Posted on 08/31/2021 4:47:56 AM PDT by bert
Animal rescue systems in Kabul raised questions of whether they should be prioritized as much or more than people.
In the last days of the Western twenty-year war in Afghanistan, a small controversy erupted. It turned out that some western charities and westerners had been involved in supporting animals in Afghanistan. They had tried to replicate the animal rescue and animal support systems that are more common in the United States or UK, where pets, rescue dogs and other types of animals are highly prized. Surveys show that in some western countries animals are considered equal to, or even more important than people.
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace was quoted as saying that “as for the animals...it is just not going to be the case that I will prioritize them over the men, women and children we see in desperate need at the gate." While activists, celebrities and others in the UK desperately tweeted and sent angry messages to people regarding the need to rescue animals, others were wondering why the animals were getting more attention than tens of thousands of people, or even the local Afghans who had worked with the animals.
Without getting into too many details, since charities and groups in the UK tend to be litigious and have been known to sue journalists and newspapers that mention them, the overall question raised in the last days of the Kabul evacuation was about the policies that underpinned the focus on several white westerners who were involved in caring for animals, and the lack of attention for thousands of Afghans who had been working with westerners for years.
According to reports, charter planes were arranged to get the animals out for several groups that were involved. According to messages reviewed that were sent to journalists, the writers demanded that the US State Department needed to help with “overflight” notices or what some called a “dip” notice. There was no explanation given on social media for what these notices were, and it appeared a social media coordinated campaign had been put into place to push these narratives. Reports indicate that in at least one case a charter flight was cleared to bring out dogs and cats.
According to supporters, the animal rescue was done with private donations and animals fly in the hold or cargo section of an aircraft, so they are not displacing humans. That is a debatable question because resources have to go to bring the animals to the airport, while leaving behind the local staff, and runway space goes to the aircraft. In addition, it raises questions about why westerners were paying money to bring out animals in private or chartered aircraft, while people were left behind.
The fact that western countries have different priorities than the countries they may be invading, bombing or fighting in, is not a surprise. Germany shipped out 22,000 liters of beer from Afghanistan. Once again, critics might say that the beer doesn’t displace people. But beer does displace priceless family heirlooms of Afghan families who might prefer to bring out some items for their families, rather than the easily replaceable German beer.
This appears to go to the heart of a larger question about the western, mostly NATO, role in Afghanistan over two decades. While the US went into Afghanistan to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden, the conflict became a mission creep that led to pushing for democracy and women’s rights, and trillions of dollars apparently wasted or squandered, or stolen. There are now questions in the US Congress about where that money went.
There are other questions about what it means for a country to go into another country with its military, fight there for twenty years, hire local staff, and then evacuate animals and beer and other things, but leave behind locals who trusted and relied upon the foreigners. Generations of Afghans were raised working with the US and UK. But no matter the time they may have devoted or risks they took, it appears many of them were of less interest at the end to some western activists than some random dogs and cats in Afghanistan. It’s not even clear if the Afghan refugees are being treated as well as the dogs and cats. That raises questions about whether western countries should be invading places like Afghanistan, giving false hopes, and then putting a few animals in the hold of an airplane and flying off back home. Those following the evacuation wondered how charter planes could even get in to evacuate animals once the military had stopped letting in charters. They also wondered about the underlying questions of racism that appear to underpin those who advocated evacuating westerners and animals but didn’t seem to put the same amount of effort into evacuating people.
The fact some will carp about saving animals from the ravages of the Taliban in Afghanistan is the height of zealotry out of control.
It is virtu signaling as its very worst. It is the reason for western decline. It is the reason the UK is an enemy for foisting such craptrap upon us
The bottom line is that the USA and our allies had the power to keep the Taliban at bay and leave with everything, everyone and every animal we wanted to take out on OUR timetable. Joe Biden, for whatever reason, botched the departure for us and our allies.
Understand that some of the animals were US Military contracted working dogs. Further, that they sat in cages for 6 days awaiting transport. How many partially full flights left in that time where these valuable military assets could have been saved? At least, unlike blackhawk helicopters, MWRAP vehicles, etc., the TallyBahn’s hatred of the canine species will prevent them from using these abandoned military assets.
Any person insisting on taking out animals is a stupid zealot and a public enemy
Did any Afghans bring their pet goats?
In the hold of an aircraft that flew back empty because the taliban and US military troops blocked humans from boarding?
Was that your decision to make?
By what authority?
Why Free Republic needs a “ block” option
For one thing, there were lots of Twitter messages from many different rescue groups asking for money for animal evacuations.
Someone was making a lot of money out of all of this, and I would bet many of those animals were never evacuated out of Afghanistan
Infamous Joe Biden— the Fool of Kabool.
Why would they shutdown a Taliban Comfort Bordello and risk making their fighters extra cranky?
Yours is the one post that clarifies that the issue.
Originally I planned to say that, even though I love dogs and have had them all my life, it should be people first.
I still feel that way, but you make an important point. Trained military dogs are valuable and have given their lives for their masters. There’s got to be a way to put a dog on a person’s lap as they’re getting out.
But I guess it’s too late for that.
Thanks Sloppy Joe!
Haven’t made those in a while...
Maybe someone with musical talent, unlike me, could change the lyrics of “Fool on the Hill” to “Fool of Kabul”
Idiot Joe caused everyone to have to scramble needlessly, including the animal rescue people. He truly is a despicable, inhumane piece of garbage.
I reread that story, and after talking to someone else, I think the woman who ran an ngo brought those animals to the airport hoping that they would get on any flight. That’s why they were there for 6 days, they never got loaded onto a flight. (my assumption)
I think it’s being misreported that they were military dogs. I read a story about a week ago of a guy (a westerner) who worked with a woman at a shelter who evacuated a few dozen dogs & cats on a charter. This may or may not be the same organization.
That post yesterday was very confusing.
The people running the airport had a priority- it was getting as many unvetted Afghans out as possible. Americans, allies, dogs - none were as important as future jihadis.
...more incompetence. IF these were military bomb sniffing dogs, not a pet rescue, then as a taxpayer, its a huge CF to leave trained $50K bomb dogs to be killed by muzzies after being starved (by the way your TSA pays over $200K to train an airport dog). If these were bomb dogs they could immediately be used in American airports to counter the suicide bombers the Taliban loaded onto the evac planes. ChinaJoe TaliBixen and ModernMilley have mucked it up... unless that was the plan all along... ymmv
Flynn did an interview with Fox this morning and said he heard this report of military dogs being left, and went on to say, “we’re partial to our working dogs and they’re heroes in their own right, but I am not aware of that report”.
I really hope they didn’t leave military dogs behind
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