Thread: India, Pakistan or anyone but US must mop up Afghanistan quagmire, Trump says

India, Pakistan or anyone but US must mop up Afghanistan quagmire, Trump says

India, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia or even Iran must shoulder the burden of fighting “terrorists” in Afghanistan, President Trump has declared, insisting it would be ‘unfair’ if the US spends another 19 years cleaning up its mess.

“Look, India is right there. They are not fighting it. We are fighting it,” Donald Trump complained to reporters on Wednesday. “Pakistan is right next door. They are fighting it very little. Very, very little. It’s not fair. The United States is 7,000 miles away.”

“At a certain point Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, they are going to have to fight their battles too,” the president continued in response to a question about the alleged reemergence of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terror groups in Afghanistan. While he did not explain how the war that began nearly two decades ago when the US invaded Afghanistan had become its neighbors’ battle to fight, he hinted that it could easily become a problem for them if they didn’t help keep the terrorists in check.

“All of these other countries where ISIS is around…all of these are going to have to fight,” he warned. The US would not spend “another 19 years” in what is already the longest war in its history.

Trump incongruously took the opportunity to pat himself on the back for “destroying ISIS 100 percent,” suggesting that at least those other countries will have little to do to maintain order – though Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insists the decimated terror group is “gaining strength” now that Trump has raised the possibility of pulling out of the region.

With India and Pakistan already occupied with the tensions in Kashmir, and Russia – which actually did the work of defeating IS in Syria (often reinforced by the US-backed “moderate rebels”) – most likely uninterested in wading back into a quagmire it exited decades ago, it’s unclear who among the countries Trump addressed might take him up on his offer to share the clean-up job in Afghanistan.

Iran is already suffering from a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign, and Washington considers it to be a “terrorist regime” anyway. Iraq barred US planes from its airspace on Wednesday after an alleged Israeli airstrike on Baghdad, while Turkey is facing sanctions for choosing Russian missile defense systems over a notoriously troubled US fighter jet.

While Trump has periodically floated a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, he suggested on Tuesday that he would leave “somebody there” to ensure the Taliban did not take over – though the Taliban already holds more than half the country, despite trillions of dollars poured into the war since 2001.

https://www.rt.com/news/467025-trump...ghanistan-isis

Originally Posted by Klondyke

The United States is 7,000 miles away.”

Yup, gotta love that geographic isolation - sure as hell beats the piss outta fighting on our home soil, eh?

If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a US effort for global destabilization... 7,000 miles from home, start it, ramp it up, then tell others to get on with it.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

US effort

Naw, Ivan was there first.

^ he did a crap job at it too...

In many ways, it's similar to Vietnam: the French, a decent second division team at the time, had a go and lost, so the Americans step in and get a draw.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

similar

? perhaps, or maybe identical is a better descriptive - gotta keep that war machine operating and well lubed, lots of money to be made "supplying' the Army with the tools of the trade" Country Joe

^^The "graveyard of Empires" as it has been known for a long time. No one has ever really colonized Afghanistan. Strategically and geographically important because of its energy reserves and proximity to the other gas-rich regions. And um, also about who controls the world's largest Opium supply.

Here's a novel idea - leave them the fuck alone.
No one's real business or interest.

Juggling empire extensions [Great Game version 2] doesn't work.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

get a draw

?????

trump wants to get out and is actually negotiating with the taliban.

good on him (dubya and obama didn't do that):

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/...134721796.html

Crucial talks between the US and Taliban begin in Doha

Regular meetings have been held in Doha since October aimed at ending 18 years of military intervention in Afghanistan.


Key issues in Thursday's talks, which began a day after US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Doha, remain the withdrawal of US and other foreign forces from the country and a commitment by the Taliban that Afghanistan will not be used as a launchpad for global attacks.

Nothing to negotiate. The Taliban know how things work in that region far better than our glorious leaders like to think they do; so they will patronise those on the other side of the table, play the game, end up agreeing some deal which the west must honour that includes a few billions chump change which they will start using according to conditions for show while secretly diverting the bulk toward weapons, the intl community will be aghast that they broke their word but sit on their hands knowing anything they do attempt will backfire, again. That's part One. Part Two and the Taliban will own and rule Afghanistan as firmly as before, aided no end by the thousands of tons of stuff the bloated Coalition generously left behind, while our media and leaders make the usual noises before turning to find some other opiate to feed their people.

Something like that.

Originally Posted by jabir

Something like that.

Yup, something like that. Time to check out, good ole Merican taxpayer green to rebuild the country to the "American Standard".

History Repeating Itself.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a US effort for global destabilization... 7,000 miles from home, start it, ramp it up, then tell others to get on with it.

Originally Posted by bowie

Yup, something like that. Time to check out, good ole Merican taxpayer green to rebuild the country to the "American Standard".

History Repeating Itself.

Story now being propagandised in the US is that the reason being in Afghanistan to stop them killing one another . . . humanitarian like, so Trump can continue his usual crap about 'We've helped Afghanistan so much and they treat us very unfairly...'

Originally Posted by panama hat

Story now being propagandised in the US is that the reason being in Afghanistan to stop them killing one another . . . humanitarian like, so Trump can continue his usual crap about 'We've helped Afghanistan so much and they treat us very unfairly...'

Yes, always something regarding humanitarianism and whatnot.
Distractions and misdirection is what they do - and perfectly acceptable.

Originally Posted by jabir

Nothing to negotiate. The Taliban know how things work in that region far better than our glorious leaders like to think they do; so they will patronise those on the other side of the table, play the game, end up agreeing some deal which the west must honour that includes a few billions chump change which they will start using according to conditions for show while secretly diverting the bulk toward weapons, the intl community will be aghast that they broke their word but sit on their hands knowing anything they do attempt will backfire, again. That's part One. Part Two and the Taliban will own and rule Afghanistan as firmly as before, aided no end by the thousands of tons of stuff the bloated Coalition generously left behind, while our media and leaders make the usual noises before turning to find some other opiate to feed their people.

Something like that.

Empire building textbook, as they've proceeded in this manner [the world over] historically forever.

Whilst it was a noble effort ousting the talitubbies, it was never going to be more than a temporary stop gap. Let's face it, the Russkies did their bollocks trying to fight them and couldn't win, and short of razing the country to the ground they were never going win against an enemy that just melted into the population.

As soon as the US pulls out, they will be back to hanging gays and throwing acid in schoolgirls faces.

Who else is going to step up and try and stop it happening?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Who else is going to step up and try and stop it happening?

Simple - as soon as we remove our most convenient non-muslim non-believing infidel targets from their reach they can get back to real business, let the historic Sunni versus Shia warring clashes resume. Yup, gotta answer the age old question of whose religion is the only true and real religion.

Originally Posted by bowie

Simple - as soon as we remove our most convenient non-muslim non-believing infidel targets from their reach they can get back to real business, let the historic Sunni versus Shia warring clashes resume. Yup, gotta answer the age old question of whose religion is the only true and real religion.

Jeezus fuck. You came on this board claiming to be an independent in US politic. Everyday you come off as a bigger and bigger trumpanzee buffoon.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Whilst it was a noble effort ousting the talitubbies, it was never going to be more than a temporary stop gap. Let's face it, the Russkies did their bollocks trying to fight them and couldn't win, and short of razing the country to the ground they were never going win against an enemy that just melted into the population.

As soon as the US pulls out, they will be back to hanging gays and throwing acid in schoolgirls faces.

Who else is going to step up and try and stop it happening?

Remember who created and underwrote the Taliban faction, Harry?

Same old historic story. Yet, most fervent Eurocentric-types haven't a clue.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

As soon as the US pulls out, they will be back to hanging gays and throwing acid in schoolgirls faces.

Now we know how happy the gay and girls have been throughout the 19 years...