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Intelligence assessment predicted the Taliban WOULD take Afghanistan within months of U.S. withdrawal: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin contradicts Biden's claim reports found Afghan government would not collapse
UK Daily Mail ^
| 08/22/2021
| Katelyn Caralle
Posted on 08/22/2021 12:05:44 PM PDT by DFG
Lloyd Austin said in an interview that aired Sunday that some intelligence assessments predicted the Taliban would gain control of Afghanistan within months of a U.S. troops withdrawal – in stark contrast to President Biden's July claims there were no such reports.
'I know the president has said that the intelligence absolutely did not show that anybody – that the Taliban could take over in 11 days. What's the earliest you were aware that that could happen?' ABC News' Martha Raddatz asked the Defense secretary in a pre-taped interview.
'There were assessments that ranged initially from one to two years to, you know, several months, but it was a wide range of assessments,' he replied.
Austin also said that not one entity predicted that the Islamic militant group would reemerge with such force and be able to take over the lion's share of the country in less than two weeks.
'This all occurred in a span of about 11 days,' he said of the takeover. 'Nobody predicted that, you know, the government would fall in 11 days.'
He added that the evolving situation made it increasingly harder for intelligence and military officials to accurately assess the final outcome.
'As the Taliban began to make gains, and then we saw that in a number of cases, there was less fighting and more surrendering and more forces just kind of evaporating, it was very difficult to predict with accuracy,' Austin said.
The Defense secretary's comments contradict what Biden said last month.
'Your own intelligence community has assessed that the Afghan government will likely collapse,' a reporter said to the president during the July 8 press conference.
Biden fired back by saying, 'That is not true.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; austin; biden; withdrawal
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
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1
posted on
08/22/2021 12:05:45 PM PDT
by
DFG
To: DFG
They’ve become so effing woke that they can’t even function properly. The intelligence agencies that is
2
posted on
08/22/2021 12:08:08 PM PDT
by
toddausauras
(How far will the left go in terms of destroying our personal freedoms?)
To: DFG
Biden is deserting the upper level military like they’re afghanis
3
posted on
08/22/2021 12:08:10 PM PDT
by
stanne
To: DFG
No one predicted the Afghan army would cave to the Taliban so quickly?
Take a look at the Afghan army doing PT and tell me a quick collapse wouldn't be likely.
To: DFG
Why not tell a bald-faced lie? They get away with it all the time.
5
posted on
08/22/2021 12:15:51 PM PDT
by
TalBlack
(We have a Christian duty and a patriotic duty. God help us.)
To: RoosterRedux
How stupid are Afghanis?
Billions and years to train a bunch of cowards who cut and ran when needed?
The US takes boys off the farm and after three weeks in boot camp, they’re battle ready.
6
posted on
08/22/2021 12:27:40 PM PDT
by
Liz
(Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doen't know which bathroom to use.)
To: Liz
Look at those trying to get out.
90% military age men.
7
posted on
08/22/2021 12:34:16 PM PDT
by
Eagles6
(Welcome to the Matrix circa 1984.)
To: Eagles6
Scary........jihadists, talibans, Isis, Al Queda among them.......coming here for dam sure.
8
posted on
08/22/2021 12:40:18 PM PDT
by
Liz
(Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doen't know which bathroom to use.)
To: DFG
For comparison to Obama's failed Middle East policy timeline:
- 2008: After the 2007 Surge stabilized Iraq, the Bush administration negotiated a U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with U.S. troops to exit Iraq by end of 2011.
- January 2009: The Iraq war was essentially already over when Obama took office. We were in a relatively peaceful post-war occupation. The MSM lost interest in Iraq after the election. Code Pink dissappeared.
- 2011: The Arab Spring erupted with anti-government protests. Obama failed to support widespread protests in Iran. However, Obama supported anti-government forces in stable Syria and stable Libya, leading to the Libyan Civil War, the Syrian Civil War, the rise of ISIS in Syria, and a refugee crisis in Europe. Obama supported the overthrow of the Egyptian government by the Muslim Brotherhood.
- December 2011: The gradual withdrawal of US troops from Iraq was completed based on Bush's timetable. Obama did not extend the SOFA, so it expired. The total removal of U.S. troops destabilized Iraq and made a vacuum for ISIS to develop and flourish.
- June 2014: ISIS formed a caliphate, instituted widespread terror, and began Antifa-style destruction of antiquities. The U.S. went back into Iraq for a new war against ISIS. We fought a gentle, incompetent war with limited rules of engagement micromanaged from the White House. (Was it incompetence or sabotage?)
- January 2017: With the Middle East on fire, Trump took office and rapidly eliminated ISIS from Iraq by the end of 2017.
- 2020: Pax Trump -- The world was astonishingly at peace. There were no presidential debates dedicated to foreign policy, and few if any questions on foreign policy.
I am sure the summary above missed important elements and got some things wrong. It would be great to see Victor Davis Hanson do an improved version of this.
9
posted on
08/22/2021 12:48:04 PM PDT
by
UnwashedPeasant
(The pandemic we suffer from is not COVID. It is Marxist Democrat Leftism.)
To: DFG
When it comes to Afghanistan there is a refusal not only by the media and the so called (in name only) democratic party but by Christian leaders like Pope Francis to approach redressing the Taliban for it being a theocracy following the
sharia creed which denies free will and is authorized by Our Creator to execute non believers.
10
posted on
08/22/2021 12:56:10 PM PDT
by
mosesdapoet
(AKA Lee J Keslin posting in the hopes comments get passed around )
To: All
To: All
To: Alas Babylon!; American_Centurion; An.American.Expatriate; arthurus; ASA.Ranger; ASA Vet; Ax; ...
MI Ping.
How many posts before intel producers are blamed instead of the CIC, (Commie in Charge?)
13
posted on
08/22/2021 1:18:44 PM PDT
by
ASA Vet
(Make American Intelligence Great Again.)
To: Liz
Yep...and cowards that refused to fight and left their women folk to the hyenas.
14
posted on
08/22/2021 1:34:11 PM PDT
by
Eagles6
(Welcome to the Matrix circa 1984.)
To: RoosterRedux
I am willing to wager that this was first time these folks did a jumping jack in their entire lives, whereas most if not all of us have been doing them since grade school (and most of us were similarly uncoordinated then). Same for our sense of national identity and loyalty, starting with learning the Pledge of Allegiance in kindergarten. In other words, the US and its Western allies had been trying to impose a military model on the Afghans that had grown out of centuries of Western culture. This is a culture where loyalty is dedicated to family, tribe, and village—in that order— and smoking hashish is commonplace. The collapse of the ANDSF was not so much a failure of intelligence, but a failure to understand their culture and adapt our approach to building a lasting security structure.
15
posted on
08/22/2021 1:41:22 PM PDT
by
Apparatchik
(If you find yourself in a confusing situation, simply laugh knowingly and walk away - Jim Ignatowski)
To: Liz
Good points, except
” The US takes boys off the farm and after three weeks in boot camp, they’re battle ready.”
That was very recently the case but now those “US” farm boys are going to most likely be off the grid Central American/Mexican.
16
posted on
08/22/2021 1:44:32 PM PDT
by
A strike
(Barr to Gitmo, Roberts to Florence supermax, HerrDoktor FauxiGates to TerreHaute)
To: AnthonySoprano
Although your point is made, that photoshop is a REALLY offensive Obamanation.
17
posted on
08/22/2021 1:48:48 PM PDT
by
A strike
(Barr to Gitmo, Roberts to Florence supermax, HerrDoktor FauxiGates to TerreHaute)
To: DFG
We outlined yesterday some of the ideological teams within the current political dynamic as it relates to a massive foreign policy failure in Afghanistan {Go Deep}. Before going further and reviewing the current Sunday talking points by political actors within this mess, it is worth expanding slightly so we can see the institutional agendas that drive the visible messaging.
Big Picture – Remember, there was a time when the eagle’s gaze on the official seal for the Office of the United States President, did not point toward the olive branch. There was a long time in our nation’s history when the eagle’s gaze on the Presidential Seal pointed toward the arrows, and the State Dept. Seal pointed to the olive branch. There were always two conflicting teams, by design. There were always two different roles and responsibilities. Those distinct purposes are now diluted by ideology and size of government…. But the distinction is playing out amid the crisis in Afghanistan.
The State Department has been undermining the message and ‘narrative’ from the White House. Part of this is driven by an ideological distinction and self-interest that has existed for decades. However, the current dynamic is being played out by corrupt institutional actors on both sides who do not have our best interests in mind. Both sets of federal actors are two factions within the same ideological tribe of leftists & globalists.
- TEAM One – The Department of State is aligned with the CIA. Their media PR firms are CNN, CNNi and the Washington Post. Their ideology is favorable to the United Nations. Their internal corruption is generally driven by relationship with foreign actors. References: Hillary Clinton, Clinton Global Initiative, John McCain, Qatar, Muslim Brotherhood, Samantha Powers, Susan Rice, Cass Sunstein, Brookings Institute, Lawfare, China-centric, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Council on Foreign Relations.
- TEAM Two – The White House is aligned with the Pentagon (DoD) and National Security Council (NSC). Their media PR firms are domestic in nature. New York Times, Politico, etc. Their internal corruption is generally driven by domestic influence. References: Barack Obama, George Bush, Wall St, Big Banks, Multinational Corporations, Defense Contractors, FBI (state police), Judicial Branch, and community activists writ large.
[Presidential elections only affect Team Two (nationalism -v- globalism). In the modern era Team One is independent.]
Both teams were responsible for the Afghanistan mess. In the aftermath of the mess; and with the current situation in/around Kabul, each team is positioning to avoid scrutiny. Scrutiny on either team runs the risk of identifying massive corruption; so the objective is to push the spotlight onto the other team. State Dept. blames White House/Pentagon…. Pentagon/White House looking to avoid sunlight.
The Pentagon (arrows) is supposed to working in coordination with State (olive branch), but both institutions are corrupt regarding Afghanistan; so it’s a game of hot potato. If the executive office wasn’t corrupt, the eagle would be having whiplash; alas, the White House was/is an active participant. [So much for school civic ‘checks-n-balances’ eh?]
Externally we are seeing the executive appointed heads of each faction battling for position on behalf of their institution. The media get to pick and choose which faction they will support. CNN will support the State Dept. ABC, CBS, NBC will lean slightly toward the White House/Pentagon.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is a White House appointee (senate confirmed), but he doesn’t control the internal mechanisms any more than Secretary of State *Rex Tillerson did. [*That transparently predictable dynamic led to Trump firing Tillerson, and Pompeo (CIA) stepped-in to diffuse the issues. CIA/DoS are partners, makes sense.]
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is a White House appointee (senate confirmed), and he has more control over his agency, U.S. Military, than Blinken. Look for Joint Chief’s Chairman Mark Milley to be the guy who gets canned to protect Joe Biden. Mark Milley knows this is likely.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is another White House appointee (no confirmation needed), and is the best target for the State Dept to hit the White House in the ongoing effort. Sullivan controls the National Security Council (NSC). It is likely Biden’s NSC people are jumping all over Tony Blinken telling him to get the Kabul Embassy people in line.
Joe Biden (WH), Lloyd Austin (DoD) and Jake Sullivan (NSC) likely trying to bolster the efforts of Tony Blinken (DoS) amid the internecine battle. However, Blinken doesn’t really have a lot of control over the internals at the State Dept., and that crew has the CIA and intel agencies in their arsenal.
Now we’ll check today to see the Sunday talks and how the media are lining up…
Lloyd Austin (DoD), Kamala Harris (¹CBC), Joe Biden (WH), Anthony Blinken (DoS), Jake Sullivan (NSC)
18
posted on
08/22/2021 1:56:02 PM PDT
by
Bratch
To: Eagles6
I get the impression we were played by both sides here - and we knew it.
19
posted on
08/22/2021 1:57:38 PM PDT
by
kearnyirish2
(Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
To: Apparatchik
Although that clip is kinda funny, it does point out the absurdity.
May as well try to train fish.
20
posted on
08/22/2021 2:01:27 PM PDT
by
A strike
(Barr to Gitmo, Roberts to Florence supermax, HerrDoktor FauxiGates to TerreHaute)
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