As we watch the Afghan army “fold like a cheap suit” ( what ever the f*** that means) the blame game is starting. Often by people with little or no expertise but with loads of agenda. So we need to be cautious as we read these hit pieces. But there will also be quality analysis though often it will be lost in among the crap
I just ran across a really good opening discussion for the up coming debate. By Mike Jason. He retired in 2019 as a U.S. Army colonel, after 24 years on active duty. He commanded combat units in Germany, Kosovo, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
It is from The Atlantic and the quality is why I pay good money for a subscription.
I will quote his conclusion but read the whole piece, it will be worth your time.
How America Failed Afghanistan
We didn’t fight a 20-year war in Afghanistan; we fought 20 incoherent wars, one year at a time, without a sense of direction. The U.S. military can and should be blamed for the collapse of security forces in Afghanistan—I hold us responsible. The current collapse keeps me up at night. In the military, the main effort gets the best resources and the best talent available. For more than 20 years, no matter what was reported, what we read in the headlines, efforts to build and train large-scale conventional security forces in Afghanistan and Iraq have mostly been an aimless, ham-fisted acronym soup of trial and error that never became the true main effort, and we are to blame for that.
But we are not the only ones responsible. Someday we will ask young men and women to do this again—to fight a war overseas, to partner with local forces, to train them and build them up. Before we do, we owe it to those young people to ask the tough questions of how, and why, we all failed.
$2.261 T(that’s a Tee)rillion according to watson at
Human and Budgetary Costs of Afghan War, 2001-2021.pdf (brown.edu)
and this The cost of the Afghanistan war, in lives and dollars – ABC News (go.com)
sooo, what if we’d spent that much at the beginning by rescuing and educating all the afghani women and children until the idiot afghani males saw the light? war would have ended a lot sooner than 20 years AND it would have cost a lot less than the trillions of dollars and loss of american lives -to say nothing of the lives lost by everyone else.
an after thought by the way: as of today there have been 630,875 covid deaths in america in just 20 months while we’ve spent a lot less federal money per death to combat that enemy. interesting.
20 years – 4,096 american deaths afgh. war (military + civi contrs) – $ 2.261 trillion
20 months – 630,875 american deaths (covid) – $ 3.2 trillion total outlays
jack, thanks for the link to col jason’s article. for those who didn’t click in to it, here’s how that fascinating article begins:
Watching the rapid deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan—the Taliban have captured a third of the country’s provincial capitals in the weeks since the U.S. military pulled its troops out—has evoked a feeling of déjà vu for me.
In 2005, I was an adviser to an Iraqi infantry battalion conducting counterinsurgency operations in and around Baghdad, one of the most violent parts of Iraq during one of the most violent periods in that conflict. It was difficult to have any hope at the time. I returned to Iraq in 2009, this time in Mosul, where my unit advised and supported two Iraqi-army divisions, one Iraqi-federal-police division, and thousands of local police officers. This time, I sensed more progress: Leaving Iraq in 2010, I felt we had done a great job, turning a corner and building a capable and competent security force. A year later, I found myself in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, recruiting and training Afghan police units and commandos. After nine months there, I again rotated home thinking we had done some good.
I would be proved wrong on both counts. In 2014, by then stationed at the Pentagon, I watched in dismay as the Iraqi divisions I’d helped train collapsed in a matter of days when faced with the Islamic State. Today, as the Taliban seizes terrain across Afghanistan, including in what was my area of operations, I cannot help but stop and reflect on my role. What did my colleagues and I get wrong? Plenty.
From the very beginning, nearly two decades ago, the American military’s effort to advise and mentor Iraqi and Afghan forces was treated like a pickup game—informal, ad hoc, and absent of strategy…..
[continues]
Bill recaps the top issues of the week, including NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation and the backlash to former President Obama’s big birthday bash.
The gqp will have a great time with their lies and misdirections regarding Southwest Asia. The important part is there was no desire by the American people to stay there. Much of the information reported was restricted or just ignorned since 2007, probably earlier. It was in the time frame that the bush II group put a lid on information sent back to the U.S. by reporters. I happened to be on a Yahoo news from the U.K. reading something about SW Asia and then switched to the U.S. version and there was nothing, zero, nothing. I then read in a U.K. report that Cheney or one of the others had put restrictions, censored, reports to the U.S.
The American public had a war going that they essentially did not know about. As the U.S. military is a volunteer force there is no widespread knowledge of who is in the military, not family, friends or neighbors. Unless you live next to a military installation you probably would not have contact with anyone. After decades of base closings there are many fewer installations too.
When I go to one of the commissaries or base exchanges I am like many of the other older veterans shopping there. Many of us have a limp or some issue lifting an arm or two. But, those not withstanding we have a way of walking, especially if one or more are together, that is easy to identify. We have a way of looking around. We are also a small part of the U.S. population now.
Ask any of us how it feels to watch what is happening in Afghanistan or Iraq. Better yet, do not ask. Many of us Vietnam era vets can see Saigon under siege. Some of us were expecting orders to Vietnam in those final days so long ago (but, still very sharp in memory), just as several brigades are with orders to Kabul today. Some of us were on standby to go to Vietnam after it fell, just as I am sure there are some planning on returning to Afghanistan. Fifty years from now, who knows which country will be wasting their lives there, the way so many countries have over the last two thousand years.
Purely as an aside. “Fold Like A Cheap Suit” is a conflation of two phrases
A suitcase made of poor materials will fall apart more rapidly than one using good materials.
A well tailored suit fits perfectly while a cheap one looks shoddy all over the place normally used to mean clumsy in British sports also “All over like a rash”.
Well, no. The problems in Afghanistan are inherently Afghani. We are not the first country to lose lives and treasure there. It’s going to take the entire, global village to make any true progress. Maybe that is what the US withdrawal will bring about.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistan-withdrawal-biden-pakistan-taliban-russia-china-belt-and-road-cpec-economic-corridor-11628868392
“The Taliban comeback in Afghanistan will galvanize many Islamist actors in Pakistan to emulate the Afghan jihadist movement. It will be a huge challenge for a terribly weakened Islamic Republic of Pakistan to sustain itself with an Islamic emirate next door.“
“But a post-American Afghanistan also threatens Chinese interests outside Pakistan. “
Afghanistan was a can that was kicked down the road for far, too long. Biden had the guts to do what needed to be done long ago.
Any Republicans trying to call the withdrawal a failure of this administration is a liar, especially as most of them were only too happy to send other families’ kids into battle.
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/14/coronavirus-texas-hospitals-unvaccinated/
Suck it, Greg !
https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2021/08/13/appeals-court-sides-with-dallas-county-gov-abbott-challenges-mask-mandate/
“However, the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas decided to deny the governor’s petition, saying, in part: “In particular, applying the plain language of the Texas Disaster Act, we conclude Judge Jenkins demonstrated a probable right to relief that the Governor’s power to suspend certain laws and rules under section 418.016(a) does not include the power to suspend the Act’s grant of authority to mayors and county judges to declare local disasters under section 418.108.”
It’s a “disaster.”
Why don’t schools just hold class outside, at least some of the time? It was always a treat when I was in school. Actually, I think Denmark did that last year.
Afghanistan’s Ghani Appeals for Help as Taliban Near Kabul – Bloomberg
Abbot and DeSantis are tantamount to deranged despots, killing their own people and collapsing their own societies, truly bizarre and frightening
Of course, viruses don’t respect geopolitical borders, so those two schmucks are an existential threat to us all
I heard that the previous administration made some kind of deal with the taliban.
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/haiti-earthquake-08-14-21/index.html
Haiti, again.
“The epicenter of today’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake near Haiti is approximately 60 miles west of the fatal 2010 Haiti earthquake, according to CNN supervising meteorologist Brandon Miller. The devastating 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti struck on Jan. 12, 2010. The death toll from that quake is estimated at 220,000-300,000 people, with an additional 300,000 injured.”
When the Far Right Picks Fights With a Teen
How Greta Thunberg became the target of a barrage of disinformation and conspiracies.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/08/greta-thunberg-far-right-climate/619748/
Cheap suits, and cardboard luggage –
During the Civil War demand for all manner of goods were in short supply.
Contractors of uniforms developed a new material for them . It involved taking the trimmings of making wool uniforms , chopping it up, and gluing it together.
It worked great until the uniform got wet , and then the whole thing dissolved.
This wonder material was known as –
Shoddy
Million urged to seek shelter as floods and landslides hit Japan
Authorities in Hiroshima and northern Kyushu issue evacuation alert amid unprecedented rainfall
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/14/million-urged-to-seek-shelter-as-floods-and-landslides-hit-japan
CBS reported 16 inches in 3 days.
Afghan forces outnumber Taliban 350,000 to 75,000, and lost in 10 days, mostly because they wouldn’t fight. Just proves Biden’s point, it’s pointless to spend another 20 years trying to help them.
sturge,
yeah i heard about that too. something like tying the next admin’s hands to a deal that is a damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don’t — break america’s word when it comes to signed&sealed agreements (kinda like that disgraced former guy did pulling out of the iran deal and the paris climate pact) or go for a little more time in order to mitigate as much as possible the loss of lives — either way it was going to be bad news for our global reputation.
back in march NPR had this to say:
Trump’s Deal To End War In Afghanistan Leaves Biden With ‘A Terrible Situation’ : NPR
shhh don’t tell China the “graveyard of empires” bit
Really…..what kind of grown person refers to an inoculation as an “ouchie” to other grown people.
That’s really just very painful.
Old Man
Then there is “Tawdry” for cheap and garish.
Hey, I talked to someone about getting a vaccine and they were worried it would hurt…but they had a full sleeve of tattoos.
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/storm-tracker/
Poor, poor Haiti. An earthquake followed by a tropical storm.
The question arising ”What did we spend our blood and treasure for?” seems to me to miss the point of why we were there in the first place. Something about driving the Taliban from power to deny al Qaeda a base of operations as I recall.
I thought of Afghanistan as just another tawdry republican horror show.
CNN is reporting that President Biden is sending an additional five thousand troops to Afghanistan. I am guessing the diplomatic mission will be protected for a while. Looks like some got the “nerves” and decided not to go cold stop “good bye”.
I do not fault anyone for reappraising the situation. That is what reasonable people do. What can be a reasonable outcome is to deny the Chinese the opportunity to fill the gap and set up operations in the ‘Stans.
Here we go again. Shelter Box is asking for help for Haiti. 227 dead with many more expected.
ShelterBox will continue to monitor the situation and will keep you updated as our response develops, but we need your help.
I know the old timers know we did this back in 2010 with Shelterbox, but for those lurking in the rafters, Shelterbox has a four star rating with Charity Navigator. They really are one of the good guys.
Charity Navigator – Rating for ShelterBox USA
If they can’t/won’t defend their country after two decades of training, they never will.
So, China will recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government, but the rest of the world won’t. Maybe the rest of the world refuses to let China manufacture anything for them until the cut ties with the Taliban.
China treats its Muslim population horribly. That’s going to be an issue with extremists.
We should never have gone there. Put a fence around it and don’t let anyone out. If they go after American troops in Kabul, bomb the crap out of them. They’re on their knees five times a day; plenty of opportunity.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/14/us/memphis-fake-vaccination-cards-us-border-patrol/index.html
Speaking of Chinese manufacturing..,
“Every night” officers are seizing shipments from Shenzhen, China, headed to New Orleans, Louisiana, containing dozens of blank counterfeit vaccination cards, CBP said in a press release Friday.
Seriously, we can’t even print our own fake cards?
“However, there were typos, unfinished words, and some of the Spanish verbiage on the back was misspelled,” CBP said. “How else did they [CBP officers] know it was counterfeit? It was imported by a non-CDC or medical entity, and this was not the first time they had seen this shipper.”
“Vaccination cards were not designed to be long-term proof of Covid vaccinations, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Forging the cards is a federal crime, punishable by a fine and up to five years in prison for forging government seals found on the card.“
As a back-up, if you got your vaxx at a pharmacy, your record is in their app.
That’s a lot of tragedy in one day to digest
Blink
Tragedy has been the way of the world since the beginning of time. Now it just involves more places, more people, and faster communication to hear about it.
NEW THREAD