What Didn’t President Biden Do Now?

rubber soul · 08-31-2021, 05:50 AM

This

~~jwb~~ · 08-31-2021, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Alright, the generals in Afghanistan? Pre-existing warlords we gave uniforms and cash. Then they inflated their recruit numbers to get more cash out of cause we pay their troops for them. Then they took the money we'd give them for their actual soldiers and send it to Dubai. Then their soldiers who never gor paid would sell whatever they had (guns, ammo, fuel, shoes) to the Taliban so they could eat. Then they'd probably desert, the warlords would recruit more "soldiers", rinse repeat gor 20 years.

The Afghan army mostly existed on paper.

As far as I know the officials were just whatever tribal leaders we thought would be the best colonial figureheads and their power never went much further than the buildings housing their offices since they didn't actually have any functional control over the warlords. Mostly they just used their positions to do much the same as the warlords, grifting money and sending it to Dubai.

The Afghan government also mostly existed on paper.

This happened differently than in Iraq because despite everything that happened between the two Gulf Wars and the sanctions in the 90s it was still some semblance of a functional country, whereas Afghanistan has been one big crater since the 70s.

the problem seems to be that Biden and his admin and advisers and all the intelligence they were working on were not at all prepared for that reality. Their pull out strategy assumed they had like 6 months to work with instead of 11 days. And that assumption didn't work out too well for them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadis

It never went away.

While it may only get even worse for ordinary Afghans in the coming years, there is something to be said for the alternative to the Taliban no longer being violent foreign invaders who don't even pretend to have any coherent long-term plan for the country. Say what you will about the Iraq war, but in addition to all the profiteering, it was also driven by sincerely-held delusions about "nation-building". With Afghanistan the pretense was never even there.

If only someone knew what was behind the change. Maybe Zbigniew Brzezinski could have an idea?

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/...ordering-pizza

Wasnt the pretense that they were going to let the UN handle the nation building aspect or something like that initially?

I do believe there was a pretense that the point of invading the country was not only to get Al Qaeda but to remove the Taliban from power because they were the ones giving refuge to Al Qaeda in the first place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

This but unironically

i suppose when you are executed by the de facto state under shariah law that doesn't count as murder

**Frownland** · 08-31-2021, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwb

invasion good

Nah

~~jwb~~ · 08-31-2021, 11:13 AM

I don't even disagree we had to get out lol i just think that country is definitely going to be a worse place for a large portion of the population now that the Taliban is back in control. We saw what the country was like pre invasion. It's not surprising people are clinging to plane tries trying to get out. They are lambs being left for the slaughter.

**Frownland** · 08-31-2021, 11:24 AM

I disagree. It's easier to address your neighbour killing you than a military controlled from thousands of miles away, so there's more likelihood of accountability if the Taliban decides to antagonize the populace with mass murders.

~~jwb~~ · 08-31-2021, 11:26 AM

What kind of accountability are you envisioning? Seems like last time around they were the ones holding people accountable not the other way around...

**Frownland** · 08-31-2021, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwb

What kind of accountability are you envisioning? Seems like last time around they were the ones holding people accountable not the other way around...

Kill the leader who lives in your town versus kill the president of the United States from the Middle East.

~~jwb~~ · 08-31-2021, 11:29 AM

And killings aside (i don't know the exact numbers) you would agree at least that there are other metrics by which life was wise under Taliban rule than under occupation such as literacy rates or basic human rights for women and certain ethnic minorities etc...

**Frownland** · 08-31-2021, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwb

invasion good

Still a no from me dawg

~~jwb~~ · 08-31-2021, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Kill the leader who lives in your town versus kill the president of the United States from the Middle East.

Yeah well i suppose there could be a revolution but i tend to doubt it. The Taliban is in power precisely because of a power vacuum that left who rules up to basic might makes right. I don't think there's any kind of solidarity in that country that will lead to a popular revolution bringing them together.. much more likely to just devolve into the kind of chaos and civil conflict that lead to the taliban in the first place

I mean we're all already black pilled to the idea the west can rebuild that nation... But i think it's just as unlikely for any real grass roots style solution.. the grim reality is that the Taliban wins and that's that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Still a no from me dawg

not gonna answer my question? Why waste my time with these non responses lol.

08-31-2021, 11:24 AM	#175 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	I disagree. It's easier to address your neighbour killing you than a military controlled from thousands of miles away, so there's more likelihood of accountability if the Taliban decides to antagonize the populace with mass murders. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

08-31-2021, 11:13 AM	#174 (permalink)
~~jwb~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jul 2019 Posts: 4,403	I don't even disagree we had to get out lol i just think that country is definitely going to be a worse place for a large portion of the population now that the Taliban is back in control. We saw what the country was like pre invasion. It's not surprising people are clinging to plane tries trying to get out. They are lambs being left for the slaughter.

08-31-2021, 11:26 AM	#176 (permalink)
~~jwb~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jul 2019 Posts: 4,403	What kind of accountability are you envisioning? Seems like last time around they were the ones holding people accountable not the other way around...

08-31-2021, 11:29 AM	#178 (permalink)
~~jwb~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jul 2019 Posts: 4,403	And killings aside (i don't know the exact numbers) you would agree at least that there are other metrics by which life was wise under Taliban rule than under occupation such as literacy rates or basic human rights for women and certain ethnic minorities etc...