Afghanistan (Again)

TBL said:
Right-wing politicians already panicking about refugees:

www.politico.com

As Biden ends mission in Afghanistan, a refugee backlash looms at home

The White House is trying to work quickly to stave off criticism from more state and local officials over the resettlement of Afghan refugees.
www.politico.com www.politico.com
Click to expand...

Some pols on the right want to have it both ways: criticize Biden for the manner of our exit, but god forbid the Afghan refugees should end up resettled here, even if those with special visas helped keep Americans and their allies alive through their tours of duty in Afghanistan.

"Not in my backyard" has an especially ugly ring to it here. Hope American vets will continue to speak out against the hypocrisy of Beltway pols trying to score points with anti-immigration constituents in the wake of our exit from the battlefields of Afghanistan.
 
www.vanityfair.com

“A Vast Criminal Racket”: Sebastian Junger on How the U.S. Corrupted Afghanistan

Four successive American administrations utterly betrayed the public trust—and lost a righteous war.
www.vanityfair.com www.vanityfair.com

So here’s what we successfully exported from America to Afghanistan in our 20 years.

Corruption
Hyper wealth inequality driven by class, not hard work
Hostile industry takeovers supported by the government
The rich screwing the poor and workers
Bribing both sides of a conflict

I guess it works so well for us, why wouldn’t the Afghanis love it?
 
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Not sure if anyone has access to the Washington Post website, but they have been ripping Biden for the mess in Afghanistan. I mean ripping him.

Kind of surprised actually.
 
Herdfan said:
Not sure if anyone has access to the Washington Post website, but they have been ripping Biden for the mess in Afghanistan. I mean ripping him.

Kind of surprised actually.
Click to expand...

Honestly that doesn't really surprise me. Most of the media did not want us out of Afghanistan. They would've been ripping any president for it, IMO.
 
Well, I don't want to sound "conspiratorial" but I've never said there are no conspiracies :D The media is in bed with the military-industrial complex (always has been), which had a vested interest in continuing this war (defense contractors continue to profit as long as it goes on). So sorry if I'm not completely buying the sincerity of all the moral outrage from the media right now, who always support our invasions of other countries.
 
US media outlets now though are starting to focus on how many states and metro areas are already welcoming Afghan refugees and preparing to welcome more, as they are processed through the US military bases to which they've arrived.

www.huffpost.com

Only 2 Governors Are So Far Refusing To Take In Afghan Refugees

According to a HuffPost analysis, 37 states are willing to accept refugees, and another 11 haven't yet taken a position.
www.huffpost.com www.huffpost.com

map US states accepting Afghan SIV refugees.jpg


www.wkbw.com

Hochul: New York is committed to welcoming refugees from Afghanistan

The United States has 19 cities that accept Special Immigrant Visa holders from Iraq and Afghanistan, which includes Buffalo.
www.wkbw.com www.wkbw.com

According to data from the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, a total of 860 Refugees and Special Immigrant Visa holders (SIVs) resettled in New York State in 2020, with 273 coming from Afghanistan.

The majority of refugees (222) in New York State came to Erie County.

The United States has 19 cities that accept Special Immigrant Visa holders from Iraq and Afghanistan, which includes Buffalo.

Here is the list of cities that resettles Afghan/Iraqi refugees
Click to expand...



www.csmonitor.com

With toasters and empathy, former refugees welcome Afghans to US

As thousands fleeing Afghanistan arrive in the United States, they are being met by former refugees offering hope and encouragement as well as aid.
www.csmonitor.com www.csmonitor.com

Local resettlement professionals like Kristyn Peck, CEO of the Lutheran Social Services national capital branch, say the scale and timeline of current efforts is unlike anything they’ve experienced. It wasn’t until the last week of July that Ms. Peck and her team were informed that President Joe Biden would begin mass evacuations on July 31.

“It was like, ‘Tomorrow. Be ready.’ Usually we have more time,” says Ms. Peck. “But there was no hesitation. We were like, ‘Absolutely.’”

By the end of September, Ms. Peck’s organization is projected to have helped more than 1,000 Afghans with everything from housing, to job placement, to enrolling in English as a second language classes.

“We are all working around the clock,” says Ms. Peck.
Click to expand...
 
So basically he asked Ghani to lie about the situation:

“I need not tell you the perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things are not going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban,” Biden said. “And there is a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture.”
Click to expand...

Seems he may have also offer aid for the lie:


In the call, Biden offered aid if Ghani could publicly project he had a plan to control the spiraling situation in Afghanistan.
Click to expand...

www.reuters.com

Exclusive: Before Afghan collapse, Biden pressed Ghani to ‘change perception’

In the last call between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Afghanistan counterpart before the Taliban seized control of the country, the leaders discussed military aid, political strategy and messaging tactics, but neither Biden nor Ashraf Ghani appeared aware of or prepared for the immediate...
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com


Afghanistan fell 23 days later.
 
Seems like this entire war was about manufacturing "perception" until these last couple of weeks. If the government was upfront about the likelihood of winning, the progress of the fight against the enemy, the state of "nation building", we'd probably invade fewer countries. 🤷‍♂️
 
TBL said:
Seems like this entire war was about manufacturing "perception" until these last couple of weeks. If the government was upfront about the likelihood of winning, the progress of the fight against the enemy, the state of "nation building", we'd probably invade fewer countries. 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...

We shouldn't be invading any countries unless they attack us. End of story. If they are allowing terrorists to set up camps, then that is what the CIA and Black Ops teams are for.
 
The new message in the right-wing rags is "Biden voters killed 13 soldiers". A restaurant in Florida is banning Biden voters because they caused that terrorist attack in Kabul.

Fuck you. That is all I have to say to anyone saying that.
 
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As a former service member who was involved in several missions: the POW rescue mission in North Vietnam, Iran rescue mission in Iran, and the Blackhawk Down incident in Somalia, any loss of service member’s lives because of feckless decisions made by our government, both Democractic and Republican, is especially tragic.

Did anyone notice if any video showed explosive detecting equipment or dogs on long leads at the gates of Kabul Airport?!
 
I just realized Trump probably negotiated with the Taliban because he loves punishing muslims, even if it is at the hands of other muslims. Potential violation of human rights wasn't a concern. It was a bonus. Treating women like little more than sex slaves! Sign him up!
 
JamesMike said:
As a former service member who was involved in several missions: the POW rescue mission in North Vietnam, Iran rescue mission in Iran, and the Blackhawk Down incident in Somalia, any loss of service member’s lives because of feckless decisions made by our government, both Democractic and Republican, is especially tragic.

Did anyone notice if any video showed explosive detecting equipment or dogs on long leads at the gates of Kabul Airport?!
Click to expand...

Yeah the whole management of evacuation via Kabul airport (impossible bottleneck) was necessarily cobbled together a minute at a time and clearly on very short notice. The evacuation overseers were likely most focused on not taking explosives on board any aircraft --imagine the PR damange from something like that-- and otherwise proceeded on some assumptions that the inward-crush was all from people genuinely desirous of leaving.

Score one for opportunism on part of ISIS-K, since that's the whole thing of Daesh leaders anyway: find opportunity for maximum PR value out of any suicide bombing. This one got global attention and (so they would hope) a boost for recruitment.
 
While 77% of Americans supported leaving Afghanistan, the way it was handled by Biden dropped his approval rating from 51% to 44%. All this according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll.

abcnews.go.com

Biden’s job approval drops to 44% amid broad criticism on Afghanistan: POLL

Just 36% of Americans say the war was worth fighting; 77% support withdrawal.
abcnews.go.com abcnews.go.com

Interesting poll result that I think demonstrates people saying what they really think vs what they think is acceptable:

68% of people say we should accept screened refugees. But when asked if they think screening can identify terrorists, only 53% think it can. Which makes me think 15% of people think it makes them look bad to say they would reject refugees, but in reality they think the refugees are potential terrorists. And then you have the 32% who have no problem saying they think we should not accept any refugees. A full 1/3 of the country openly refusing to accept refugees. That’s pretty appalling to me. At least that 15% of people who think they might be terrorists still seem to know providing refuge is the “right thing to do."
 

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