Biden Right To Get Out Of Afghanistan

I disagree with Ignatius here. Whatever the consequences of withdrawal, on trips with my Dad to VA hospital I’ve seen too many young vets maimed in Afghanistan to think staying there makes any sense.

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Author: craigcrawford

Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.

51 thoughts on “Biden Right To Get Out Of Afghanistan”

  1. the good general agrees according to wapo:

    Retired Gen. Colin L. Powell, a former secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the decision to leave was overdue. “I wouldn’t say enough is enough,” said Powell, who led George W. Bush’s State Department during the 9/11 attacks and the beginning of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. “I’d say we’ve done all we can do. . . . What are those troops being told they’re there for? It’s time to bring it to an end.”
    The Soviet Union, which occupied Afghanistan for a decade until it abruptly withdrew in 1989, “did it the same way,” Powell said. “They got tired, and they marched out and back home. How long did anybody remember that?”

  4. There are currently 3500 US troops in Afghanistan. I can’t see withdrawal of that number destabilizing the country of 38 M people, 99% of whom are Islamic and 85,000 are full time Afghan fighters. It is time to leave Afghanistan to the Afghans. And if the shit hits the fan, it’s not like we don’t know where Afghanistan is.

  5. We should get out.  It will unravel when we leave, but it was always going to do that.  It is cultural and that we can not change.   The Russians lost a lot there, too; we should’ve learned from their sad example.   (A different situation, but a deep lesson.)

    Our troops have sacrificed too much for too little.  Bring them home, POTUS Joe, bring them home. 

  6. cbsnews:

    That timetable compares to a conditional May 1 deadline set by the previous administration under a Feb. 2020 agreement with the Taliban – an agreement the terrorist group is widely viewed to have flouted by failing to sever its links with al-Qaeda.

    “This is not conditions-based,” the official said of Biden’s program. “The president has judged that a conditions-based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever.”

    The approximately 2,500 U.S. troops will not be the only ones to leave. In line with the principle of “in together, out together,” some 7,000 troops from NATO and other partner countries will also withdraw by the target date. Germany, Italy, Britain, and Georgia currently account for the largest contingents.

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell led Republican criticism of the plan.

    [continues]

     

    sooo, what did mitch & co. have to say about the former guy’s may 1st bug out?  was the drumpf plan ever run by those coalition countries who have 7000 troops there?  and did biden check with them on the new plan?

  7. hope the capitol police have plenty of nat’l guard back up and a thorough sweep of the room plus members & media 

    from taegan’s politicalwire:

    Playbook: “Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally invited Biden to address a joint session of Congress on April 28. It’ll be like a State of the Union address, but much smaller and socially distanced. An official involved in the planning said there would be a limit on the number of lawmakers allowed to attend to comply with coronavirus protocols. (Another person told us they believed that number could be as low as 200 rather than the typical 535 members of Congress, but those details are still being worked out.)”

    “Lawmakers will also be barred from bringing guests. And the entire event will be designated as a ‘national special security event,’ meaning extra protection for everyone present.”

  8. all that security for safety and well being of the sotu crowd at their workplace to be fitting on

    World Day for Safety and Health at Work – US (wincalendar.com)

    World Day for Safety and Health at Work seeks to prevent occupational accidents and diseases at work. This day aims to raise awareness about health in the workplace. It encourages focusing on ways to promote and create a safe and healthy work culture that can reduce work-related deaths and injuries.

    World Day for Safety and Health was established in 2003 by the International Labour Organization. It is observed annually on April 28th.

    Image result for cartoon world day for safety and health

  10. Leaving Afghanistan is not a loss.  At least we are not crossing the bridge the way the Soviets did.  Charlie Wilson’s War is worth watching some movie night if you can find it.  Once again, outside of the Great War of Panama and the Great War of Grenada, the U.S. has not won any of the conflicts we have been involved in since May 1945.  I don’t know if that is good or bad, just that we need to stop looking at “winning” by domination as a way of keeping score.  More of “stopping bad people from hurting good people” could be a better view.

  11. Anyone waxing nostalgic about Afghanistan can watch Charlie Wilson’s War about events almost three decades ago.  For the rest of us, just get the hell out.

     

  12. Other than that, how did you like the theater Mrs Lincoln?

    President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on #ThisDayInHistory in 1865. The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis! The South is avenged,” as he jumped onto the stage and fled on horseback. Lincoln died the next day.

  13. Yeah… I’m in agreement with everyone here….  let’s get out.
     
    As for Charlie Wilson’s War….  I read the book… it was very interesting.
     
    On a personal note…   9/11 happened on my 47th birthday.  I will be 67 on the 20th anniversary.  Jesus… it doesn’t feel like 20 yrs.  Whoever said that times flies faster the older you get…   yup!

  14. RR – I look at age as I am still younger than my mother.
    A thing floating in social media has something to do with don’t hurt people by telling them 1971 was fifty years ago.

  15. This is lovely.  It is actually a commercial for Czech Beer called Bernard but it is very touching. In the end, it says “The world went mad. Hold on.”

     

  16. Age is just a number. There is only Energy.  I have had more energy the last three years than the seven that precede it. 

  17. So Kim Potter (policewoman who shot Daunte Wright) will be charged with 2nd degree manslaughter.  Bernie Madoff died in prison after serving only 12 years of his 150 year sentence.  Does that go to show that one way or another rich white guys serve less prison time than they should?  Just noodling here.
    And in other good news, the Capitol Police Officer who shot Ashli Babbit was cleared of wrongdoing and will not be charged.

  19. jamie & craig, the common theme in both your posts: apres-vaccines?

    and both joyful to behold

  21. Even Your Cousin From Boston is getting his COVID-19 vaccine, so don’t miss your shot! Cause hey, we all want to get back to the bar. Sam Adams wants to buy your first beer back! Post a photo of your vaccination sticker or bandage with #ShotForSam​ on Instagram/Twitter & get a beer on us at your favorite local restaurant or bar.

  26. This withdrawal  is different than that of all the other would be empires , beating feet out that Asian Boneyard. 
    The Afghan women will be left holding the bag, like never before, and the price of poppies  will go down .  
     

  27. Somehow, police  seem to be able to take white, mass shooters into custody alive.  

  29. OM – The entire, global community would have to be involved to get anything to change there.  It’s too bad we can’t  evacuate the women and children somewhere safe to start over and let the men stay there to act like vile idiots after we leave.

  30. https://www.fox4news.com/news/ercot-calls-for-energy-conservation-on-mid-april-day-in-low-80s-in-north-texas

    I can’t wait to see what happens to the Texas power grid in July and August. And, as a guy in the news said, it’s a business where you get to charge more if you do a bad job.

    “Despite temperatures across the state being nowhere near record highs, ERCOT says the call for conservation was due to a higher-than-normal load on the grid partially because of underforecasting on their part.“
    “When asked if a call for conservation could happen again in a few weeks, the ERCOT VP said it’s a possibility.“

  31. Finding Your Roots last night was  the best one yet. 
     

    Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces ancestors of actor John Lithgow and journalist Maria Hinojosa who thrived in North America long before the birth of the United States.

    https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/watch/episodes/the-new-world
    Maria’s  Great etc. founded Monterey , Mexico. Killed his wife in a very messy love triangle.  Her lover was his son-in-law, married to their daughter !  He disappeared into Northern Mexico never to be heard from again. 
    Lithgow’s 9th Great etc. was William Bradford, the guy who saved the Plymouth colony , and wrote the history .
    And at the end Gates and Lithgow are related .
    It is amazing TV folks. 
     

  32. perhaps we should leave goodbye & good luck presents to the afghan women before we go.  provide a little pocket money for independence, arm and teach them how to defend themselves, tell them about Lysistrata and let them take it from there. one can hide a pretty big weapon under a burka.  

    Image result for funny lysistrata cartoons

  34. The last pocket of free floating polio germs is along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan , and East into Pakistan’s cities .
    Their religion toting gun nuts shoot these vaccine  workers  trying to finally chase polio into a test tube. 
    The Taliban and the Proud Boys  are made from the same metal. 

  35. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/ahmaud-arbery-jury-mcmichael-trial-georgia.html
     
    The strange use of “stand your ground” in the coming trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers.

    “The laws’ hypocrisies abound. While conservative lawmakers promote them as vital to women’s self-defense from gender and sexual violence, those who invoke “stand your ground” after defending themselves against their largest statistical threat—their own male acquaintances and intimate partners—are often held criminally liable. Not only are the laws associated with increased homicide rates, they also exacerbate racial bias in the adjudication of homicides: A 2013 study by the Urban Institute found that, in “stand your ground” states, white homicides with Black decedents were more than three times more likely to be justified than those with white decedents. Anchored in our nation’s underacknowledged traditions of racial terror, “stand your ground” laws often immunize white killers from legal culpability when they claim they were “in fear for their life” after killing Black men or boys.“

  36. OM – That’s my favorite show.  I could watch it as a marathon.  Everyone has an interesting story.  Everyone.    And, if you can take a DNA test, I recommend it.  

  37. patD – It’s doubtful the women there have much to say in such matters.  Also, horrible “customs” like child brides still exist.  Again, it would take the global community to intervene.  

  38. The J&J shot  …………..
    7.24 Million doses in arms vs  6 adverse outcomes. 
    Tomorrow I get my Moderna # 2 . 
    A Moon Shot Moment  for me ,  6 months from now it’s still 95%  effective .
    The yearly flu shot was good at 40% , and because of masks etc., we didn’t see a “Flu Season”,  and the seasonal attacks of allergies are down as well this spring.  
    My mind reels  about this moment in time.  All these “distasteful” rules go back to the “Broad Street Pump” , and the founding of “Germ Theory”. 
    This has been a very costly march to defeat creatures we cannot see , and still don’t understand.  And there is an entire archive  of them melting out of the permafrost and flowing into Arctic Sea. 
    20,000 year-old wolf pups are thawing out.  Is there a viable virus in them that modern dogs have never seen ? 
    We are running that virus crapshoot as I type. 

  39. I don’t recall ever being required to type in more than my zip code to get a sample, election ballot.  They (the county) wanted to know who was asking for it. Quite frankly, it felt a little big brother-y.

  40. https://reasonstobecheerful.world/seagrass-marine-rice-carbon-negative/

    “..,with researchers to establish gardens of the seagrass that will produce bushels of the rice-like grain, which he hopes to eventually serve in his restaurant. To this end, he and his team of scientists have planted beds of the plants in the salt marshes of the Bay of Cádiz. Not only are the gardens thriving, so are the once-lifeless marshes in which they’re sprouting. These areas are now teeming with marine life, from seahorses to scallops. And unlike land-based grain crops, zostera marina has zero environmental impact, requiring no fertilizer, no pesticides, and of course, no fresh water.“

    All is not lost yet, OM. Not yet.

  41. And in Brazil –
    As we kill a forest , we not only drive the  the animals that can run fast enough , we drive their viral load they are carrying. 
    Brazil maybe the the richest virus stew  on Earth.  
    And now they are digging graves there 24/7 . 
    With a new , more lethal strain.  With little vaccine being  delivered. 
    Another Trump Clone Makes Brazil Again ! 

  42. Blue –
    At some point in our very lives , we gained the understanding to truly change for the better. 
    This has turned out to a very infectious  idea.  And a real money maker. 

  43. The DARPA people  funded the recreation of the 1918 flu. 
    Then they found people from 1918 .  Took their blood , and found their antibodies ,  then they infected the lab rats with the 1918 flu  , and gave them the antibody shot . Not one got sick. 
    This is why I get a shot tomorrow , and I am not waiting on the “March of Dimes”  for 13 years .

  44. You do realize that factory farms and the production of meat (including grain production for feed) causes the greatest strain on the climate, and, all of those nasty viruses throughout the centuries have come from keeping pigs and chickens. 
     

  45. Corning Glass –
    They make perex , windows on space ships , fiber optic  cable , skins of sky scrapers. 
    They made Edison’s first light bulbs. 
    Every year they spend ” Patient Money ” , they invented fiber optic  cable before there was a need for it. 
    At the peak of the race to the Moon our R&D  spending was less than 4%.
    Today it’s less than  1.4%. 
     
    I think is idea needs to be used to sell Joe’s next push. 

  47. Blue –
    I know human sin , not in the Bible sense , but what we have done and are doing to our only home. 
    I read Carson so long ago as a very young man , I have forgotten what she said. 

  49. I funded my mother’s  garden  selling  picks on the honor  system . 
    I was buying at 17 cents , and selling at a dollar.  I could take a little teft. 
    My loss rate was  near zero. 
    The picks were in an open bowl, the money  was in another  bowl with a slit. 
    I also bought a lot of drilled  picks , and then made earrings.
    Nothing cooler than a young woman wearing , “Pick Earings”. 

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