Posted on 08/13/2021 3:56:38 PM PDT by elpadre
August 12, 2021. History will register it as the day the Taliban, nearly 20 years after 9/11 and the subsequent toppling of their 1996-2001 reign by American bombing, struck the decisive blow against the central government in Kabul.
In a coordinated blitzkrieg, the Taliban all but captured three crucial hubs: Ghazni and Kandahar in the center, and Herat in the west. They had already captured most of the north. As it stands, the Taliban control 14 (italics mine) provincial capitals and counting.
First thing in the morning, they took Ghazni, which is situated around 140 kilometers from Kabul. The repaved highway is in good condition. Not only are the Taliban moving closer and closer to Kabul: for all practical purposes they now control the nation’s top artery, Highway 1 from Kabul to Kandahar via Ghazni.
That in itself is a strategic game-changer. It will allow the Taliban to encircle and besiege Kabul simultaneously from north and south, in a pincer movement.
Kandahar fell by nightfall after the Taliban managed to breach the security belt around the city, attacking from several directions.
In Ghazni, provincial governor Daoud Laghmani cut a deal, fled and then was arrested. In Kandahar, provincial governor Rohullah Khanzada – who belongs to the powerful Popolzai tribe – left with only a few bodyguards.
He opted to engage in an elaborate deal, convincing the Taliban to allow the remaining military to retreat to Kandahar airport and be evacuated by helicopter. All their equipment, heavy weapons and ammunition should be transferred to the Taliban. (continued at link)
(Excerpt) Read more at asiatimes.com ...
Just wait until we abandon Iraq.
If you were an ally, would you trust the United States?
“The key issues are quite clear:
1. Pakistan wants a power-sharing deal and is doing what it can in Doha, along the extended troika, to reach it.
2. A Taliban takeover will lead to a new influx of refugees and may encourage jihadis of the al-Qaeda, TTP and ISIS-Khorasan kind to destabilize Pakistan.
3. It was the US that legitimized the Taliban by striking an agreement with them during the Donald Trump administration.
4. And because of the messy withdrawal, the Americans reduced their leverage – and Pakistan’s – over the Taliban.
The problem is Islamabad simply does not manage to get these messages across.”
“Closing the circle, ultimately all members of the Kabul government, the military, as well as a great deal of civil society come from the same conservative tribal framework that gave birth to the Taliban.
Apart from the military onslaught, the Taliban seem to be winning the domestic PR battle because of a simple equation: they portray Ghani as a NATO and US puppet, the lackey of foreign invaders.
And to make that distinction in the graveyard of empires has always been a winning proposition.”
And SloJoe continues his vacation. This will be a disaster. There are no ships offshore to take helicopters and I doubt we can count our Pakistan to use as a drop location. When the Taliban start cratering the runway, it’s over. This will be the Iran crisis part deux.
And in Afghanistan, no less. Another COVER-UP by the State-Run Media.
We were negotiating with the Taliban long before Trump.
The Taliban is a bunch of rag head idiots driving around and jeeps in the desert. Who rape children. And cut people’s heads off. And take slaves
Nuff sed
The fact that some idiots hijacked some planes to fly into the world trade center should’ve never been a big enough deal for us to ever set foot in that hell hole. Never. There was never any reason
The fact is it 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi’s
Enough said
Iraq was a different story they invaded Kuwait and then daddy Bush did not go any further
I believe that was wise we should’ve left it at that and just left so damn insane
He was a critical counterbalance to Iran( who he had an eight years long war with 1980-88). and the other Islamic terrorist groups in the area
Hindsight is 2020
Didn’t we?
Nope, I’d be nuking up.
The military may have to do something like Broken Arrow in the movie “We Were Soldiers”. And I hope some air force commanders have the guts to ‘not hear’ orders from demented joe or whoever is really in charge.
We already have - to ISIS.
It was not a pretty sight.
Good news. (Or bad, it depends).
According to the racial scientists, Afghans (as well as Persians) are considered WHITE, while Pakistanis are not. (funny, the Pashtuns live on both sides of the border and are close relegated, but the ones living in Afghanistan are privileged, while the family few yard away in Pakistan are underprivileged.)
So we will have an influx of privileged White refugees. I am wondering, how the Woke’s will take them.
I will always remember my friend, my Professor and my mentor, Warren Weinstein…
Sorry, billy Clinton made the legitimate well before President Trump was around
Sorry, billy Clinton made the legitimate well before President Trump was around
The Taliban won’t wait for long. They’ll give a deadline soon and then all hell will break loose.
The Brits didn’t learn.
The Russians didn’t learn.
And now, we are showing we didn’t learn either.
Stay the Hell away from Afghanistan. It will NEVER turn out like you want.
Absolutely! They were set up.
And what was the response? Not much. The first step to an appropriate response would have been to immediately get our people out of the area then draw a circle 100 miles around that crash site and give the order to kill every living thing inside that circle, nothing survives not even bacteria.
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