimated the prowess and determination of 80,000 Taliban militia. You have to remember that the Talban have been fighting against the finest military in the world for 20 years. They learned a lot in the process. Afghanistan will once again become an Islamist caliphate and a nation of battered women. It seems to me that the preparation, the intelligence, and the planning for the American exit was insufficient for the task. It's no secret that the Pentagon did not agree with Biden's August 31 withdrawal date. That said, it was Donald Trump that actually forced all of this by capitulating to the Taliban in late February 2020 during the Doha negotiations. Inexplicably, the Afghan government was not included in the US/Taliban talks. Like it or not, Joe Biden is going to own this Saigon-like flight from Kabul and its aftermath. I said as much back on July 6, 2020....



Biden's 'fall of Saigon' in Afghanistan presents worst moment yet of presidency

The Withdrawal From Afghanistan Was Destined for Disaster

Trump didn't force anything. Biden made it his business to end a lot of stuff that Trump did. He could have told the Taliban that a new sheriff is in town and all deals are off. Anyone who tries to "blame Trump" is ****ing lying.

No...this is Biden's **** up. He's the one that said the Afghanistan government wasn't going to fall. He's the one that said that the Afghanistan Army will beat the Taliban. Hell, even when he realized he was wrong, he said it'll take 90 days for the Taliban to take over. He was wrong on everything.

But...a few questions:

Will he take responsibility when all those Afghan people who worked for the US get executed? He didn't come up with any kind of plan to evacuate them...until it was too late.

What about those 5000 American soldiers? Is he going to get them out? Or are they on their own? Will they be left to be killed by the Taliban?

It looks like there's gonna be a LOT of blood on Biden's hands.

 

[armycowboy]

Trump didn't force anything. Biden made it his business to end a lot of stuff that Trump did. He could have told the Taliban that a new sheriff is in town and all deals are off. Anyone who tries to "blame Trump" is ****ing lying.

No...this is Biden's **** up. He's the one that said the Afghanistan government wasn't going to fall. He's the one that said that the Afghanistan Army will beat the Taliban. Hell, even when he realized he was wrong, he said it'll take 90 days for the Taliban to take over. He was wrong on everything.

But...a few questions:

Will he take responsibility when all those Afghan people who worked for the US get executed? He didn't come up with any kind of plan to evacuate them...until it was too late.

What about those 5000 American soldiers? Is he going to get them out? Or are they on their own? Will they be left to be killed by the Taliban?

It looks like there's gonna be a LOT of blood on Biden's hands.

And @Mycroft continues his Trump apology, ultimate Trumpanzee tour. Nothing has ever been Trump's fault.

 

[COTO]

Conventional GROUND wars in Afghanistan are unwinnable.
The only kind of war that would be winnable there would be nuclear, which OBVIOUSLY causes other significant problems, which is why we've never considered it.
Well, Trump HAS considered it, but rational people haven't.
But technically the Taliban would be dust in a matter of seconds...trouble is, so would millions of others.

Nuclear weapons have never been a viable option in any war since WWII--for anyone who didn't want to start WWIII.

I lament for the people of Afghanistan, just like I lamented the Syrian Kurds when the US withdrew from the failed campaign to oust Al Assad in Syria. And I'm sure when all the blood and dust has settled, there will be endless pontificating on what could have been done better.

Even so, there was never going to be a good time to withdraw from Syria, just as there was never going to be a good time to withdraw from Afghanistan. I supported Pres. Trump's Syrian pullout both because it was the right thing to do and because it was one of the few campaign promises he actually kept (although he eventually wavered). Likewise, I'll openly support Pres. Biden's pulling out of Afghanistan in spite of the consequences. It's unquestionably the right thing to do. All three of his predecessors ought to have done it.

Sadly, politics never punishes men so fiercely as when they dispel delusions of victory. Pres. Biden is in for a rough time.

 

[gulfman]

Bidendict Arnold

 

[swing_voter]

Conventional GROUND wars in Afghanistan are unwinnable.
The only kind of war that would be winnable there would be nuclear, which OBVIOUSLY causes other significant problems, which is why we've never considered it.
Well, Trump HAS considered it, but rational people haven't.
But technically the Taliban would be dust in a matter of seconds...trouble is, so would millions of others.

1. Fruits, nuts: US$556.2 million (44.8% of total exports)
2. Vegetables: $189 million (15.2%)
3. Cotton: $118.9 million (9.6%)
4. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $112.2 million (9%)
5. Coffee, tea, spices: $82.2 million (6.6%)
6. Mineral fuels including oil: $43.3 million (3.5%)
7. Oil seeds: $32.8 million (2.6%)
8. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $18.1 million (1.5%)
9. Iron, steel: $17.9 million (1.4%)
10. Textile floor coverings: $12.5 million (1%)

This is why nobody ever conquered Afghanistan.

There's nothing there. Their entire exports are about a billion.

Mississippi , our poorest state has 99 billion.



.

 

[joluoto]

1. Fruits, nuts: US$556.2 million (44.8% of total exports)
2. Vegetables: $189 million (15.2%)
3. Cotton: $118.9 million (9.6%)
4. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $112.2 million (9%)
5. Coffee, tea, spices: $82.2 million (6.6%)
6. Mineral fuels including oil: $43.3 million (3.5%)
7. Oil seeds: $32.8 million (2.6%)
8. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $18.1 million (1.5%)
9. Iron, steel: $17.9 million (1.4%)
10. Textile floor coverings: $12.5 million (1%)

This is why nobody ever conquered Afghanistan.

There's nothing there. Their entire exports are about a billion.

Mississippi , our poorest state has 99 billion.



.

The Chinese suspect there may be some rare earths, and thus they are a little interested, but it's not clear how much there are, and if it's enough to be economically viable.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

1. Fruits, nuts: US$556.2 million (44.8% of total exports)
2. Vegetables: $189 million (15.2%)
3. Cotton: $118.9 million (9.6%)
4. Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $112.2 million (9%)
5. Coffee, tea, spices: $82.2 million (6.6%)
6. Mineral fuels including oil: $43.3 million (3.5%)
7. Oil seeds: $32.8 million (2.6%)
8. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $18.1 million (1.5%)
9. Iron, steel: $17.9 million (1.4%)
10. Textile floor coverings: $12.5 million (1%)

This is why nobody ever conquered Afghanistan.

There's nothing there. Their entire exports are about a billion.

Mississippi , our poorest state has 99 billion.



.

You left out something, a heroin poppy crop worth several hundred billion.
That is just about their biggest export, and by the way, the Taliban's chief source of funding.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

The Chinese suspect there may be some rare earths, and thus they are a little interested, but it's not clear how much there are, and if it's enough to be economically viable.

Everyone's convinced that there are vast mineral and rare earth resources but in the end it just means it's another aspect of "The Great Game" which by the way also includes the USA and China as players, contrary to Wikipedia. And in the end if China insists on playing the Great Game, they too will wind up bankrupting themselves just as we have.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Afghan president flees the country as Taliban move on Kabul

Hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants were released from confinement at Bagram Air Base. Less than 2,500 Afghans that had worked for the US military as translators have been evacuated. A least 88,000 former Afghan interpreters and contractors and their families were awaiting an evacuation that may now never happen. Clearly, Joe Biden overestimated the fighting ability of the 300,000 strong Afghanistan National Army (ANA) and underestimated the prowess and determination of 80,000 Taliban militia. You have to remember that the Talban have been fighting against the finest military in the world for 20 years. They learned a lot in the process. Afghanistan will once again become an Islamist caliphate and a nation of battered women. It seems to me that the preparation, the intelligence, and the planning for the American exit was insufficient for the task. It's no secret that the Pentagon did not agree with Biden's August 31 withdrawal date. That said, it was Donald Trump that actually forced all of this by capitulating to the Taliban in late February 2020 during the Doha negotiations. Inexplicably, the Afghan government was not included in the US/Taliban talks. Like it or not, Joe Biden is going to own this Saigon-like flight from Kabul and its aftermath. I said as much back on July 6, 2020....



Biden's 'fall of Saigon' in Afghanistan presents worst moment yet of presidency

The Withdrawal From Afghanistan Was Destined for Disaster

 

[Rogue Valley]

@Rogue Valley Biden wasn’t yet elected in 2020 “They couldn’t stop the process!”

Instead of reading just what you want, read what is written.

That said, it was Donald Trump that actually forced all of this by capitulating to the Taliban in late February 2020 during the Doha negotiations.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

It's not inexplicable. It's the predictable result of an incompetent trump with his bad policies. The Taliban said they wanted the government left out, and trump said ok. That was that.

There is no doubt that this would have happened as well had Trump been reelected. However, that does not mean that the Biden Administration is not to blame. This a national humiliation and I believe it is a Katrina moment for the Biden Administration. Blinken on television networks downplaying what is going on, Biden still at Camp David and yet to address the American people with Afghanistan falling to the Taliban right before our eyes... The whole thing is just shameful.