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Former defence secretary says Afghan forces have been 'brave and willing' to fight against the Taliban
SKY News UK ^ | August 19, 2021

Posted on 08/19/2021 8:25:25 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

Tory MP Liam Fox told Sky News there was a "catastrophic drop in morale" in the Afghan forces due to the withdrawal of Western allies.

But the former defence secretary said "they have shown themselves as brave and willing" to fight against the Taliban, adding: "This idea that they weren't willing to fight is completely wrong."

Referring to the US decision to withdraw troops, he said Joe Biden "wanted everyone out by the anniversary of 9/11".

When these "momentous decisions are taken and are done to suit a domestic political timetable" then it's "always going to be sub-optimal", he added.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; chaos; taliban

1 posted on 08/19/2021 8:25:25 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I’ve been around for six decades, and while politicians always have been tempted to lie and spin, it seems that now slogans and pure propaganda are the absolute norm. They don’t even care, and public hypocrisy has zero meaning


2 posted on 08/19/2021 8:30:14 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: PGR88
They don’t even care, and public hypocrisy has zero meaning

Because an honest media would allow for shaming which would reduce the hypocrisy.

3 posted on 08/19/2021 8:32:09 AM PDT by 1Old Pro (Let's make crime illegal again!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

In the last 20 years, there were actually a lot more Afghan government soldiers killed than the Taliban fighters.
I guess due to the stupid rules, that allowed to shoot back only after being shot at.
Anyway, it looks to me that they would stay and fight, if there was a proper plan of withdrawal/support.
When your ally just takes off and runs, no wonder you get demoralized, abandoned and without any idea what to do now.
Biden non-plan cut and run just created that kind of chaos.


4 posted on 08/19/2021 8:37:37 AM PDT by AZJeep (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0AHGreco RomNQkryIIs)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
The more fundamental point is that Afghans and Afghanistan as a society are profoundly backward and lawless with shamelessly corrupt leaders. Once the US dropped its management and control of Afghan National Army logistics and pay, the leaders stole the pay of the troops and their weapons, material, and food. Naturally, the bravery of even the Afghan Army's best troops wore thin when they went unpaid, unfed, and unsupplied for months.

Not even the Biden administration was so stupid as to be unaware of what was going to happen. Instead, the collapse was anticipated and planned, just not so soon. In effect, Biden and his wrecking crew intended to inflict a defeat on America, all the better to advance their absurd effort to court Iran. One of Iran's longstanding demands was the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. I am sure that behind the scenes, Biden and his people see a deal with Iran as now both more likely and able to reverse the political damage of our Afghan defeat.

5 posted on 08/19/2021 8:40:59 AM PDT by Rockingham
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Former defence secretary says Afghan forces have been 'brave and willing' to fight against the Taliban

The past week fully disproves that opinion.

6 posted on 08/19/2021 8:41:34 AM PDT by JimRed (TERM LIMITS, NOW! Militia to the border! TRUTH is the new HATE SPEECH.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Outnumbered them 4 to 1 and they bravely ran away


7 posted on 08/19/2021 8:45:11 AM PDT by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing obamacare is worse than obamacare itself)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Reminds me of Star Trek’s Captain Pike:

https://theunrecordedman.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/life-slipping-by/

Can you html the picture or a better one with this one beside it?


8 posted on 08/19/2021 8:49:47 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Politicians are only marginally good at one thing, being politicians. Otherwise they are fools.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I know of an ARVN officer who was seriously wounded who killed himself because his men were exposing themselves to enemy fire to get to him.That kind of valor, albeit scarce, has been revealed in every army that’s ever walked the earth, from Cannae to Khe Sanh. It’s something liberals are incapable of understanding.


9 posted on 08/19/2021 8:50:09 AM PDT by Spok (Those who can compel you to believe absurdities can compel you to commit atrocities.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Were those the men in the evacuation flight? I guess they’ll wait to fight when they get to the states? Against weak Americans.


10 posted on 08/19/2021 8:53:46 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress (http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/BYTOPICS/tabid/335/Default.aspx D)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

As soon as they realized America wasn’t going to be around to pay them anymore they bolted.


11 posted on 08/19/2021 8:57:30 AM PDT by circlecity
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Biden cancelled aircraft maintenance programs on Afghan military aircraft some months ago, thus rendering a major blow to the Afghan military.


12 posted on 08/19/2021 9:24:40 AM PDT by Chauncey Gardiner
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Roust some bums out of a California homeless jungle and you'd have better soldiers than the Afghan Army.

13 posted on 08/19/2021 9:37:13 AM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ("Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration." — Thomas Edison)
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To: Chauncey Gardiner

When we left Saigon, the South Vietnamese continued to fight. But they were largely Christians and Buddhists fighting Communism. In Afghanistan it was Muslims vs. Muslims with only the hope of American freedom differentiating them. With the Americans gone there was no longer any purpose to their fighting.

Also, Asians are intelligent and Muslims in most countries are ignorant and illiterate.


14 posted on 08/19/2021 9:38:38 AM PDT by angry elephant (Been with Trump since huge 2016 Washington state rally in May.)
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To: angry elephant
Also, Asians are intelligent and Muslims in most countries are ignorant and illiterate.

Tribal inbreeding will do that to you.

15 posted on 08/19/2021 11:34:58 AM PDT by JimRed (TERM LIMITS, NOW! Militia to the border! TRUTH is the new HATE SPEECH.)
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To: AZJeep

Agreed - Ollie North pointed out that 66,000 Afghan soldiers and police were killed while fighting as our ally. That’s a pretty big number for a country of 38 million. God knows how many more were seriously injured, “disappeared” in kidnappings, etc. Add the reports of no pay, ammo not being delivered to units in the field, known corrupt gov’t, and you have not just the Taliban against you, but Pakistan and China too, while a weakly led US has fled (as it had to appear to Afghan soldiers) right when the Taliban is usually strongest (summer).

Now, quite likely some Afghani soldiers were just in the force for the money, but, to paint them all as cowards, well, I suspect a lot of the naysayers would not have hung in there either, or even as long, in the same situation.


16 posted on 08/19/2021 12:52:24 PM PDT by Paul R. (You know your pullets are dumb if they don't recognize a half Whopper as food!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Another person who needs closet arrest for their own safety.


17 posted on 08/19/2021 1:03:06 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (Folks, if you haven't yet, please start an automatic monthly for Jim and his crew.)
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To: Paul R.

Ollie North pointed out that 66,000 Afghan soldiers and police were killed while fighting as our ally.
________

The Taliban loses were only 51,000! Why?
I guess they were treated with Kind gloves.


18 posted on 08/19/2021 5:26:15 PM PDT by AZJeep (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0AHGreco RomNQkryIIs)
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