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[bluedevil4]

4. Really? Nt 🤦‍♀️

[JoanofArgh]

2. I have it on in the background but was on the phone for most of it. Was it that bad?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. CNN is saying...

CNN is saying they are in a difficult position because they urged the president to keep a small residual force.

[Pachamama]

7. It was that bad

I can only imagine how Veterans and soldiers must be feeling.

But I tried to listen to Sec Austin and his answers made me furious. He basically dodged questions and does not inspire confidence.

I can’t accept nor believe that President Biden made the decisions about the military strategy and planning that clearly has been a massive failure and finds us where we are and on the brink of a humanitarian crisis of massive proportions. Biden relies on these Generals and Military experts to provide guidance and manage it. Could Biden have pushed more and questioned the strategy- probably. But if Biden trusted them and the info they provided, then he wouldn’t.

Listening to Defense Secretary Austin, watching his body language and not taking responsibility (I still want to know who decided to leave Bagram Airbase before Aug 31st) and him not answering the questions or instilling a sense that they have a “Plan” even now is really scary.

[Lovie777]

8. I don't see him going anywhere . .. .

[Pachamama]

13. I believe he will be gone in the next weeks

And if not, we will continue to have a disaster and complete loss of confidence.

Biden will only take more hits on this amd be blamed amd he has to fix this.

Biden has am Adviser and Management problem. As Commander in Chief and POTUS who says the buck stops with him - he needs to fix the problem.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. REDUX

CNN is saying they are in a difficult position because they urged the president to keep a small residual force.

[brush]

21. You might as well say Biden and Milley should be gone too. FYI: None are going anywhere.

And none of them should. And in your opinion, seven months into the job that the trump admin held for 48 months, which one of them anticipated the Afghan army would fold like a cheap suit and the Afghan president would fly out of the country taking as much cash he could cram into his babbage?

Not to mention whatever was in the secretive deals/bribes trump made with the Taliban last year and didn't share with the Biden admin. And you just know trump and Pompeo withheld information from the new admin.

trump expected to be back in office when he made his deal, and thus so did the Taliban.

[PortTack]

22. +1000

[2naSalit]

28. ++++++++++++++++++!!!!!!!!!

[joetheman]

12. It would help Biden if Austin did resign.He is a good military man and it would be seen as honorable

I know Biden would not want to fire him but if Austin resigned it would be seen as his getting sacked and give Biden some cover.

[Pachamama]

14. [phone]

Completely Agree

[brush]

23. Nah, neither Biden nor Milley nor Austin anticipated the Afghan president fleeing...

with a plane crammed with greenbacks while his army folded like a cheap suit.

Where were the calls for trumps Sec'y of Defense's head when foreign policy crises erupted...a crisis that the new admin inherited from trump's secretive agreement made with the Taliban last year...and we know trump and Pompeo didn't share the new Administration.

And what about the Sec'y of State? You want him to resign too for not anticipating the fleeing and absolute fold of the Afghan military?

[brush]

26. Nah, see post 21.

[karynnj]

35. I think we need to see how it plays out.

A few days ago the big issue was that no one could get out. However, in the last few days many Afghans have and it is not over.

A few days ago there was a Reuters story that Ghani left with tons of money. Today, the NYT has an article explaining the US held back on sending money and spoke of how over 90pervent of Afghanistan's money is in foreign banks and the Taliban can not access it.

As to losing, we won the invasion years ago and after 20years we had not changed their culture enough.

[bluedevil4]

3. You talking

about general milly to because they are both upsetting. Can’t really answer any questions with confidence . Doesn’t sit well with me and I can’t imagine what the other side is saying

[gab13by13]

5. I heard Milley was the one

who gave president Biden bad advice.

[bluedevil4]

18. Well he should be

getting hell for it now. I expect a few resignations with this is over with

[brush]

25. Nobody is going to resign in a 7-month-old admin over a situation inherited...

from three previous presidents over 20 years. The Afghan president fled with a plane crammed with as much cash he could carry, and the Afghan military folded.

I guess that's Biden's and Austin's fault too, and Milley's?

Any plans they had went out the window when suddenly there was no time to execute them because the sitting Afghan government and army folded.

God, this thread is full of talking points one would hear on FOX.

Get a grip, everybody. This deployment has been going on for 21 years and explodes in Biden's admin after 7 months and everyone is calling for heads to roll instead giving them time to get it sorted out without help from a working Afghan administration and army.

[BlueLucy]

31. Heard from where? nt

[AkFemDem]

20. Probably referring to today's press conference

Stuff like this-

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Celerity]

27. Townhall.com is a MAGA site, why post their take on things here (they editorialised in the tweet)?

[AkFemDem]

29. Because it's a link to a video exercise FFS

I don’t care who the source was, I searched for the link and this popped up. Choose whatever source you want- did you even watch the press conference!??

[Celerity]

30. yes, I watched it

did you even watch the press conference!??

[Klaralven]

32. Depends on diplomacy with the Taliban?

Yes, actually.

When you have lost a war, the final extraction of your troops without further bloodshed depends on the deal you can make with the victor.

At least we don't have the Vietnam War's subsequent prisoner exchanges, accounting for MIAs, etc. that took decades.

[Elessar Zappa]

9. Meh.

[former9thward]

10. Biden got bad advice from both Defense and Intelligence.

There should be housecleaning.

[Pachamama]

11. Agreed

State Department too



I am so mad right now

[BlueLucy]

33. Trump hollowed out the State Dept. Tho. nt

[Walleye]

15. The military has always paint a rosy picture of the Afghan security forces and central government.

Apparently that was not true. They always try to keep up the morale of the troops and accomplish the mission. We should expect that of the military leaders, I think.

[Wingus Dingus]

16. Military officers who tell their bosses "no can do"

will be replaced with officers who say "Yes sir, it's as good as done!" and their careers will stall out.

[AkFemDem]

19. That was a painful presser. He is not inspiring confidence.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

24. There are reports Milley and Austin told the president to leave a small residual force

PER CNN

[BlueLucy]

34. Sullivan and Blinken need to go.

But behind the scenes, it is Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan who are truly “running the Pentagon,” according to two former officials familiar with the discussions.

“The Pentagon is not making these decisions,” one of the people said.


https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/pentagon-biden-team-overrode-afghanistan-481556

[Klaralven]

36. Yes, I don't think Austin was calling the shots. It's basically diplomatic, rather than military.

Basically the Department of Defense was told that they could withdraw all troops because State had the situation in hand.

[BlueLucy]

38. Correct.

" in the end, Biden and his top national security deputies did what no previous president has done successfully — they overrode the brass.

“President Biden has made a judgment that those are manageable concerns and not as important as drawing American participation to an end, and so everybody shut up and did it,” said Kori Schake, the director of foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute."

[Thrill]

37. This maybe true. But I can't believe any of the bullshit Politico petals

[Pachamama]

39. If true, Austin still needs to resign and Blinkem and Sullivan too

Someone made these decisions and bad recommendations and calls to Biden and directed things or failed to do things they should have.

[Mysterian]

40. LOL

Maybe take a walk and get some fresh air.

[Pachamama]

41. That is insulting

You laugh at me and suggest I need to take a walk?

Why? What did I suggest that is wrong or inaccurate?

I predict Austin will be gone in two weeks or less…

Then I will go take a walk and breathe deeply.

[Mysterian]

42. Austin's not going anywhere

Nobody will give a shit about Afghanistan in six months and I'm glad as hell we're getting out of there.

[Pachamama]

44. Everyone should and will "give a sh*t" about Afghanistan now, 6 months from now and beyond

What has been happening will be a dead albatross on Biden and worse if things don’t improve. Somebody(s) advised him badly - very badly - and they need to go.

Austin should resign and take responsibility and the heat.

I predict he will and he absolutely should go.

PS: no one including me disagrees with the decision to leave Afghanistan- but the lack of planning amd bad decisions and execution were not all Biden - Austin and Blinken should go.

[Elessar Zappa]

43. Don't hold your breath waiting.

Austin will stay on and rightfully so. He’s done nothing wrong.

[Pachamama]

45. So you do not believe Austin the Secretary of Defense was in charge of the planning and execution of

…the withdrawal?

Who do you think was?

Biden? Wrong….Austin was charged with advising and planning the e ecution of the withdrawal and advising the President. There is not a bad bone in Joe Biden and he would have been trusting his advisors. They advised wrong.

[Red Mountain]

46. JFK.....just what we need......more chaos

The Afghans failed. The Biden administration is doing the best it can with what they have been handed.

I'm tired of right wing talking points.

[demtenjeep]

47. bullshit

just bullshit