Biden Presidency

[NDdomer2]

I didn't hear it, but he had to be asleep, right? I mean he never looked up or even moved during that time.

In the mean time, our fallen soldiers are home.

his hands are kinda moving so who knows he def looks asleep tho. And do i hear a dog whimper towards the end?

 

[Irish#1]

CNN.com.......Nine family members, including children, killed in US strike in Kabul targeting suspected ISIS-K suicide bomber, relative says

 

[IrishRazor82]

13 will not be the final member. Leaving behind ~$85B in state of the art military equipment will result in countless more America deaths in the future that we won't attribute to the equipment but it will be significant.

What a blunder. This democratic administration is getting exposed but costing lives and quality of life in the process.

 

[IrishRazor82]

Nobody is being deranged nor irrational in their criticism of Biden's behavior or policies. He's been a non-stop disaster since taking office. Not a bit of it is surprising to most of us, given his track record. Why don't you explain to us IN LUCID, CLEAR ENGLISH why you voted for him and think he's doing a good job. We'll wait.

The best thing Biden could have done is absolutely nothing like he's done for 45 years. Let the Trump policies play out while you talk about masking for 4 years. Unfortunately "he's" actually doing stuff this time and it's bad for America.

It's not him though, he didn't just find an injection of energy and can-do at age 176, it's the democrats running this and "getting things done", America be damned.

 

[Irish#1]

Looks like ISIS fired a number of rockets this morning that were shot down before they hit the airport.

As many as 5 rockets were fired on Kabul airport, says US official

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/asia/rockets-fired-kabul-airport-intl-hnk/index.html

 

[Irish#1]

Nobody is being deranged nor irrational in their criticism of Biden's behavior or policies. He's been a non-stop disaster since taking office. Not a bit of it is surprising to most of us, given his track record. Why don't you explain to us IN LUCID, CLEAR ENGLISH why you voted for him and think he's doing a good job. We'll wait.

This is what I think happens every morning.

Mrs. Biden: Joe (shakes his shoulder), Joe it's time to get up.
Joe: Can't I sleep a few more minutes?
Mrs. Biden: No Joe, the committee has a full schedule for you today and it's all typed up for you to follow. Here, eat your oatmeal and drink your prune juice.

 

[Rogue219]

America is back they said.

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/thejtlewis/status/1431730502571110401?s=20[/TWEET]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/AriFleischer/status/1431837233598894082[/TWEET]

Consensus is this video has been doctored and is fake.

Yes, I am an advocate of bringing back the Fairness Doctrine.

 

[NorthDakota]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/AriFleischer/status/1431837233598894082[/TWEET]

Consensus is this video has been doctored and is fake.

Yes, I am an advocate of bringing back the Fairness Doctrine.

Lol why would we bring back the fairness doctrine? Do you actually think that would do anything?

 

[drayer54]

13 will not be the final member. Leaving behind ~$85B in state of the art military equipment will result in countless more America deaths in the future that we won't attribute to the equipment but it will be significant.

What a blunder. This democratic administration is getting exposed but costing lives and quality of life in the process.

Yeah, closing his eyes while talking to a foreign leader is about 500 items down my list of complaints. The strategy here has been a total blooper reel for Biden and friends. The gear that will be used against us will hurt. The airport part is a joke. I'm just so disgusted with these people and those making excuses for them.

 

[Rocket89]

13 will not be the final member. Leaving behind ~$85B in state of the art military equipment will result in countless more America deaths in the future that we won't attribute to the equipment but it will be significant.

What a blunder. This democratic administration is getting exposed but costing lives and quality of life in the process.

Yeah, probably not.

1) That $85 billion figure is grossly overestimated. The United States has spent $83 billion TOTAL supplying the Afghan Army since the war began. Most estimates have the defense spending of that aid around $25 to $30 billion over a 20-year period.

2) Even if you were fooled by comments made by Rep. Jim Banks about the $85 billion figure, he mentioned 75,000 vehicles being left behind. That's like $15 billion minimum right there. That doesn't leave much money left over for bigger, fancier fighting machines to get to $85 billion. Common sense and two seconds of research show how big of a lie this is to our country.

3) A fraction of that ~$28 billion in defense equipment would still be state of the art with plenty of difficulties for the Taliban to learn how to use it, train people, and most importantly keep that equipment usable as it degrades over time. The clock is already ticking as that equipment won't last very long.

4) The vast majority of the equipment left behind (or we should say given up by the Afghanistan army) are small arms with some Humvees, Black Hawk helicopters, and A-29 Tucano aircraft. Quite a bit of equipment was moved out of Afghanistan and/or destroyed. The actual price of equipment left behind is likely very, very small in defense budget terms.

5) The Taliban have no sea power and extremely limited air power. Even if they can get former Afghanistan military members to fly what's left behind they will not be able to operate the limited attack capabilities of those systems all that well, nor as I said maintain these systems for very long without the necessary updates and training.

6) Short-term, the Taliban aren't the problem. ISIS is the larger concern and they don't get along too well with the Taliban. In fact, the Taliban have every incentive right now to let Americans leave peacefully so they don't A) feel our wrath B) keep those weapons left behind and C) allow them to set up their Sharia society and get rid of ISIS.

7) The Taliban pose an extremely small threat to the United States, which is why we're leaving! And in the case that they were to act up or if we are to worry about the fear-mongering that they'd use all this billions of equipment, we'll send in drone strikes as soon as we're out.

We've evacuated tens of thousands of Americans and others from a 20-year war. Of course it's awful that 13 US service members and nearly 200 people died from an ISIS suicide bomber attack last week. But set against nearly 2,500 American deaths and 20,000 wounded this is a very small part of the war.

So, consider the following:

1) You have to come up with some very strong right-wing fantasies to think the Taliban and their tiny arms are going to do much of anything on a global scale. They couldn't overtake Chicago right now FFS, to say nothing of projecting terrorism from 7,000 miles away. Especially considering the Taliban aren't Al-Qaeda or ISIS and we'll have a far greater watchful eye over the region than we did pre-9/11.

2) Once the hysteria subsides, the evacuation very likely will look like a success in historical terms. Well over 100,000 people evacuated with a little over 100 deaths total from a 20-year war. When you take into account that the vast majority of Americans wanted to get out in the first place, and even more American care less about Afghanistan, the evacuation won't really matter in the least bit. This is why there's been such a strong push here for promoting point #1 just above to scare Americans into thinking this is going to haunt us...somehow, someway in the future. The cries that this is the greatest military blunder of the century or longer, haha okay. People who think the evacuation is going to overshadow a failed 20-year war in a place that no one cares about...I guarantee right now your anger is going to turn on the media and others real quick as the weeks and months progress.

 

[Rogue219]

Lol why would we bring back the fairness doctrine? Do you actually think that would do anything?

It would be in the best interest of the public that we not be deliberately misinformed, but not like anyone has given a fuck about the best interests of the public for the last four decades, so I suppose you're right.

I'm sure it's coincidence that the rise of cable news came shortly after it went away, though. Probably just a timing thing.

 

[drayer54]

2) Once the hysteria subsides, the evacuation very likely will look like a success in historical terms. Well over 100,000 people evacuated with a little over 100 deaths total from a 20-year war. When you take into account that the vast majority of Americans wanted to get out in the first place, and even more American care less about Afghanistan, the evacuation won't really matter in the least bit. This is why there's been such a strong push here for promoting point #1 just above to scare Americans into thinking this is going to haunt us...somehow, someway in the future. The cries that this is the greatest military blunder of the century or longer, haha okay. People who think the evacuation is going to overshadow a failed 20-year war in a place that no one cares about...I guarantee right now your anger is going to turn on the media and others real quick as the weeks and months progress.

Wow. I thought crazy Matt Dowd was the only one capable of spinning this into a victory. The Taliban doesn't need a navy and this idea of trying to say they won't take over the world is a sad attempt to minimize what has happened here- but they were given technology and a ton of small arms. The strategy was reckless and placed American lives at risk and in some cases dead. The image of people leaping for a plane taking off will stick and this complete lack of strategy and failure to execute a withdrawal will weigh on Biden's legacy. The world is laughing or angry at Joe Biden and his failures have unquestionably diminished our standing in the world.

 

[Rocket89]

Wow. I thought crazy Matt Dowd was the only one capable of spinning this into a victory. The Taliban doesn't need a navy and this idea of trying to say they won't take over the world is a sad attempt to minimize what has happened here- but they were given technology and a ton of small arms. The strategy was reckless and placed American lives at risk and in some cases dead. The image of people leaping for a plane taking off will stick and this complete lack of strategy and failure to execute a withdrawal will weigh on Biden's legacy. The world is laughing or angry at Joe Biden and his failures have unquestionably diminished our standing in the world.

Reading some of the comments in this thread it certainly seemed like the Taliban was going to take over the world! Holy crap, the hysteria!

Any withdrawal was going to be messy and it's actually not going that bad at all. Our standing is fine and the last few months will be just a tiny footnote to the war. You'll be furious.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Reading some of the comments in this thread it certainly seemed like the Taliban was going to take over the world! Holy crap, the hysteria!

Any withdrawal was going to be messy and it's actually not going that bad at all. Our standing is fine and the last few months will be just a tiny footnote to the war. You'll be furious.

As you point out some are overstating, but you are also understating. The truth is probably someplace in between.

 

[Rocket89]

As you point out some are overstating, but you are also understating. The truth is probably someplace in between.

I think I speak the truth.

For a war that grew incredibly unpopular, the last few weeks and months aren't going to be seen as damaging to America just because a withdrawal wasn't perfectly wrapped up in bubble wrap with no problems. The Taliban took equipment from the Afghanistan Army, they aren't killing Americans, we're getting out, and that equipment has a shelf-life.

 

[drayer54]

I think I speak the truth.

For a war that grew incredibly unpopular, the last few weeks and months aren't going to be seen as damaging to America just because a withdrawal wasn't perfectly wrapped up in bubble wrap with no problems. The Taliban took equipment from the Afghanistan Army, they aren't killing Americans, we're getting out, and that equipment has a shelf-life.

The world is clearly less safe when the Taliban has a nation and a ton of new equipment. They're figuring out how to fly Blackhawks and execute people from them today, who knows tomorrow. I hope that fella wasn't on a list provided by the US. I think it's incredibly naive to assume that the Taliban won't turn guns on us again. Ending the efforts in Afghanistan and the complete disaster that has been the withdrawal are two separate topics. I don't agree with leaving, but I especially don't agree with hastily planned withdrawals that needlessly put Americans' lives at risk. I'm also seeing a lot of controversy on the accuracy of our retaliation strikes. Pointing to the shelf-life and maintenance is a laughable minimization, IMHO.

 

[Irish#1]

I think I speak the truth.

For a war that grew incredibly unpopular, the last few weeks and months aren't going to be seen as damaging to America just because a withdrawal wasn't perfectly wrapped up in bubble wrap with no problems. The Taliban took equipment from the Afghanistan Army, they aren't killing Americans, we're getting out, and that equipment has a shelf-life.

You can defend Biden all you want, but you're off base on several accounts.
1. In case you missed it, I agree with you that we do not need to be there, so I wanted to preface the other comments so you understand that we agree on not occupying Afghanistan.
2. " the last few weeks and months aren't going to be seen as damaging to America". Aren't going to be damaging in what way? The UK, Germany and several other countries aren't happy right now as are many of their citizens. Going forward we probably won't have the political influence to strongly encourage other countries to move in a direction we want whether it be trade restrictions, financial or military.
3. "Reading some of the comments in this thread it certainly seemed like the Taliban was going to take over the world!" I didn't see one comment that remotely hinted this. Your hyperbole doesn't help in trying to convince anyone.
4. "Short-term, the Taliban aren't the problem. ISIS is the larger concern and they don't get along too well with the Taliban. In fact, the Taliban have every incentive right now to let Americans leave peacefully so they don't A) feel our wrath B) keep those weapons left behind and C) allow them to set up their Sharia society and get rid of ISIS." So we shouldn't care about the future? This comment is silly. The Taliban aren't as radical and extreme as ISIS, but that's like saying John Wayne Gacy wasn't as bad as Gary Ridgeway because he only killed 41 people. It's well documented that the Taliban don't like ISIS, but we're not seeing many reports past and present where the Taliban has engaged ISIS and has them under control.
5. "Once the hysteria subsides, the evacuation very likely will look like a success in historical terms. Well over 100,000 people evacuated with a little over 100 deaths total from a 20-year war." People falling from planes, Taliban preventing those that want to leave form getting to the airport. Taliban letting ISIS bomber get through checkpoints. Allies furious because they weren't given much notice and are having to scramble to save their citizens. People told not to come to the airport, then being told if you want to leave figure out a way to get to the airport. And by the way good luck as we won't come and get you. You know why we didn't try assist our citizens and allies? Because the Taliban told us not to. So this little army with a handful of minor arms we left behind are dictating to us what we can and can't do.

This withdrawal didn't need to be perfectly wrapped up in bubble wrap. It just needed to be better planned, better organized, better communicated and done so that the Taliban didn't put a strangle hold on Kabul. This is equal to Saigon which happened over 40 years ago and everyone still remembers it. As many have said, this isn't about whether we should be there or not. It's how incompetent Biden has been in handling this and his denial to accept that this has been a major FUBAR.

 

[Rocket89]

The world is clearly less safe when the Taliban has a nation and a ton of new equipment. They're figuring out how to fly Blackhawks and execute people from them today, who knows tomorrow. I hope that fella wasn't on a list provided by the US. I think it's incredibly naive to assume that the Taliban won't turn guns on us again. Ending the efforts in Afghanistan and the complete disaster that has been the withdrawal are two separate topics. I don't agree with leaving, but I especially don't agree with hastily planned withdrawals that needlessly put Americans' lives at risk. I'm also seeing a lot of controversy on the accuracy of our retaliation strikes. Pointing to the shelf-life and maintenance is a laughable minimization, IMHO.

"I don't agree with leaving."

And that's really the only way Americans are going to be at risk from the Taliban. You're in a very small minority with your thinking.

 

[Rocket89]

You can defend Biden all you want, but you're off base on several accounts.
1. In case you missed it, I agree with you that we do not need to be there, so I wanted to preface the other comments so you understand that we agree on not occupying Afghanistan.
2. " the last few weeks and months aren't going to be seen as damaging to America". Aren't going to be damaging in what way? The UK, Germany and several other countries aren't happy right now as are many of their citizens. Going forward we probably won't have the political influence to strongly encourage other countries to move in a direction we want whether it be trade restrictions, financial or military.
3. "Reading some of the comments in this thread it certainly seemed like the Taliban was going to take over the world!" I didn't see one comment that remotely hinted this. Your hyperbole doesn't help in trying to convince anyone.
4. "Short-term, the Taliban aren't the problem. ISIS is the larger concern and they don't get along too well with the Taliban. In fact, the Taliban have every incentive right now to let Americans leave peacefully so they don't A) feel our wrath B) keep those weapons left behind and C) allow them to set up their Sharia society and get rid of ISIS." So we shouldn't care about the future? This comment is silly. The Taliban aren't as radical and extreme as ISIS, but that's like saying John Wayne Gacy wasn't as bad as Gary Ridgeway because he only killed 41 people. It's well documented that the Taliban don't like ISIS, but we're not seeing many reports past and present where the Taliban has engaged ISIS and has them under control.
5. "Once the hysteria subsides, the evacuation very likely will look like a success in historical terms. Well over 100,000 people evacuated with a little over 100 deaths total from a 20-year war." People falling from planes, Taliban preventing those that want to leave form getting to the airport. Taliban letting ISIS bomber get through checkpoints. Allies furious because they weren't given much notice and are having to scramble to save their citizens. People told not to come to the airport, then being told if you want to leave figure out a way to get to the airport. And by the way good luck as we won't come and get you. You know why we didn't try assist our citizens and allies? Because the Taliban told us not to. So this little army with a handful of minor arms we left behind are dictating to us what we can and can't do.

This withdrawal didn't need to be perfectly wrapped up in bubble wrap. It just needed to be better planned, better organized, better communicated and done so that the Taliban didn't put a strangle hold on Kabul. This is equal to Saigon which happened over 40 years ago and everyone still remembers it. As many have said, this isn't about whether we should be there or not. It's how incompetent Biden has been in handling this and his denial to accept that this has been a major FUBAR.

2) Disagree, we'll be fine.

3) Disagree. A page back you said "we're all pacifists" yet Drayer is promoting staying which will only lead to more death for Americans. Shocker you didn't push back on that with him. You also always have a tell that people's comments are "hyperbolic" when you're wrong.

4) Of course the future matters. What plan have you unfolded for us that would fix Afghanistan? Specifically, we're getting out over the last 3 weeks and we'll see what happens. I don't think it's a big threat at all, especially post 9/11.

5) It's almost like foreign wars are messy and we're doing what we can to get Americans out safely.

"This withdrawal didn't need to be perfectly wrapped up in bubble wrap. It just needed to be better planned, better organized, better communicated and done so that the Taliban didn't put a strangle hold on Kabul."

Agree, it could've been done better. But FFS ya'll acting like American foreign policy is forever damaged really need to calm down and pick up a history book.

 

[Irish#1]

2) Disagree, we'll be fine. Yeah after we have to pump billions of additional dollars into programs to keep our alies happy. But Biden has no problem spending money so no big deal.

3) Disagree. A page back you said "we're all pacifists" yet Drayer is promoting staying which will only lead to more death for Americans. Shocker you didn't push back on that with him. You also always have a tell that people's comments are "hyperbolic" when you're wrong. Why push back? He wasn't advocating for conflict. He was talking about keeping the small contingency of 2,500 that was already there in place to keep thge Taliban from over running the country. Until the fiasco last week, the last military death in Afghanistan was Feb 2020. Hyperbolic because I'm not wrong.

4) Of course the future matters. What plan have you unfolded for us that would fix Afghanistan? Specifically, we're getting out over the last 3 weeks and we'll see what happens. I don't think it's a big threat at all, especially post 9/11. I don't have a plan to fix Afghanistan and never said I did. I said we should be out of there. So what's your plan to fix them?

5) It's almost like foreign wars are messy and we're doing what we can to get Americans out safely. We're getting Americans out, but we're leaving it up to many to figure out to get to the airport. We're not doing a lot for the Afghan allies.

"This withdrawal didn't need to be perfectly wrapped up in bubble wrap. It just needed to be better planned, better organized, better communicated and done so that the Taliban didn't put a strangle hold on Kabul."

Agree, it could've been done better. Well there you go, you're getting it.

 

[drayer54]

Biden meets with families of service members killed in Kabul as U.S. races to exit Afghanistan

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...85ed78-08ca-11ec-aea1-42a8138f132a_story.html

Only Jiennah, who is expecting the couple's child next month, stayed. But she left disappointed, Roice said. The president brought up his son, Beau, according to her account, describing his son's military service and subsequent death from cancer. It struck the family as scripted and shallow, a conversation that lasted only a couple of minutes in "total disregard to the loss of our Marine," Roice said.

"You can't f--- up as bad as he did and say you're sorry," Roice said of the president. "This did not need to happen, and every life is on his hands."

 

[drayer54]

"I don't agree with leaving."

And that's really the only way Americans are going to be at risk from the Taliban. You're in a very small minority with your thinking.

I think many Americans love the simple idea of bringing the troops home, but likely won't see the risk v reward and understand how little our troops have been involved there for the last two years. A deterrence force has value. It does appear that my assessment of the President's performance however is clearly in line with the majority. If and when this proves to be a poor decision, we'll check back on the polls.

 

[Rocket89]

Why push back? He wasn't advocating for conflict. He was talking about keeping the small contingency of 2,500 that was already there in place to keep thge Taliban from over running the country. Until the fiasco last week, the last military death in Afghanistan was Feb 2020. Hyperbolic because I'm not wrong.

So the question then becomes, is it a permanent conflict then? We already know the painful history of the country stretching back 2,000+ years and if we're going to spend $85 billion (and billions upon billions more for our own troops) to watch their army dissolve within days, what's the point? Are the Taliban and small cells of ISIS really THAT much of a problem for us in the 2020's and beyond? I'd argue, as most of the world does today, that threat does not merit us keeping a force there.

You already agree we shouldn't stay so I don't see why you're arguing? Plus, if you're sooo worried about spending money how much more should we spend and to what goal? Spending money on our allies bugs you but you're fine with literally setting money on fire in perpetuity in Afghanistan?

I don't have a plan to fix Afghanistan and never said I did. I said we should be out of there. So what's your plan to fix them?

No one has a plan. It's been that way since Alexander the Great. It's even more reason why we should be leaving. I just don't equate the efficacy of the evacuation (which we disagree on) with the future threat from Afghanistan (which many people, not necessarily you, have been doing). Afghanistan may very well turn into a terrible place which sucks for their people (particularly the women), but that's largely been their history, and it doesn't mean they are a terror threat to us.

We're getting Americans out, but we're leaving it up to many to figure out to get to the airport. We're not doing a lot for the Afghan allies.

Per reports just now, we have all of the ~6,000 Americans out of the country plus over 100,000 other non-Americans. Two weeks ago Drayer wrote:

Sending in thousands of soldiers to secure the airport seems like a logical first step to at least minimize the casualties, but they appear logistically challenged to get the people out. They weren't prepared.

Casualties were minimized, except for an ISIS suicide bomber, and we got a crap ton of people out. A few pages back people are acting as if it was assured Americans would be left behind and it was a foregone conclusion. So, I guess I don't see how that's utter disaster given the results and how they played out.

 

[drayer54]

Per reports just now, we have all of the ~6,000 Americans out of the country plus over 100,000 other non-Americans. Two weeks ago Drayer wrote:

Sending in thousands of soldiers to secure the airport seems like a logical first step to at least minimize the casualties, but they appear logistically challenged to get the people out. They weren't prepared.

Casualties were minimized, except for an ISIS suicide bomber, and we got a crap ton of people out. A few pages back people are acting as if it was assured Americans would be left behind and it was a foregone conclusion. So, I guess I don't see how that's utter disaster given the results and how they played out.

They weren’t prepared. The allies condemning Biden wasn’t out of appreciation. This was an absence of a plan and a rush to get speech and photo op for 9/11 or a completely misguided effort. I’m really confused about which exit you’ve been watching.
We have put ourselves in a position where we had to be at the mercy of the Taliban, just weeks after having to ask OPEC for more production. The images of people hanging from American helicopters and clinging to American aircraft to flee the Taliban a month after our President stood and said the Taliban takeover was unlikely is not a success story. Our State Department got revealed to be a clown show with their terrible effort to evacuate Americans.

We could have pulled out much differently and much better. I dare say that even Barack Obama would have done a much smoother job. This is only a success in the left-wing bubble that clearly has very different priorties.

 

[Rocket89]

They weren’t prepared. The allies condemning Biden wasn’t out of appreciation. This was an absence of a plan and a rush to get speech and photo op for 9/11 or a completely misguided effort. I’m really confused about which exit you’ve been watching.
We have put ourselves in a position where we had to be at the mercy of the Taliban, just weeks after having to ask OPEC for more production. The images of people hanging from American helicopters and clinging to American aircraft to flee the Taliban a month after our President stood and said the Taliban takeover was unlikely is not a success story. Our State Department got revealed to be a clown show with their terrible effort to evacuate Americans.

We could have pulled out much differently and much better. I dare say that even Barack Obama would have done a much smoother job. This is only a success in the left-wing bubble that clearly has very different priorties.

Hell of a job by everyone involved then, if there was no preparation. Really heroic work to get that many people out in such a short time.

 

[drayer54]

Hell of a job by everyone involved then, if there was no preparation. Really heroic work to get that many people out in such a short time.

I voted for a Democrat when I lived in Virginia to be my Senator. He had a resume better than most in DC and even ran the be POTUS, but he doesn’t speak woke, so it didn’t go far. I’d prob vote for him again if it didn’t mean a vote to Chuck Schumer. Jim Webb, a Democrat, someone with more military knowledge forgotten than this board contains has written an interesting piece and I don’t think he shares your assumption that this was a success.

In a perverse way, perhaps we should look at the calamitous blunderings in Afghanistan as an opportunity to demand a true turning point. Americans know that a great deal of our governmental process is now either institutionally corrupt or calcified. They want change, as evidenced by the election of Donald Trump in 2016, no matter his empty credentials in government. Lacking clearly expressed options, most don’t really know how to articulate the specifics of what that change might encompass. It’s kind of like the statement of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart many years ago that he couldn’t define pornography for you, but he knew it when he saw it. In this case, most Americans can clearly agree that what they have been seeing time and again, domestically and overseas, is not good government, despite honorable intentions among many dedicated people.

Even the very best among those who come forward to serve often find that the good they came to do is stultified by distracting debates over the very premise of why the American system of government was created and whether the icons of our past were truly motivated by the words incorporated in our most revered documents. The military itself is increasingly being used by leftist activists as a social laboratory to advance extreme political agendas. Congressional oversight leans heavily toward social issues, with too many members struggling without success to focus on accountability at the very top when, for instance, good people at the bottom have to implement poorly conceived plans that might kill them.

This is not an exaggeration, and it is not just what has been happening at the Kabul airport and elsewhere in Afghanistan. Those situations merely provide us a microcosm, a symbolic moment in time, that allows us to see the implications of confused or distracted leadership, military and civilian alike, motivated by political machinations. In the American political system, we have the capacity to demand that this inequity change. What we need is the will to do it.

 

[Rocket89]

Jim Webb, a Democrat, someone with more military knowledge forgotten than this board contains has written an interesting piece and I don’t think he shares your assumption that this was a success.

Yup, I read his full piece. I agree with a lot of it. He doesn't really touch on much of what you and others have been panicking and fear-mongering about, though. Mistakes being made doesn't mean an absolute disaster. It was never going to be perfect. Set against the exaggerated disaster talk it's turned out pretty well.

 

[drayer54]

Yup, I read his full piece. I agree with a lot of it. He doesn't really touch on much of what you and others have been panicking and fear-mongering about, though. Mistakes being made doesn't mean an absolute disaster. It was never going to be perfect. Set against the exaggerated disaster talk it's turned out pretty well.

It turned out so well Biden and company cant get away from the press fast enough whenever they are asked about it. Wouldn’t they want to talk about it if this were a success?

 

[Rocket89]

It turned out so well Biden and company cant get away from the press fast enough whenever they are asked about it. Wouldn’t they want to talk about it if this were a success?

From the Pentagon:

The US military conducted the “largest non-combatant evacuation” in the military’s history over the past 18-day period starting on Aug.14, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top general of US Central Command said on Monday.

In the 18 days, the US military evacuated 79,000 civilians from Hamid Karzai International Airport, he added.

Out of the 79,000 evacuated, that included 6,000 Americans and more than 73,000 third-country and Afghan civilians, McKenzie said.

“In total, US and coalition aircraft combined to evacuate more than 123,000 civilians which were all enabled by US military service members who were securing and operating the airfield,” McKenzie explained.

"The numbers I provided represent an accomplishment, but they do not do justice to the determination, the grit, the flexibility, and the professionalism of the men and women of the US military and our coalition partners who were able to rapidly combine efforts and evacuate so many under such difficult conditions," he said.

We don't need Biden & Company parading around with glee in front of the press as a sad chapter in our history is coming to an end. Furthermore, since they aren't doing that it doesn't mean your doomsday predictions have any more validity.

 

[drayer54]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/thomasdbradley/status/1432065220709699587?s=21[/TWEET]
This resembles success as much as a Blackhawk flying around with a dead body or people falling from American aircraft. I suppose the crew is going to go back on vacation after the first one got interrupted with a surprise failure. This man is a joke.

From the Pentagon:

The US military conducted the “largest non-combatant evacuation” in the military’s history over the past 18-day period starting on Aug.14, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top general of US Central Command said on Monday.

In the 18 days, the US military evacuated 79,000 civilians from Hamid Karzai International Airport, he added.

Out of the 79,000 evacuated, that included 6,000 Americans and more than 73,000 third-country and Afghan civilians, McKenzie said.

“In total, US and coalition aircraft combined to evacuate more than 123,000 civilians which were all enabled by US military service members who were securing and operating the airfield,” McKenzie explained.

"The numbers I provided represent an accomplishment, but they do not do justice to the determination, the grit, the flexibility, and the professionalism of the men and women of the US military and our coalition partners who were able to rapidly combine efforts and evacuate so many under such difficult conditions," he said.

We don't need Biden & Company parading around with glee in front of the press as a sad chapter in our history is coming to an end. Furthermore, since they aren't doing that it doesn't mean your doomsday predictions have any more validity.