The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, marking the end of the United States' longest war

iguanaman said:

CNN)The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, Commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie announced Monday at the Pentagon. The US departure marks the end of a fraught, chaotic and bloody exit from the United States' longest war.
"I'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals, and vulnerable Afghans," McKenzie told reporters. "The last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30th, this afternoon, at 3:29 p.m. East Coast time, and the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan."
The departure marks the first time in nearly two decades that the US and its allies have not had troops on the ground in Afghanistan and -- after $2 trillion in spending and nearly 2,000 US troops killed in action -- the pullout raises questions about the utility of a war that saw the service of parents and then their grown children.
As of Monday, more than 122,000 people had been airlifted from Hamid Karzai International Airport since July, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters, including 5,400 Americans.
A senior State Department official said the department believes there are fewer than 250 American citizens currently in Afghanistan who may wish to leave, as US officials stressed a Taliban commitment to let Afghans leave the country after the US and allies' withdrawal. The State Department official put the number of American citizens who have left the country through evacuation and other means closer to 6,000.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/us-military-withdraws-afghanistan/index.html

Thank you President Biden. It is about time we had a President who would take the heat and get us out of that quagmire. You did the right thing and I salute you for it.

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iguanaman said:

CNN)The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, Commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie announced Monday at the Pentagon. The US departure marks the end of a fraught, chaotic and bloody exit from the United States' longest war.
"I'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals, and vulnerable Afghans," McKenzie told reporters. "The last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30th, this afternoon, at 3:29 p.m. East Coast time, and the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan."
The departure marks the first time in nearly two decades that the US and its allies have not had troops on the ground in Afghanistan and -- after $2 trillion in spending and nearly 2,000 US troops killed in action -- the pullout raises questions about the utility of a war that saw the service of parents and then their grown children.
As of Monday, more than 122,000 people had been airlifted from Hamid Karzai International Airport since July, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters, including 5,400 Americans.
A senior State Department official said the department believes there are fewer than 250 American citizens currently in Afghanistan who may wish to leave, as US officials stressed a Taliban commitment to let Afghans leave the country after the US and allies' withdrawal. The State Department official put the number of American citizens who have left the country through evacuation and other means closer to 6,000.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/us-military-withdraws-afghanistan/index.html

Thank you President Biden. It is about time we had a President who would take the heat and get us out of that quagmire. You did the right thing and I salute you for it.

Click to expand...

iguanaman said:

CNN)The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, Commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie announced Monday at the Pentagon. The US departure marks the end of a fraught, chaotic and bloody exit from the United States' longest war.
"I'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals, and vulnerable Afghans," McKenzie told reporters. "The last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30th, this afternoon, at 3:29 p.m. East Coast time, and the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan."
The departure marks the first time in nearly two decades that the US and its allies have not had troops on the ground in Afghanistan and -- after $2 trillion in spending and nearly 2,000 US troops killed in action -- the pullout raises questions about the utility of a war that saw the service of parents and then their grown children.
As of Monday, more than 122,000 people had been airlifted from Hamid Karzai International Airport since July, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters, including 5,400 Americans.
A senior State Department official said the department believes there are fewer than 250 American citizens currently in Afghanistan who may wish to leave, as US officials stressed a Taliban commitment to let Afghans leave the country after the US and allies' withdrawal. The State Department official put the number of American citizens who have left the country through evacuation and other means closer to 6,000.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/us-military-withdraws-afghanistan/index.html

Thank you President Biden. It is about time we had a President who would take the heat and get us out of that quagmire. You did the right thing and I salute you for it.

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NoMoreDems-Reps said:

The Taliban told Biden to Jump and he said how high ....
And they sent him a Thank you Card for all the nice Military Hardware that they can now use to kill Americans and our Allies !

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jaypatriot said:

Did you also thank Biden for abandoning Afghan soldiers who were guarding Bagram airfield and leaving behind $85 billion worth of U.S. weapons that can be used by the Taliban as it prepares to fight groups opposing the Taliban.?
He did the right thing alright, for a pu$$y who only cared about getting out before the next 9/11 and leaving behind hundreds of Americans and thousands of loyal Afghans.

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NoMoreDems-Reps said:

The Taliban told Biden to Jump and he said how high ....
And they sent him a Thank you Card for all the nice Military Hardware that they can now use to kill Americans and our Allies !

Click to expand...

jaypatriot said:

Did you also thank Biden for abandoning Afghan soldiers who were guarding Bagram airfield and leaving behind $85 billion worth of U.S. weapons that can be used by the Taliban as it prepares to fight groups opposing the Taliban.?
He did the right thing alright, for a pu$$y who only cared about getting out before the next 9/11 and leaving behind hundreds of Americans and thousands of loyal Afghans.

Click to expand...

jaypatriot said:

Did you also thank Biden for abandoning Afghan soldiers who were guarding Bagram airfield and leaving behind $85 billion worth of U.S. weapons that can be used by the Taliban as it prepares to fight groups opposing the Taliban.?
He did the right thing alright, for a pu$$y who only cared about getting out before the next 9/11 and leaving behind hundreds of Americans and thousands of loyal Afghans.

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Grand Mal said:

$85 Billion now? It's higher every time I read it. Why didn't you say $185 Billion?
It's like, how many people have died under socialism?

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NoMoreDems-Reps said:

The Taliban told Biden to Jump and he said how high ....
And they sent him a Thank you Card for all the nice Military Hardware that they can now use to kill Americans and our Allies !

Click to expand...

Grand Mal said:

Since when did the American right start to give a damn about allies?

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SNOWFLAKE said:

That number didn't just pop out of mid air, he probably "heard" about it on Fox News.

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iguanaman said:

CNN)The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, Commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie announced Monday at the Pentagon. The US departure marks the end of a fraught, chaotic and bloody exit from the United States' longest war.
"I'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals, and vulnerable Afghans," McKenzie told reporters. "The last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30th, this afternoon, at 3:29 p.m. East Coast time, and the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan."
The departure marks the first time in nearly two decades that the US and its allies have not had troops on the ground in Afghanistan and -- after $2 trillion in spending and nearly 2,000 US troops killed in action -- the pullout raises questions about the utility of a war that saw the service of parents and then their grown children.
As of Monday, more than 122,000 people had been airlifted from Hamid Karzai International Airport since July, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters, including 5,400 Americans.
A senior State Department official said the department believes there are fewer than 250 American citizens currently in Afghanistan who may wish to leave, as US officials stressed a Taliban commitment to let Afghans leave the country after the US and allies' withdrawal. The State Department official put the number of American citizens who have left the country through evacuation and other means closer to 6,000.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/politics/us-military-withdraws-afghanistan/index.html

Thank you President Biden. It is about time we had a President who would take the heat and get us out of that quagmire. You did the right thing and I salute you for it.

Click to expand...

SNOWFLAKE said:

please provide us with a detailed list of WHAT equipment was left behind totalling $85 million, or is this just something "you heard" on Fox?

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NoMoreDems-Reps said:

The Taliban told Biden to Jump and he said how high ....
And they sent him a Thank you Card for all the nice Military Hardware that they can now use to kill Americans and our Allies !

Click to expand...

dcsports said:

Several have asked this administration to do just that. Apparently they aren't good at tracking people or equipment.

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SNOWFLAKE said:

please provide us with a detailed list of WHAT equipment was left behind totalling $85 million, or is this just something "you heard" on Fox?

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Grand Mal said:

Last I heard it was hundreds of millions worth of 'equipement. Now It's tens of billions worth of weapons.

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SNOWFLAKE said:

Still waiting for the detailed list, I am sure you have it tucked in your hip pocket.

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mrjurrs said:

There are effectively no American or Allies remaining in Afghanistan that want to leave. Are their siv cases there? Yes. It's a damn shame that they won't get out, but did you really think that 20 years of helpers and their families would come out?

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jpn said:

Thus ends the most successful evacuation in US history.

Here are some questions, and answers:

○ We were suffering almost no casualties, so why didn't we just stay in Afghanistan? Because things were peaceful only due to the Taliban cease-fire. If we had stayed, the Taliban would have started fighting again and US casualties would have escalated.
○ Why were weapons left behind? Because those weapons had been given to the Afghan army as part of the turnover.
○ Why was Bagram air base closed? Because we only needed one airport and the military decided that Kabul was a better choice.
○ Why was there so much chaos? It's easy to see how it looked that way if you were caught in the middle of it, but there wasn't, really. There were thousands of Afghans who wanted to flee the country and they all surrounded the airport hoping for evacuation. There's nothing anyone could have done about that, and for the most part the crowds were handled well and processed as efficiently as anyone could have hoped for.
○ Why did it take so long to approve visas for Afghans who qualified for evacuation? It didn't. We approved visas for 100,000 Afghans in two weeks! And to the extent that this was slower than it could have been, it's because the Trump administration deliberately sabotaged the process before they left office.
○ Why didn't we rescue everyone? As always, there are limits to American power. The Taliban controls Kabul, and rescuing literally everyone who wanted to get out was never remotely feasible.
○ Why didn't we start evacuation earlier? Because we couldn't. As long as the Afghan government was in power, we had to support them. Starting a mass evacuation would have been an obvious signal that we thought they were doomed.
Why didn't we know that the Taliban would take over so quickly? That's a very good question, and it was certainly a failure on our part. On the other hand, literally everyone made the same mistake. There wasn't a single analyst or reporter on the ground who thought the Taliban would take control of Kabul in less than a month.

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