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Photos Afghan Armed Forces (Prior to 2021)
- Thread starter BravoZulu
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Jelalabad (last major city in the country beside Kabul) surrended to Taliban without a fight. Local army and police units and most officials just switched side. It is obvious for everyone in the country Taliban is the new king. Locals across the country throwing stones to the last retreated pro-US soldiers and seemed OK with new Taliban rule.
Pro-western afghanis crowded Kabul airport, till the yesterday there was a commercial flights and business-class options still available.
Pro-western afghanis crowded Kabul airport, till the yesterday there was a commercial flights and business-class options still available.
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Can't help but make an exception and agree with the Biden administration for once: You can't buy a will to fight. Last week, 300 ANA surrendered to 20 Taliban fighters in Kunar without a fight, yielding all their gear and vehicles. Mind you, those men were trained, equipped and fully paid.
Now tell me this, why should we take in Afghan refugees (sans the interpreters, of course)? They obviously don't mind their country becoming a cesspit once more. This is just shameful, to be honest. Everyone likens this to Vietnam, only the South Vietnamese put up one hell of a fight.
I'm not sure why I'm so astounded, though. I did say this would happen. I did say Trump's promise of a "great deal" with the Taliban was rubbish. You can't treaty with people whose religious beliefs hold that promises given to infidels may be violated at any given time.
If we'd just left without giving the Taliban the time to prepare for their take-over, maybe the Afghans would've fared a little better…? Nah, I don't really believe that either. The only advantage the Taliban have over the government forces is cohesion. They know what they fight for.
Now tell me this, why should we take in Afghan refugees (sans the interpreters, of course)? They obviously don't mind their country becoming a cesspit once more. This is just shameful, to be honest. Everyone likens this to Vietnam, only the South Vietnamese put up one hell of a fight.
I'm not sure why I'm so astounded, though. I did say this would happen. I did say Trump's promise of a "great deal" with the Taliban was rubbish. You can't treaty with people whose religious beliefs hold that promises given to infidels may be violated at any given time.
If we'd just left without giving the Taliban the time to prepare for their take-over, maybe the Afghans would've fared a little better…? Nah, I don't really believe that either. The only advantage the Taliban have over the government forces is cohesion. They know what they fight for.
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US helicopters over Kabul evacuate personnel from US embassy.
It is somewhat sad to see history repeat itself, hope after further US empire decline we will have a chance for a better world.
It is somewhat sad to see history repeat itself, hope after further US empire decline we will have a chance for a better world.
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The thing is the Trump administration manage to break a deal with the Taliban.
But the deal got canceled by the Biden administration.
No matter how great of a deal it may have been (and we will never because: 1- all deals Trump made were labeled as "great"; 2- it did not happen in the end) you can't expect either to side to respect their part of said deal when:
1- the other side breaks the deal.
and/or
2- alter the deal and impose new conditions that were not agreed upon.
Considering the promises made initially, by the US, I can hardly see how the Taliban could have justified respecting their part when the US didn't.
The thing is many don't seem to really understand how things work over there.
The Us was supposed to withdraw in May. That agreement (made by the Trump administration) was hammered down (by the Biden administration).
When you are dealing with the Third World and more specifically with that region of the Third World, when it comes to diplomacy, if you strike a bargain and then go back on that bargain that sign of disrespect can be used as propaganda. It is considered a cultural insult.
By pushing back the withdrawal Biden hoped to achieved a "cleaner" withdrawal, maybe manage to bring back some equipment, and also take credit for it because it would "Biden's withdrawal" and "Biden's date". If he had respected Trump's date, the time line would have remembered "Trump ended the longest worthless war", with Biden rubber-stamping what Trump had done, and that would not be good! Because Orange Man Bad, and Biden Man Good.
Now, by pushing it back Biden gave propaganda fodder to the Taliban: hey look! the US didn't not honored the agreement, they violated their promises, they can't be trusted. (on top of which you can also add the pile of resentment the population may have had against a foreign power waging war in their country for two decades, with all the subsequent damage that goes with it in term of casualties).
Not all of them are Taliban though, a substantial number of them may very well be tribal warlords seizing the opportunity.
So, "take a gun, come and fight with us, let us overthrow an illegitimate government (because it refused to stand up to the US)".
Which was a big mistake from the Afghan government by the way, refusing to assert their sovereignty over a foreign entity is quite the sign of weakness.
Now, the Taliban would have been more than likely to rock the boat despite signing the deal anyway. But it wouldn't have been our fault, because they wouldn't have been able to use the withdrawal as propaganda since they had signed on to it.
Biden refusing to take responsibility is callous.
Now the leftoids are claiming "we need to take in the refugees". No. The US should have left on May 1rst, Biden f*cked it up.
Now, in the end, is it surprising? No.
The Taliban were growing in power anyway and somehow getting more legitimacy as a governing entity. They were invited to peace talks, negotiations, etc... and not just as spectators but as actors.
Was it to be expected they would regain power? Very reasonably yes. At least in the realm of possibilities that was a very strong one.
The US stayed there for two decades, spending US$2T, suffering more than 2,500 military casualties, accomplishing absolutely nothing.
The US had the small opportunity to leave, nice and clean, and say "well it's not really a win, it's more like a stalemate, but at least it's not another Vietnam". Because of Biden it is another Vietnam.
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Its over...
www.aljazeera.com
‘At the gates’: Taliban ready to take Afghan capital
Sirens could be heard as multiple helicopters were flying above the city centre.
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Looking at Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan. Thank you to the 1970's Armed Forces of the Philippines, you boys lost us our ancestral lands and maybe some abuse here and there, but damned you guys kept it together.
This is why I feel no bad emotions from whats happening in Afghanistan. The Afghan Armed services outnumber the Taliban, they have helicopters and air support that other nations can only dream off, and they just crumbled.
This is why I feel no bad emotions from whats happening in Afghanistan. The Afghan Armed services outnumber the Taliban, they have helicopters and air support that other nations can only dream off, and they just crumbled.
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Is their anyone like ahmad shah massoud in Afghanistan right now ???
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I wonder if some of the failures of ANA can be attributed to a failure by Western powers to train them properly. Looking at the assets of ANA it seems that they were trained to act and fight like a Western Army, not a third world army or even a COIN centric army. Before entrusting the defense of the regime to them, they should have been allowed more freer reign and get bloodied against the Taliban.
It seems that the way ANA fight is very much reliant on air assets rather than meat to the meat grinder. Soon as the Air Assets were neutralized, ANA collapsed.
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When the winds change, the Afghans will "switch sides" again, and we will be shocked when the Taliban crumble in a week, and a new group of despots take their turn running the drug trade and generally running roughshod over the people.
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