Afghan war news and discussion

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caltrek
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Re: Afghan war news and discussion

Post by caltrek »

The following are extracts from a public document, and therefore size limitations due to copyright considerations do not apply. I have edited the comments somewhat for the sake of a shorter read.

Remarks by President Biden on Afghanistan
August 16, 2021

Remarks by President Biden on Afghanist ... hite House

Extract:
Today, the terrorist threat has metastasized well beyond Afghanistan: al Shabaab in Somalia, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Nusra in Syria, ISIS attempting to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and establishing affiliates in multiple countries in Africa and Asia. These threats warrant our attention and our resources.

We conduct effective counterterrorism missions against terrorist groups in multiple countries where we don’t have a permanent military presence.

If necessary, we will do the same in Afghanistan. We’ve developed counterterrorism over-the-horizon capability that will allow us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on any direct threats to the United States in the region and to act quickly and decisively if needed.

When I came into office, I inherited a deal that President Trump negotiated with the Taliban. Under his agreement, U.S. forces would be out of Afghanistan by May 1, 2021 — just a little over three months after I took office.

U.S. forces had already drawn down during the Trump administration from roughly 15,500 American forces to 2,500 troops in country, and the Taliban was at its strongest militarily since 2001.

The choice I had to make, as your President, was either to follow through on that agreement or be prepared to go back to fighting the Taliban in the middle of the spring fighting season.

There would have been no ceasefire after May 1. There was no agreement protecting our forces after May 1. There was no status quo of stability without American casualties after May 1.

There was only the cold reality of either following through on the agreement to withdraw our forces or escalating the conflict and sending thousands more American troops back into combat in Afghanistan, lurching into the third decade of conflict.

I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.

….Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight.

...And here’s what I believe to my core: It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan’s own armed forces would not. If the political leaders of Afghanistan were unable to come together for the good of their people, unable to negotiate for the future of their country when the chips were down, they would never have done so while U.S. troops remained in Afghanistan bearing the brunt of the fighting for them.

And our true strategic competitors — China and Russia — would love nothing more than the United States to continue to funnel billions of dollars in resources and attention into stabilizing Afghanistan indefinitely.

When I hosted President Ghani and Chairman Abdullah at the White House in June and again when I spoke by phone to Ghani in July, we had very frank conversations. We talked about how Afghanistan should prepare to fight their civil wars after the U.S. military departed, to clean up the corruption in government so the government could function for the Afghan people. We talked extensively about the need for Afghan leaders to unite politically.

They failed to do any of that.

I also urged them to engage in diplomacy, to seek a political settlement with the Taliban. This advice was flatly refused. Mr. Ghani insisted the Afghan forces would fight, but obviously he was wrong.

So I’m left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay: How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghans — Afghanistan’s civil war when Afghan troops will not? How many more lives — American lives — is it worth? How many endless rows of headstones at Arlington National Cemetery?

…I also want to acknowledge how painful this is to so many of us. The scenes we’re seeing in Afghanistan, they’re gut-wrenching, particularly for our veterans, our diplomats, humanitarian workers, for anyone who has spent time on the ground working to support the Afghan people.

…It is for me as well.

…I’ve traveled there on four different occasions. I met with the people. I’ve spoken to the leaders. I spent time with our troops. And I came to understand firsthand what was and was not possible in Afghanistan.

We will continue to support the Afghan people…with our diplomacy, our international influence, and our humanitarian aid.

We’ll continue to push for regional diplomacy and engagement to prevent violence and instability.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
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Re: Afghan war news and discussion

Post by weatheriscool »

Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby Says There Are Thousands of Americans Still in Afghanistan
Source: Newsweek
There are thousands of Americans still trapped in Afghanistan amid the Taliban takeover of Kabul, a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday.

John Kirby, the press secretary for the Department of Defense, told CNN's New Day host John Berman that there could be anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 U.S. citizens near Afghanistan's capital.

"We think there are certainly thousands of Americans," Kirby said. "We don't have an exact count."

Kirby noted that the State Department is advising U.S. citizens there on how to get to the airport and begin processing for flights out of the country.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pe ... ar-AANq9xY
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wjfox
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Re: Afghan war news and discussion

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funkervogt
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Re: Afghan war news and discussion

Post by funkervogt »

The Taliban's official spokesman, Mohammad Naeem, said to Al Jazeera news "The war is over in Afghanistan."

https://www.yahoo.com/now/taliban-spoke ... 25403.html

When will we be closing this thread?
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Re: Afghan war news and discussion

Post by wjfox »

Perhaps it's best if we continue the discussions here, for now:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=690

We can always reopen this "war" thread if/when there's a significant escalation of military action.
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