- August 16th, 2021, 11:52 pm
#630194
Again, there is blame that can go around about some of the past issues in Afghanistan, but not the withdrawal "strategy". As for the training of native troops. That did not start at the commencement of the conflict. There were and are some very faithful and solid military personnel and operatives who wanted what was best for their country. Unfortunately, those who are still alive and in country will be tortured and killed once found. That is one of the greatest tragedies here.
lynchburgwildcats wrote: ↑August 16th, 2021, 11:28 pmTrump started the exit strategy, but DID NOT pull the trigger and conduct the withdrawal. Perhaps because he was listening to some of his military leaders that told him what would happen. Perhaps an ease in intervention was in process. I have no idea on "the plan" exactly. But I think he had sense enough (apparently) to yield and pause from something of this nature. Regardless, President Biden executed the withdrawal AGAINST what he was being told. He double downed by saying what happened would absolutely not happen. Just FYI....US military was not in a war in Afghanistan at the time. It was a support force to the Afghan military. Part of the reason the Taliban was able to move so quickly is because the Afghan forces depended on our advisors and air support. That was taken away without warning or notification....in the middle of the night! So yeah...I'd say the Taliban could have manipulated that advantage and moved their takeover more quickly.Purple Haize wrote: ↑August 16th, 2021, 8:44 pmTrump was the one to initiate the plans to start the withdrawal, Biden just continued to carry it out. Though I’m going to assume parts of it changed along the way, not that I would be privy to what any of the “plan”thepostman wrote: ↑August 16th, 2021, 8:10 pm If it ain't broke?? What are you talking about?How many combat deaths did we have in Afghanistan the last 2 years?
By every measure the Taliban was contained. Everyone was on board with the fact that the US would always have a residual 2-3000 person force there to bolster the Afghan Army and continue what had become a very successful mission. We had finally figured out what success looked like in Afghanistan and were prepared and willing to invest in it. Until The Biden Administration pulled this out of there butt
Was.
And if the USA needs to be in a never ending war in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from taking over, that’s not success. In less than a week, the Taliban went from having control of half the country to taking over the whole dang country with barely any resistance at all from the Afghan military that had been trained by the US for nearly 20 years. That’s a failure of the highest order.
Again, there is blame that can go around about some of the past issues in Afghanistan, but not the withdrawal "strategy". As for the training of native troops. That did not start at the commencement of the conflict. There were and are some very faithful and solid military personnel and operatives who wanted what was best for their country. Unfortunately, those who are still alive and in country will be tortured and killed once found. That is one of the greatest tragedies here.