Saturday, August 14, 2021

Mike Ehrmantraut Explains the Dilemma of Afghanistan


The United States has spent 20 years and god-alone knows how many billions of dollars trying to arm and train Afghans to fight for themselves.  And entire generation of Afghans have grown up with the US military as present in their lives as the mail truck is in yours.  And yet once the US military withdrew, it all fell apart in almost overnight.  Because it's fundamentally a monstrous domestic violence situation where the abusers believe in their divine right to do what they do.


No Half Measures



10 comments:

XtopherSD said...

It's kind of amazing how fast the government military is falling apart, until you read that polls show something like 50% of the population supports the Taliban.

Robt said...

There is this foggy memory that America U.S Military invasion of Afghanistan was over the Taliban allowing Al Qaida to have training camps and plot against the United States.
It was not long before the Al Qaida presence was shut down and as they disbursed and fled. GW Bush's famous military maneuver was to surround Al Qaida on all three sides at the Pakistan border.

With only one way out, Al Qaida with drew and fled into Pakistan.

As GW Bush spoke to Americans stating, "you are with us or against us". and "any country that harbors Al Qaida are against us and will be subjected to Iraq's fate.
Iraq and Afghanistan did not have nuclear weapons. But you know who did?

Pakistan. That country that gave sage harbor to Al Qaida and Osama Bin Laden, the blood relative of the Saudi royal family. Was there some favoritism to the Saudis to surround Bin Laden on 3 sides and leaving the exit of Pakistan open?
As republicans bring freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan at tax payers expense and Americans military blood. At home the GOP joins with the American Taliban to over throw America and dissolving out constitution.
Because it is not fun to be in a congressional minority as a republican. It is so much tougher to sell laws and any part of America to the highest bidder to the an Majority republican congressional control.

For some reason, GOP believes it its fiscally conservative to fund with tax dollars military force for 20 years in Afghanistan as long as wealthy donors taxes are cut and they do not have to pay for it.

When it comes to American infrastructure, it must be on the cheap, bare minimum and the wealthy donors cannot be bothered paying a fair share of taxes to fund it. The wealthy are way too busy trickling down all their big tax cuts trough big donations to the republican party.
And those lazy working class need to get off the dole and t out of the lazyboy chair to mean a measly income that can be taxed to pay for the barrowed loan the GOP made to pay out those tax cuts.
Just like the training of Afghans for 20 years to fight Taliban so they can stand for themselves. Our wealthy get the same pampering by republicans who seen unable to function own their own without tax payer republican socialism always funding and bailing and fighting for them..

As the republican Waite supremacist real true patriots become the American Taliban as if the GOP imparted it.

Neo Tuxedo said...

it's fundamentally a monstrous domestic violence situation

"America is the world's policeman, all right—a big, dumb, mick [sic] flatfoot in the middle of the one thing cops dread most, a 'domestic disturbance.'"
-- P.J. O'Rourke, writing for Rolling Stone on the run-up to the first Gulf War (collected in his 1992 book Give War a Chance: eyewitness accounts of mankind's struggle against tyranny, injustice, and alcohol-free beer)

John said...

I was in the streets protesting the invasion of Afghanistan. It seemed stupid to me then—particularly when the real force behind the 9/11 attacks seemed to be the Saudi families whom the Bush administration whisked off to safety in defiance of the general air-flight lockdowns.

People screamed and yelled at us in San Antonio, TX, where I then lived, as we marched.

bjkeefe said...

Hey, DG,

I mentioned you on the FB, but then I saw your profile page, where you say that you never check FB. Nothing major about the mention, so no need to rush over. Here's the TL;DR: I learned today about Mike Finnigan. Before today, I had not heard of him, either as a musician or a blogger. While looking around on Crooks and Liars, I noticed you appear to have picked up the reins on his old blog.

Here's the FB mention, if you care.

P.S. Sorry for being off-topic, but I didn't know another way to get in touch.

portlandmaxtrains said...

Liberal memory. I remember the US Military took about 6 months to prep for Panama, and sat on the Iraq border for six months too. So the timing of this if perfectly in character if the US Military was told to get out of Afghanistan six months ago, say mid january 2021.

Two points:

1. They had six months to prepare and this op still isn't that well planned.
2. They were still hanging in mid-air up until 6 months ago.

dinthebeast said...

From Show Me Progress:

Jason Kander @JasonKander
We defeated Al Qaeda.

It was mission creep to attempt to build a western style government.

We improved many lives during these 20 years.

The Taliban was always going to wait us out.

We succeeded. We also failed.

I feel pride, anger, and sadness.

All of it can be true.

-Doug in Sugar Pine

Robt said...

Update,

orange guy from the last 4 years has all sorts of superior race and smartest republican in the world (I have ever seen) advice that he did not offer or take action on at all.

Not even your Tommy cotton (picking) was forceful enough to get the greatest republican to heed his Blessed war words from his burring bush up on top of Bullshit mountain.

dinthebeast said...

From Show Me Progress again, I keep it in my "no fair remembering stuff" file:

The United States is committed to withdraw from Afghanistan all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners, including all non-diplomatic civilian personnel, private security contractors, trainers, advisors, and supporting services personnel within fourteen (14) months following announcement of this agreement, and will take the following measures in this regard…

With the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, the United States will initiate an administrative review of current U.S. sanctions and the rewards list against members of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban with the goal of removing these sanctions by August 27, 2020…

With the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, the United States will start diplomatic engagement with other members of the United Nations Security Council and Afghanistan to remove members of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban from the sanctions list with the aim of achieving this objective by May 29, 2020…

Signed in Doha, Qatar on February 29, 2020…

-Doug in Sugar Pine

Dark Phoenix said...

Ultimately, you can't bring freedom at gunpoint to people who aren't ready for it, but the US keeps trying, so that the MIC can rake in trillions...