Are the Taliban stupid? Why not wait until we leave for good?

[Polybius]

Seriously, why wouldn't they wait to attack until after the US troops fully left? By taking cities now, they risk the US saying "never mind, we can't go just yet." I don't get them at all.

[CanonRay]

1. I wonder if it is competing tribal factions

trying to grab control of territory. I recall when we first went in there there c were all these warlords. Everybody jumping the gun.

[Hekate]

3. Quite possible. In that region "tribalism" is not a metaphor

[JCMach1]

23. Agree, don't assume 'Taliban' have any kind homogeneous

Leadership... It's tribal warlords allied with Taliban.

They are jockeying for who controls what when we leave

[tirebiter]

2. They obviously do not want to be vaccinated

Or wear masks.

[Hekate]

4. Masks are for the wimminz

[C_U_L8R]

5. Send the 'stop the steal' idiots

It might be a better use if their single brain cells.

[Mr.Bill]

6. I doubt they are that well organized.

They will probably wind up killing more of each other than all the Americans they ever killed.

[Walleye]

7. I assume they are stupid, just by the way they treat women

[abqtommy]

8. The Taliban are Fascists and Fascists need an enemy and they need to defeat that enemy.

It's all in The Fascist's Handbook For dummies. Don't try to understand them. The best thing to do
is to defeat them. Soundly.

[blm]

9. The imagery that they pushed America out thru battle.

That American military fled from their mighty warriors. They’d prefer that over the facts behind the treaty they signed last year with Trump to get the pullout scheduled.

[Klaralven]

10. They won't attack Kabul until we leave.

But by creating facts on the ground, they make our eventual departure certain. We would have to mount a full scale invasion in order to roll them back. It seems unlikely that the neighboring countries would permit passage of an invasion force. Afghanistan is landlocked.

[Triloon]

13. Firefights in Kabul right now.

Last edited Sat Aug 14, 2021, 08:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Trump negotiated this with the Taliban without including Afghan govt or military at the negotiations. As long as they don't attack US personnel they're safe. Afghan army melting was, I believe, prearranged between Taliban and provincial gov'ts. Another instance of Trump abandoning our allies in the field, like the Kurds in Syria.

Edit: The 'firefight' turns out to be a prison riot in Kabul that had to be repressed. It was mistaken for a Taliban attack.

[qazplm135]

16. Afghan army melting

Didn't need to be prearranged, it was inevitable.

This is not Trump's fault, it's Bush's fault.

[Triloon]

17. Yes, W dropped the ball and

set up this outcome.

[KentuckyWoman]

11. Most media will leave with us.

It will be much harder to sell the "we ran off the Americans" meme without international media.

[Locutusofborg]

12. The North Vietnamese didn't wait either

And they've been in charge ever since. There are so few Americans in Afghanistan, they don't make a difference to the Taliban.

[marble falls]

14. Seriously: it's their country. Compared to what the Russians got in the eighties or ...

... the British in the last part of 19th century, we're getting off easy.

Just wait till the Taliban fragments. There'll be four or five Afghans before it's all over.

[ansible]

15. Taliban already seized the house of one of the top generals

If you've ever wondered where part of that $2 trillion spent went

http://pic.twitter.com/yVj1hu3gUd

[doc03]

18. All the weapons we left behind are going to fall

into their hands, what a mess.

[AkFemDem]

19. Egg in our face.

[Igel]

20. Aka honor.

The forces of Islam and peace routing the forces of ignorance and war.

I know, irony. Right?

But it also serves to put down other factions. If the Taliban can route the Great Shaytan or whatever their current pet name is for the US/West, what hope do the Turkmen or Tadzhik forces have against them? Alla. Who? Akbar.

[maxsolomon]

21. Trump's deal meant we wouldn't attack them, and they wouldn't attack us.

What's to hold them back? Strike while the iron is hot.

[tirebiter]

22. It's been real, folks