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Why the Afghan Military Collapsed So Quickly
The New York Times / MSN ^ | 8-16-21 | Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Fahim Abed and Sharif Hassan

Posted on 08/16/2021 11:31:59 PM PDT by Tired of Taxes

(SNIP)

It began with individual outposts in rural areas where starving and ammunition-depleted soldiers and police units were surrounded by Taliban fighters and promised safe passage if they surrendered and left behind their equipment, slowly giving the insurgents more and more control of roads, then entire districts. As positions collapsed, the complaint was almost always the same: There was no air support or they had run out of supplies and food.

But even before that, the systemic weaknesses of the Afghan security forces — which on paper numbered somewhere around 300,000 people, but in recent days have totaled around just one-sixth of that, according to U.S. officials — were apparent. These shortfalls can be traced to numerous issues that sprung from the West’s insistence on building a fully modern military with all the logistical and supply complexities one requires, and which has proved unsustainable without the United States and its NATO allies.

Soldiers and police officers have expressed ever-deeper resentment of the Afghan leadership. Officials often turned a blind eye to what was happening, knowing full well that the Afghan forces’ real manpower count was far lower than what was on the books, skewed by corruption and secrecy that they quietly accepted.

And when the Taliban started building momentum after the United States’ announcement of withdrawal, it only increased the belief that fighting in the security forces — fighting for President Ashraf Ghani’s government — wasn’t worth dying for. In interview after interview, soldiers and police officers described moments of despair and feelings of abandonment.

On one frontline in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar last week, the Afghan security forces’ seeming inability to fend off the Taliban’s devastating offensive came down to potatoes.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; biden; fakenews; newyorkslimes; obamalegacy; rop; taliban; xiden
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According to the article:

The Afghan security forces were not receiving enough food, supplies, or ammunition.

Also, the real number of people in Afghan security forces was far lower than the 300,000 Biden claimed.

And the morale of Afghan military was low because they believed the Afghanistan government was corrupt and then they found out the U.S. was leaving.

1 posted on 08/16/2021 11:31:59 PM PDT by Tired of Taxes
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To: Tired of Taxes

This was the desired outcome. How can it be otherwise?


2 posted on 08/16/2021 11:34:58 PM PDT by ifinnegan ( Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: Tired of Taxes

If you look at the pictures of the opulent homes of the generals, then you know where the money went. Or at least some of it.

I can’t believe that the CIA and senior US officials didn’t know, which means they were in on it.


3 posted on 08/16/2021 11:37:54 PM PDT by SauronOfMordor (A Leftist can't enjoy life unless they are controlling, hurting, or destroying others)
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To: SauronOfMordor

And then the Afghan president escaped with loads of cash (according to the Russians).


4 posted on 08/16/2021 11:43:30 PM PDT by Tired of Taxes
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To: Tired of Taxes

Afghanistan was an end-of-life business franchise that Joe handed over to the Chinese. For due consideration.

The world is run by men of business.


5 posted on 08/16/2021 11:44:38 PM PDT by JustaTech (A mind is a terrible thing)
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To: Tired of Taxes

In 300 years there has not been one instance of an Afghan Kingdom or National army defeating a unified Jihadi army.

Breaking and running is a tradition among the secular armies of Afghanistan.


6 posted on 08/16/2021 11:47:54 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: SauronOfMordor
I can’t believe that the CIA and senior US officials didn’t know, which means they were in on it.

Of course they were in on it. When was the last time the CIA, and the rest of these chumps, did anything right?

7 posted on 08/16/2021 11:48:13 PM PDT by Mark17 (Air Traffic Controller, retired. Father of US Air Force 1st Lieutenant, and trained combat pilot )
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By design.


8 posted on 08/16/2021 11:49:49 PM PDT by proust (All posts made under this handle are, for the intents and purposes of the author, considered satire.)
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The Rats may be good at stealing elections, but good to know they suck at warfare.


9 posted on 08/16/2021 11:50:08 PM PDT by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist!)
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To: JustaTech

The due consideration is continued Chicom silence on Hunter’s documented perversions and illegal business dealings.


10 posted on 08/16/2021 11:50:08 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: Tired of Taxes

It’s simple: the Afghan National Army wanted a check. The Taliban wanted heads. The National Army wanted to keep their heads and gave up their checks.


11 posted on 08/16/2021 11:51:57 PM PDT by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: Tired of Taxes

For the whole period of US occupation....reports kept getting generated and turned in. Afghan commanders were taking ammo, guns, food, vehicles, and fuel....reselling them on the black market, and creating a collapsible force. Why should the Pentagon, CIA or Biden-staff act surprised?

I would imagine if you went to the Soviet intelligence reports....they probably said the same things back in that era as well.


12 posted on 08/17/2021 12:10:01 AM PDT by pepsionice
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To: Tired of Taxes

Bush’s —No, KBR’s —No, TRUMP’s Mean Tweets’ Fault

There, that’s got it


13 posted on 08/17/2021 12:20:58 AM PDT by Oscar in Batangas (An Honors Graduate from the Don Rickles School of Personal Verbal Intercourse)
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To: Tired of Taxes

One word answer: Trump

For a year and a half, the Tallys and Trump had a deal. Mess up and we’ll hurt you. Bigly. They did and he did. And they got the message rather quick. Under Trump’s withdrawal it was clear: we were still next door. And we’re still Bigly. Arabs understand power and the willingness to use it; not so much respect for a tottering old man that begs pretty please and takes no action at all. The minute Biden found out there were Tally leaders in the palace, he should have blown it off the map and blown the bumper cars off the map too


14 posted on 08/17/2021 1:51:35 AM PDT by blueplum ("...this moment is your moment: it belongs to you... " President Donald J. Trump, Jan 20, 2017) )
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To: Tired of Taxes

The morale was low because these fathers, brothers and husbands won’t fight for their own daughters n wives. They have no God given love for family.


15 posted on 08/17/2021 2:02:37 AM PDT by momincombatboots (Ephesians 6... who you are really at war with)
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To: ifinnegan

Exactly well planned by those who run the Obiden govt. they have had years to plan all this and more.


16 posted on 08/17/2021 2:19:37 AM PDT by rodguy911 ((FreeRepublic home of the free because of the Brave---Where we go One))
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To: Tired of Taxes
At least in 2017 the consequences of a rapid exit were both predictable and unacceptable, yet later a conditional surrender (no American lives touched) to the Taliban was engaged in.

Aug. 21, 2017: Full Transcript and Video: Trump’s Speech on Afghanistan... the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable....A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for terrorists,...We cannot repeat in Afghanistan the mistake our leaders made in Iraq. - The New York Times

July 8, 2021: A recent U.S. intelligence assessment said that President Ashraf Ghani’s government in Kabul could fall within six to 12 months of the U.S. departure, potentially creating a humanitarian and security crisis – and a political problem for Biden. - WaPo

July 08, 2021: "The Taliban is not the south — the North Vietnamese army. They’re not — they’re not remotely comparable in terms of capability. There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of a embassy in the — of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable. " "the likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely." - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-drawdown-of-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan/

Aug 13, 2021: I don’t know exactly what they are doing, but we had conditions attached to how we were thinking about this withdrawal — I was part of those negotiations,” Pompeo said. “I was also in the room when President Trump made very clear to Mullah Baradar, the senior Taliban negotiator, that if you threatened an American, if you scared an American, certainly if you hurt an American, that we would bring all American power to bear to make sure that we went to your village, to your house. We were very clear about the things we were prepared to do to protect American lives. And indeed, since we began those negotiations back in February of 2020, there wasn’t a single American killed by the Taliban. We had established a deterrence model.” Fox News

Aug. 13, 2021: The Afghan Military Was Built Over 20 Years. How Did It Collapse So Quickly? - New York Times

8/14/21" Biden doubled down on his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan in a White House statement earlier today, blaming the Trump administration for signing a deal with the Taliban that left them "in the strongest position militarily since 2001." - Newsweek

August 15, 2021" "Helicopters buzzed overhead as part of an evacuation of personnel from the U.S. Embassy. Several other Western missions were also preparing to get staff out." - Boston Globe

August 15, 2021" Now, months after his initial declaration that all 2,500 US troops would be out of Afghanistan by the end of the summer, a total of 6,000 troops are expected to help facilitate the evacuation. - CNN

Aug 16, 2021 " At least three people were killed by gunfire Monday morning in chaotic scenes at the passenger terminal of Kabul’s international airport, where thousands of Afghans who fear for their lives after the Taliban takeover of the country... - WSJ.

Aug. 16, 2021: Thousands Who Helped the U.S. in Afghanistan Are Trapped....Tens of thousands of Afghan nationals risked their lives to assist the United States military in Afghanistan, many of them working as interpreters alongside American soldiers in combat. - New York Times

August 17, 2021 1:23am: Former President George W. Bush on Monday urged President Joe Biden to “cut the red tape” and allow for the swift evacuation of Afghan refugees following the Taliban’s takeover of the country. - Fox News

17 posted on 08/17/2021 2:33:14 AM PDT by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save + be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: Tired of Taxes

Biden pulled the contractors who kept the hell air force flying. Biden pulled all the intelligence folks who gave assistance to the air support

You teach them to fight one way and then strip them of assets and boom nothing happens except panic

I have heard that they also sustained very heavy losses in the initial fights


18 posted on 08/17/2021 3:06:49 AM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: SauronOfMordor

They knew and said. Kamala didn’t comprehend


19 posted on 08/17/2021 3:18:36 AM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: SauronOfMordor
"If you look at the pictures of the opulent homes of the generals, then you know where the money went. Or at least some of it."


Dacha... Sound familiar?
20 posted on 08/17/2021 3:27:17 AM PDT by Bikkuri (If you're conservative, you're an "extremist." If you're liberal, you're an "activist.")
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