Taliban in Kabul as President Flees

Snarkhund said:
Now would be the perfect time for China to snatch Taiwan. For sure Demented Joe won't do anything.
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Yeh. They have to be careful though because it could go the other way too.

You have a president and senior military clowns who desperately want to change the news cycle and do something to put points back up on the board for them. In the same way that Andrew Cuomo is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this Biden AFG disaster.

China will be ballsy in cozying up to AFG right off, but long run China has a MASSIVE problem with that whole scenario. There are about eight Crapistan wackjob countries to the west of China or thereabouts. Pakistan and AFG are two and then all the other ones that read like an eye chart. They are wall to wall with jihadis and instability. The Taliban has been bogged down dealing with AFG but they have deep connections into all those other countries and will patch together a fairly sizeable caliphate or emirate or jihadi club, or whatever. Guess who already a sizeable and growing problems with muslims? Yeh, China. And the Uiyghars are not just muslims they are sunnis too just like the Taliban. Sure China will get tough with any problems but the jihadi types like to fight and that just becomes a recruiting tool for them. We know the routine. So China will continue to fund Pakistan bigtime as a way to threaten India and keep them on the defensive and they will try to buy into AFG bigtime. Meanwhile the Pakistani and AFG snakes will siphon off lots of that money to fund terrorism and expansionism aimed at China. And round and round they will go, year after year. Snakes. All of em.

Ditto for Iran. Everything is not groovy for them either. They hate Americans but they loved having Americans and the other Nato forces keeping AFG occupied which butts up against Iran. It is well known that - despite all the bitching about the great western satan- no one kills more muslims than other muslims. Shia Iran now has an even stronger sunni empire coalescing very nearby. Not what they wanted.

Yeh. China and muslimville having good days and good years but it is not all groovy. Lots of twists and turns down the road. And yes, belt and road through AFG, big railroad connection, and all of them. That's fine. But these guys are not captivated by economic development. They keep their eye on the jihadi mission. If they wanted economic development they would have gone with the Americans. They got their snake money from countries and their poppy fields to keep em going. And I am referring to all of those crapistan countries working together. Not just AFG.
 
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If you remember the start of the Afghan war, you may remember that at the time the Taliban was fighting a group called The Northern Alliance, for control of the country. Now that the Taliban is back, it appears the Northern Alliance is too.

A New Northern Alliance Against The Taliban Is Forming In Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley (Updated)
The former First Vice President of Afghanistan has claimed the mantle of the country's legitimate leader and is rallying forces to his cause.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...an-is-forming-in-afghanistans-panjshir-valley
 
gwb-trading said:
If you remember the start of the Afghan war, you may remember that at the time the Taliban was fighting a group called The Northern Alliance, for control of the country. Now that the Taliban is back, it appears the Northern Alliance is too.

A New Northern Alliance Against The Taliban Is Forming In Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley (Updated)
The former First Vice President of Afghanistan has claimed the mantle of the country's legitimate leader and is rallying forces to his cause.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...an-is-forming-in-afghanistans-panjshir-valley
More...

While it is true that the Taliban have not been able to take the Panjshir Valley, is also true that they have no strategic interests there and have been "otherwise occupied." Now that they have driven out the last of the Nato forces their fighters be going to have a whole lotta time to give them extra attention.

Of course, if the Northern Alliance fighters can hold up that will be interesting too. It is a snaky region. You could have the CIA, Iran, only Allah-knows-who, funding the Northern Alliance- not with the expection of winning but of keeping the Taliban occupied at home. When I mention Iran that could sound absurd. Not really. Iran hates sunnis with a passion and has had considerable bloodshed and war over it and the Taliban are sunnis. Nevertheless they fund Hamas which is sunni, because they will fund anyone who keeps Israel busy. Snakes.
 
Afghanistan War Unpopular Amid Chaotic Pullout: Poll
Roughly two-thirds said they did not think America’s longest war was worth fighting, the poll shows.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A significant majority of Americans doubt that the war in Afghanistan was worthwhile, even as the United States is more divided over President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and national security, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Roughly two-thirds said they did not think America’s longest war was worth fighting, the poll shows. Meanwhile, 47% approve of Biden’s management of international affairs, while 52% approve of Biden on national security.

The poll was conducted Aug. 12-16 as the two-decade war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban returning to power and capturing the capital of Kabul. Biden has faced bipartisan condemnation in Washington for sparking a humanitarian crisis by being ill-prepared for the speed of the Taliban’s advance.

The president has stood by his decision to exit the country, insisting that he will not allow the war to continue indefinitely and betting that Americans agree with him.

Mark Sohl is among those who do. The 62-year-old Democrat from Topeka, Kansas, said “it wasn’t worth losing more American lives over a mess.”

Sohl added: “After 20 years, you got to cut loose.”

Others felt more conflicted after seeing grim scenes in Afghanistan even if they opposed the war overall. In one image likely to endure, Afghans clung to U.S. military planes in a desperate bid to flee the country

“I don’t believe we should have been in there to begin with,” said Sebastian Garcia, a 23-year-old Biden voter from Lubbock, Texas, who said he had three cousins serve in Afghanistan. “But now that we’re leaving, I do feel we probably should stay after seeing, I guess you’d say, the trouble we’ve caused.”

Roughly two-thirds also suggest the Iraq War that coincided with Afghanistan was a mistake. Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to say the wars in both countries were worth fighting. About 4 in 10 Republicans do, compared with about 3 in 10 Democrats.

Deborah Fulkerson of Pueblo, Colorado, believes it would be wise for the U.S. to remain in Afghanistan.

“I feel like us having a presence there just keeps things more neutral and safer there for those people and for us,” said the 62-year-old, who describes herself as “more conservative,” particularly on social issues.

Fulkerson acknowledged that she does not follow Afghanistan that closely, saying she is more concerned with gas prices and local news.

“I’m a Christian and I know where my future lies, and all of this stuff that’s going on that I have no control over except through prayer, I just can’t watch it all the time,” she said. “I would be negative all the time.”

About half of Americans say they are extremely or very concerned about the threat to the U.S. posed by extremist groups based outside of the United States; about another one-third are moderately concerned. Only about 1 in 10 say they are not concerned.

But nearly 20 years after the Sept. 11 attacks that spurred the Afghanistan war, more Americans say they perceive the major national security threats as being internal.

Roughly two-thirds say they are extremely or very concerned about the threat of extremist groups based inside the United States. About one-quarter are somewhat concerned, and about 1 in 10 are not concerned.

Republicans and Democrats see the threat of extremist groups based outside of the U.S. similarly: about half across party lines are extremely or very concerned. But Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be strongly concerned about the threat of extremist groups based in the U.S., 75% to 57%.

Biden has largely focused his policy agenda on domestic issues such as rebuilding the U.S. economy after the coronavirus pandemic. That appears to be resonating with some Americans who see Afghanistan as a distant war but the costs of food, housing and transportation as inescapable.

Michael Lee Bettger, 47, said he voted for Donald Trump, but has been impressed by the economy under Biden and that is his priority. Bettger lives in Austin, Arkansas, and has never been this busy working industrial maintenance.

“Jobs are just overflowing,” Bettger said. “There’s not enough of me to go around.”

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,729 adults was conducted Aug. 12-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
 
Snarkhund said:
Now would be the perfect time for China to snatch Taiwan. For sure Demented Joe won't do anything.
More...

Japan probably, will re-arm seeing the US will be in no position to defend them if a conflict over Taiwan ever erupts. Chances are good, the US will lose American lives needlessly, then, withdraw with their tails between their legs because they do not have the means to take on China without huge losses in American lives. Taiwan will fight and resist to the extent they can because they love their freedom. However, they probably, will lose without the US supporting them militarily by joining the fray.
 
You know, all this time I thought we were referring to the Afghanistan president. My bad!

GUEST COLUMN: Why I’m Taking a Break from Answering Media Questions To Focus on Mental Health and Mindfulness
My self-care sabbatical starts now. Thanks in advance for your understanding.

biden-self-care-2.jpg

Joseph R. Biden • August 19, 2021 1:15 pm
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My fellow Americans,

It might surprise you to learn the past few days have been very challenging for me in terms of my mental and emotional well-being. I do my best to project strength and competence in public, but it's not always as easy as I make it look. Yes, I'm the president of the United States and commander in chief of the armed forces, but I'm also a human being.

Watching the heroic actions of female athletes such as Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles has inspired me to reevaluate the meaning of strength and to embrace the concept of self-care. That is why I have decided, for the first time in my 50-year career as a public servant, to put myself first, to focus on my mental health and work on my mindfulness. My self-care sabbatical starts now.

Until further notice, I will no longer be answering questions from the White House press corps. Because my recent efforts to decompress and tend to my heartspace at Camp David were so crudely interrupted, I have decided to spend a long weekend in Delaware, the safest space I've ever known. Alas, I can't even take the train anymore on account of my job, which my therapist says has been a major contributor to my depression. So believe me, when I hear the American people are suffering out there, I feel your pain.

This is not an attack on the media. But even if it was, what are they going to do about it, huh? They all voted for me, and they'll do it again. Maybe they'll tweet about it, the way they complain to the airlines like entitled children when their flight is delayed. Look, I know most journalists genuinely believe the work they do is vital to the functioning of our democracy. Honestly, folks, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Take it from me, someone who's been doing this for a long time. Reporters are constantly whinging about how hard it is to be a journalist who covers Donald Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic. As my cousin Mickey used to say: "Horse pucky!" They couldn't care less about the mental anguish they inflict on our athletes, politicians, and celebrities. They would crumble if the shoe was on the other foot—if they were the ones forced to stand up in front of a boisterous mob and be bombarded with ridiculous questions like "Where's Hunter? or "What's your plan for Afghanistan?"

Journalists are already complaining about my self-care journey: "Today would be a great day for journalists to be able to ask the president of the United States questions about Afghanistan." Obsessed much? Look, they're welcome to hop on a plane at anytime to go see for themselves. I just did an entire interview with George Stephanopoulos, a former Democratic operative who actually cares about my feelings. What more do they want?

Have they learned nothing from the courageous athletes and celebrities bringing self care to the forefront of the national conversation? To paraphrase the Olympic gymnast Simone Biles: "I say put mental health first. Because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy [being president] and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to. So it's OK sometimes to even sit out the big [foreign policy disasters] to focus on yourself."

So much wisdom, and at such a young age. I probably shouldn't say this, but I bet her hair smells fantastic. Maybe that's something I can focus on in the coming days to clear my mind of negativity. I'm also looking forward to assembling the GE ES44AC model train Dr. Jill got me for our anniversary. We'll speak again I'm sure before my term is up. In the meantime, just don't expect too much from me.

Joseph R. Biden, 78, is a Washington, D.C., resident. He is the father of Hunter Biden, a renowned artist, energy executive, and gentleman's club patron.

(https://freebeacon.com/satire/joe-biden-self-care/)
 
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