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alwaysinasnit

(5,226 posts)
1. I suspect that those that are screeching the loudest about this withdrawal (behind the scenes) are
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 03:08 PM
Aug 2021

the defense contractors whose profits are going to be trimmed.

Eliot Rosewater

(32,429 posts)
2. And he is working against not just the taliban but Putin who TFG worked for, so most of this
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 03:08 PM
Aug 2021

was planned by them, or by Putin.

Putin, trump, MAGA have no morals, at all. They have no code of human conduct they are willing to abide by, none.

Diamond_Dog

(34,353 posts)
3. He is doing the difficult thing
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 03:41 PM
Aug 2021

That past Republicans were afraid to do. He is cleaning up their mess. He is saying, its long overdue. He is doing the right thing and doesn’t care what his critics are saying.

Lead, or get out of the way.

I really appreciate Joe.

jaxexpat

(7,621 posts)
5. Vastly superior to the plan of attacking Gallipoli through the Dardanelles.
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 04:38 PM
Aug 2021

Sorry, but there are just some historic events which are best if experienced while drinking.

KS Toronado

(19,325 posts)
7. Afghan soldiers are to blame for allowing the taliban
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 04:55 PM
Aug 2021

to walk in unopposed, yet there are idiots because of their own selfish reasons that need to point fingers.
Sure could use more newscasters praising Biden for the credit he deserves.

Roc2020

(1,694 posts)
8. The right thing to do but done in a wrong way
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 05:21 PM
Aug 2021

Surely the U.S Military could have ended 20yrs in Afghanistan without the U.S looking like a Chump. Agree with plan. Very disappointed with execution

Mr.Bill

(24,716 posts)
9. The execution is not over yet.
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 05:30 PM
Aug 2021

Unexpected things were bound to happen. It a matter of how over time, both short and long term, we adjust to those unexpected things. History will decide what was done right and wrong, but it will take time.

People here last night were freaking out that not one more Afghani would be able to get out of the country. We've also frozen all their assets here, so we have that for leverage. And I'm sure the people working on this for Biden are a cut above Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller.

paleotn

(18,994 posts)
10. Sometimes you have to play the hand you've been dealt....
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 05:43 PM
Aug 2021

Otherwise, Biden would have had to reinsert US ground forces to gain breathing space for a more orderly withdrawal, risking even more American lives. And in violation of the disastrous "peace agreement" crafted by Trump and Pompeo. Afghanistan was a shit sandwich all along, but loaded with extra shit thanks to Trumps inability to successfully negotiate anything. Biden did the best he could with it. The best of some really shitty options.

krkaufman

(13,686 posts)
16. Not by the date set
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 06:21 PM
Aug 2021

Trump's agreement was for us to be out by May. Not sure how Biden was going to stand-up an Afghan army in 5 months during a pandemic, where a trillion+ $ and 20 years had failed to do so.


CaptainTruth

(7,160 posts)
12. I would say Bill Clinton also did the right thing...
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 05:50 PM
Aug 2021

...when he ignored the letters from the PNAC (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bolton etc) urging him to invade Iraq & Afghanistan back in the late 1990s.

krkaufman

(13,686 posts)
14. "first President...to do the right thing about Afghanistan"
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 06:09 PM
Aug 2021

Makes for an interesting discussion... about how he's evolved in the 12 years since he became VP, how that administration failed to extricate us, and if Trump is the one who signed the agreement bringing our involvement to a close, should he be getting the credit, or at least some?

Mr.Bill

(24,716 posts)
17. It's beginning to look like the terms of the deal Trump put together
Tue Aug 17, 2021, 06:22 PM
Aug 2021

were done with the purpose of sabotaging Biden. Whether that was his intention or not, it was a horrible deal. The only thing that would have been the right thing for Trump to do would have been to commit suicide while in office.

Also, as far as what Obama didn't do, you have a valid point. It's one of my few criticisms of his tenure. But remember Biden advised against the surge Obama did there. Being the first black president, everything Obama did or didn't do was a massive political hill to climb because he was carrying on his shoulders every black president who will come after him. Not only was he the first black president, he would have to be the first black president to (fill in the blank).

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»I look at it this way.