Thread: U.S. leaves its last Afghan base, effectively ending operations

Originally Posted by Norton

Taliban come in many flavors. Bunch of disparate groups lead by a power hungry POS esposing his brand of midevil law. Each group will grab what they can and after there is nothing left to grab, they will turn on each other.

That didn't happen last time. Why do you think it will happen this time?

^Sounds about the way things will go.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Transcript: Testifies Before Senate Panel, 1971

April 25, 200612:00 AM ET

Following is a transcript of John Kerry's statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 22, 1971, in which he criticized the Vietnam War.

"Fifty years ago, John Kerry asked Congress: "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?

The Russian Defense Minister Dmitry Ustinov said in 1979:
"He confidently asserted that "The armed forces of the USSR are on a high level that ensures the accomplishment of any tasks set by the party and the people".



After Russia lost their own Vietnam War (also called Afghanistan War ), Dmitry testifies before the Central Commitee of the CPSU and...........oh crap wait a minute this is and was the Soviet Union. Nobody needs to testify or come up with the truth.



...it's a bit like their economic goals they set every year but never accomplish.

Al Jazeera Live from Kabul

Reuters: Afghan Interior Ministry say Taliban now entering Kabul from all sides

Taliban fighter instructed to stay at gates of Kabul and not enter the city

Al Jazeera Live | Today'''s latest from Al Jazeera

Originally Posted by HermantheGerman

After Russia lost their own Vietnam War

Herman, I am afraid you will start a story about Stalingrad... Or would a Verdun be better?

Please, something that is in conjunction to the current situation in Kabul...

Participants in International Meeting on Afghanistan Agree on Need to Accelerate Peace Process and Call for Immediate End to Violence


Thursday, Aug 12, 2021

"Doha / Information Office / August 12

The participants in the international meeting on Afghanistan in Doha agreed on the necessity of accelerating the peace process as a very urgent and essential issue for negotiating concrete proposals from both sides.The final statement issued by the meeting today urged the two parties to take steps to build confidence and accelerate efforts to reach a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire as soon as possible, and called for an immediate cessation of violence and attacks in and on the capitals of other governorates and cities.The participants reiterated that they will not recognize any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force.The participants expressed their full support and gratitude to the State of Qatar and its efforts in this regard.

Below is the final statement:

At the invitation of the Government of the State of Qatar, the special envoys and representatives from China, Uzbekistan, United States, Pakistan, United Kingdom, State of Qatar, United Nations, and the European Union met in Doha on August 10, as did special envoys and representatives of Germany, India, Norway, the State of Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan on August 12, to assess the status of intra-Afghan negotiations; exchange views with the two negotiating teams on the current challenges and opportunities; and reflect on the contributions the international community can make to the success of the peace process.

At the end of the meetings, the Chair issued the following statement:

1. Participants agreed that the peace process needs to be accelerated as a matter of great urgency on the basis of the negotiations of concrete proposals from both sides.

2. Participants urged both sides to take steps to build trust and accelerate efforts to reach a political settlement and comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible.

3. Participants called for a stop to violence and attacks immediately in and against provincial capitals and other cities.

4. Participants took note of converging statements of both sides on the following guiding principles for a political settlement:

(a) inclusive governance;

(b) respect for human rights, including the rights of women and minorities;

(c) a mechanism to deliver a representative government,

(d) a commitment not allow any individuals or groups to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of other countries; and,

(e) respect for international law, including international humanitarian law.

5. Participants called on all Afghan sides to act in accordance with these principles and build on them in the future political settlement.

6. Participants raised grave concerns about reports from across Afghanistan with respect to continued violence, large numbers of civilian casualties and extra-judicial killings, widespread and credible allegations of human rights violations, all attacks (ground and air) against provincial capitals and cities, and the destruction of physical infrastructure that perpetuate conflict and make reconciliation efforts more difficult.

7. Participants reaffirmed that they will not recognize any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force.8. Participants committed to assist in the reconstruction of Afghanistan once a viable political settlement is reached following good faith negotiations between the two sides.

9. Participants express full support and gratitude to the State of Qatar and its efforts in this regards."

Participants in International Meeting on Afghanistan Agree on Need to Accelerate Peace Process and Call for Immediate End to Violence

Originally Posted by Klondyke

Taliban fighter instructed to stay at gates of Kabul and not enter the city

"“The Islamic Emirate instructs all its forces to stand at the gates of Kabul, not to try to enter the city,” a spokesman for the Taliban tweeted, although some residents reported fighters peacefully entered some outer suburbs."

Taliban takeover: Fighters enter Kabul from ‘all sides’ | Taliban News | Al Jazeera

Originally Posted by Klondyke

Herman, I am afraid you will start a story about Stalingrad... Or would a Verdun be better?

Please, something that is in conjunction to the current situation in Kabul...

Klondyke, I'am afraid you won't be able to comprehend either one or the current situation in Kabul.

It was your comrade OhOh who started babbling about some Kerry nonsense and Vietnam.

But thank you Klondyke because you have proved my point

Snap, TC . . . I was wrong - sabang, this pic of choppers at the US embassy in Kabul . . .

Originally Posted by HermantheGerman

But thank you Klondyke because you have proved my point

He's good like that, comes from not knowing what he is talking about

So I guess the US have said something along the lines of "Let us evacuate the Green Zone or we will bomb the shit out of you".

Not long to go now then.

Originally Posted by Norton

Going to be rough on Afghan females but just the way it is to varing degree in the Muslim world these days.

Originally Posted by cyrille

Life for, say, an Emirati female is not remotely comparable to that of a female in Afghanistan.

It's a ridiculous comment.

Originally Posted by Norton

Cy reads what he wants and then makes ridiculous comments.

Care to explain?

Because I taught Muslim women in Abu Dhabi for three years, and failed to notice this 'roughness' despite spending my working week with about 360 of them per year.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Louis de Funès - Le gendarme à Kabul

Originally Posted by cyrille

Care to explain?

Originally Posted by Norton

to varing degree in the Muslim world these days.

Women in the UAE have yet to achieve equal rights to men Cy. No need for a cut n paste. Here you go. Plenty more.

UAE: Greater Progress Needed on Women's Rights | Human Rights Watch

Allegedly, according to the local news, to this hour the Afghan president has resigned...

(not officially confirmed)

Originally Posted by Klondyke

Allegedly, according to the local news, to this hour the Afghan president has resigned...

That would be the American installed and corrupted puppet President.
Of little value to Afghanis.

Upmarket restaurants and shops in Dubai are licking their lips in anticipation of some new high-end customers....

Originally Posted by HuangLao

That would be the American installed and corrupted puppet President.
Of little value to Afghanis.

Actually they didn't install that one Jeff. You're being silly again.

Added: If you threw a fucking dart at the entire Afghan population and put one in power, they'd be corrupt.

Good old Sky News: "The whole project has been an absolute failure".

Not for the greedy c u n t s that have minted it, it hasn't.

US diplomats evacuate by chopper as Taliban surge Afghan capital

Taliban insurgents entered the Afghanistan capital Kabul on Sunday, an interior ministry official said, as the United States evacuated diplomats from its embassy by helicopter.


The senior official told Reuters the Taliban were coming in “from all sides” but gave no further details.


A tweet from the Afghan Presidential palace account said firing had been heard at a number of points around Kabul but that security forces, in coordination with international partners, had control of the city.


U.S. officials said the diplomats were being ferried to the airport from the embassy in the fortified Wazir Akbar Khan district. More American troops were being sent to help in the evacuations after the Taliban’s lightning advances brought the Islamist group to Kabul in a matter of days.


Just last week, a U.S. intelligence estimate said Kabul could hold out for at least three months.


“Core” U.S. team members were working from the Kabul airport, a U.S. official said, while a NATO official said several EU staff had moved to a safer, undisclosed location in the capital.


A Taliban official told Reuters the group did not want any casualties as it took charge but had not declared a ceasefire.


There was no immediate word on the situation from President Ashraf Ghani, who said on Saturday he was in urgent consultations with local leaders and international partners on the situation.


Earlier on Sunday, the insurgents captured the eastern city of Jalalabad without a fight, giving them control of one of the main highways into landlocked Afghanistan. They also took over the nearby Torkham border post with Pakistan, leaving Kabul airport the only way out of Afghanistan that is still in government hands.


The capture of Jalalabad followed the Taliban’s seizure of the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif late on Saturday, also with little fighting.


“There are no clashes taking place right now in Jalalabad because the governor has surrendered to the Taliban,” a Jalalabad-based Afghan official told Reuters. “Allowing passage to the Taliban was the only way to save civilian lives.”


A video clip distributed by the Taliban showed people cheering and shout Allahu Akbar – God is greatest – as a convoy of pick-up trucks entered the city with fighters brandishing machine guns and the white Taliban flag.


After U.S.-led forces withdrew the bulk of the their remaining troops in the last month, the Taliban campaign accelerated as the Afghan military’s defences appeared to collapse.

President Joe Biden on Saturday authorised the deployment of 5,000 U.S. troops to help evacuate citizens and ensure an “orderly and safe” drawdown of military personnel. A U.S. defence official said that included 1,000 newly approved troops from the 82nd Airborne Division.


Taliban fighters entered Mazar-i-Sharif virtually unopposed as security forces escaped up the highway to Uzbekistan, about 80 km (50 miles) to the north, provincial officials said. Unverified video on social media showed Afghan army vehicles and men in uniforms crowding the iron bridge between the Afghan town of Hairatan and Uzbekistan.


Two influential militia leaders supporting the government – Atta Mohammad Noor and Abdul Rashid Dostum – also fled. Noor said on social media that the Taliban had been handed control of Balkh province, where Mazar-i-Sharif is located, due to a “conspiracy.” read more


POPULARLY ACCEPTED


In a statement late on Saturday, the Taliban said its rapid gains showed it was popularly accepted by the Afghan people and reassured both Afghans and foreigners that they would be safe.


The Islamic Emirate, as the Taliban calls itself, “will, as always, protect their life, property and honour, and create a peaceful and secure environment for its beloved nation,” it said, adding that diplomats and aid workers would also face no problems.


Afghans have fled the provinces to enter Kabul in recent days, fearing a return to hardline Islamist rule.


Early on Sunday, refugees from Taliban-controlled provinces were seen unloading belongings from taxis and families stood outside embassy gates, while the city’s downtown was packed with people stocking up on supplies.


Hundreds of people slept huddled in tents or in the open in the city, by roadsides or in car parks, a resident said on Saturday night. “You can see the fear in their faces,” he said.


Biden said his administration had told Taliban officials in talks in Qatar that any action that put U.S. personnel at risk “will be met with a swift and strong U.S. military response.”


He has faced rising domestic criticism as the Taliban have taken city after city far more quickly than predicted. The president has stuck to a plan, initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan by Aug. 31.


Biden said it is up to the Afghan military to hold its own territory. “An endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me,” Biden said on Saturday.


Qatar, which has been hosting so-far inconclusive peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, said it had urged the insurgents to cease fire. Ghani has given no sign of responding to a Taliban demand that he resign as a condition for any ceasefire.

https://thefrontierpost.com/us-diplo...fghan-capital/

Originally Posted by misskit

Just last week, a U.S. intelligence estimate said Kabul could hold out for at least three months.

This is the best we can expect for a mere $85 billion I guess.

Analysis-Taliban gains give investors cause for concern beyond Afghanistan


LONDON - The Taliban's rapid advance towards Kabul is not only causing concern about Afghanistan's future but also about the impact on other countries in the region and their economies.


Iran and then Iraq lie to the west of Afghanistan. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are to the north. But the immediate focus for financial markets and investors is Pakistan to the east.


Pakistan has a large public debt, a sizeable equity market and is dependent on a $6-billion IMF programme. The prospect of years of violence and waves of refugees will add pressure to its fiscal repair plans.


"It is a very troubling situation and unfortunately has set the region back many years," said Shamaila Khan, head of emerging market debt at AllianceBernstein. "I think the neighbouring countries will have to deal with an influx of refugees in the coming months/years".


(Graphic: Taliban flashpoints in Afghanistan, https://graphics.reuters.com/AFGHANI...qqpq/chart.png)




The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR estimates 400,000 Afghans have fled their homes this year. Only a few hundred of these displaced persons are known to have fled Afghanistan but the UNHCR estimates there are 2.6 million Afghan refugees worldwide, with 1.4 million in Pakistan and 1 million in Iran.


Pakistan's bond prices have already fallen nearly 8% this year, though many financial analysts think this has probably had more to do with delays in it obtaining its latest tranche of IMF money than with the security situation.

Nearly 10,000 Pakistani civilians were killed in attacks between 2010 and 2015 South Asia Terrorism Portal figures show. Those numbers have fallen since then but there are concerns they will now rise again.


"Another influx of refugees and the spillover of violent groups motivated to destabilise urban areas and infrastructure, particularly, on the western side of Pakistan... could set Pakistan's recovery and reform story back," said Hasnain Malik, an analyst at research firm Tellimer.


He suggested risk might be reduced if the Taliban were included in the Afghan government.

STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT


Pakistan's IMF programme is its thirteenth in 30 years and is needed to help the government tackle a public debt of about 90% of GDP.


Any Taliban attacks inside Pakistan could raise security concerns and make it harder for Islamabad to meet targets set by the IMF. At the same time, some investors say, they could increase Pakistan's strategic important for the West.


"The IMF is carefully watching the fast-moving situation on the ground in Afghanistan," a Fund spokesperson said on Friday, adding that it was premature to speculate about what impact the security situation could have on Pakistan.


"If the Taliban takes control (of Afghanistan), Pakistan becomes even more strategically important to the U.S," said Kevin Daly, a portfolio manager at ABRDN.


This, he said, could help keep IMF money flowing.


Kay Van-Petersen, a global macro strategist at Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore, said the impact of the crisis in Afghanistan could ultimately spread far wider.


Many Afghan refugees could seek refuge in Europe, he said, following an earlier influx of migrants, mostly fleeing war or persecution in Syria, other Middle Eastern countries and Afghanistan.


If the refugees travel via Turkey, he said, they could help Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan make political or financial demands of the European Union.


"Basically it's a lever for Erdogan to pull with the European Union ...'Pay us to take care of these refugees, or we are just going to let them through'," he said.


This could weigh on the euro and lift Turkey's lira, he said.


Emerging market watcher Tim Ash at BlueBay Asset Management said that the Taliban's advances as NATO troops withdrew had damaged U.S. credibility and fed into the growing rivalry between Washington and China.


"Comparisons with Vietnam abound," Ash said, recalling the evacuation of the last Americans and many South Vietnamese via from the roof of the U.S. embassy as Saigon fell in 1975. "With that feeling of a Saigon moment and the last U.S. helicopter out."

Analysis-Taliban gains give investors cause for concern beyond Afghanistan

Originally Posted by Norton

This is the best we can expect for a mere $85 billion I guess.

Empire building and maintenance is profoundly expensive.