Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

Different tribes have different languages and religions and ethnic backgrounds . Not all tribes will accept a Taliban version of Sharia law . Or Taliban domination . Some are Shia and are of more immediate Persian heritage . This geographical area , akin to the lion's tail on the map of old Persia ( Persia itself resembles on the map the picture of lion . It was known as land of lions ) , connected Persia to Central Asia and China . Therefore new Silk Road can pass in Northern Afghanistan to Iran . And another route through South Afghanistan to Pakistan port . Eggs in different baskets my friend .

par far wrote:This is huge, India was likely not in the Taliban's good books. I think Indian diplomats will be making a lot of trips to Moscow, if India had not listened to the US and kept good relations with China, it would have helped now.

If India wants to improve its relations with China, then India should immediately hand over their territory in the Himalayas that China has demanded.

India was badly defeated in the border conflict with China last year. Unless the Indian leadership wants to face more such humiliation they should give into Chinese demands.

In return China will establish peace between India, Pakistan and Taliban.

US destroys CIA outpost outside Kabul airport to keep sensitive information away from Taliban: report
American forces on Thursday destroyed the last CIA outpost in Afghanistan outside of the Kabul airport in order to keep sensitive equipment and information away from the Taliban, US officials told The New York Times.

A controlled demolition was utilized to blow up Eagle Base, a former brick factory repurposed into a facility employed to train counterterrorism forces of Afghanistan's intelligence agencies, according to The Times.
According to The Times, local Afghan residents didn't know much about the facility, as it was heavily fortified with walls that reached 10 feet and a thick metal gate that quickly opened and closed to permit vehicles inside the perimeter.

Once the vehicles were inside, they went through three security checkpoints and searches, with documents also being screened before any visitors were authorized inside the base facility.
A former CIA contractor told The Times that the action needed to be taken to prevent hard drives and sensitive equipment from being used by a Taliban-led government — and unlike embassies, documents simply couldn't be burned to shield confidential information.

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-destroys-cia-base-kabul-afghanistan-airport-intelligence-taliban-report-2021-8

I've wondered if the USA left 8 billion dollars worth of military equipment to the Taliban on purpose....


Our secret Taliban air force

Inside the clandestine U.S. campaign to help our longtime enemy defeat ISIS

Army Sgt. 1st Class Steve Frye was stuck on base last summer in Afghanistan, bored and fiddling around on a military network, when he came across live video footage of a battle in the Korengal Valley, where he had first seen combat 13 years earlier. It was infamous terrain, where at least 40 U.S. troops had died over the years, including some of Frye’s friends. Watching the Reaper drone footage closely, he saw that no American forces were involved in the fighting, and none from the Afghan government. Instead, the Taliban and the Islamic State were duking it out. Frye looked for confirmation online. Sure enough, America’s old enemy and its newer one were posting photos and video to propaganda channels as they tussled for control of the Korengal and its lucrative timber business.

What Frye didn’t know was that U.S. Special Operations forces were preparing to intervene in the fighting in Konar province in eastern Afghanistan — not by attacking both sides, but by using strikes from drones and other aircraft to help the Taliban. “What we’re doing with the strikes against ISIS is helping the Taliban move,” a member of the elite Joint Special Operations Command counterterrorism task force based at Bagram air base explained to me earlier this year, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the assistance was secret. The air power would give them an advantage by keeping the enemy pinned down.

Last fall and winter, as the JSOC task force was conducting the strikes, the Trump administration’s public line was that it was hammering the Taliban “harder than they have ever been hit before,” as the president put it — trying to force the group back to the negotiating table in Doha, Qatar, after President Trump put peace talks there on hold and canceled a secretly planned summit with Taliban leaders at Camp David. Administration officials signaled that they didn’t like or trust the Taliban and that, until it made more concessions, it could expect only blistering bombardment.

In reality, even as its warplanes have struck the Taliban in other parts of Afghanistan, the U.S. military has been quietly helping the Taliban to weaken the Islamic State in its Konar stronghold and keep more of the country from falling into the hands of the group, which — unlike the Taliban — the United States views as an international terrorist organization with aspirations to strike America and Europe. Remarkably, it can do so without needing to communicate with the Taliban, by observing battle conditions and listening in on the group. Two members of the JSOC task force and another defense official described the assistance to me this year in interviews for a book about the war in Konar, all of them speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk about it. (The U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan declined to comment for this story.)


https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/10/22/taliban-isis-drones-afghanistan/

Hesamuddin Hesam@hhesam_·
58m
Taliban bans airing music & women's voice in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province,
@pajhwok
reports.

Ziar Khan Yaad@ziaryaad·
1h
Acting Taliban Minister of Higher Education:
Girls and boys will no longer be able to study together in universities and will continue to study in separate classes in accordance with Islamic law.


Ali M Latifi@alibomaye·
3h
The crowd outside Kabul Bank is starting to get unruly, some have been outside since 4am, Taliban pelting pebbles, hitting some w branches. One aerial shot. Women are able to walk in without having to wait


Muslim Shirzad
@MuslimShirzad
·
2h
Right now in Kabul - Crowd behind the doors of banks. according to the rule, they can withdraw just 200$ from their accounts in a week.






Murad Gazdiev
@MuradGazdiev
·
22h
We just got back from a Taliban checkpoint in Kabul.

“We hate them, the collaborators, and we would kill them. But our leaders have ordered us not to touch them, and by Allah, we must obey”

On air tomorrow




Murad Gazdiev
@MuradGazdiev
·
Aug 27
The Taliban has ordered Kabul residents to hand over weapons, ammunition and any state property they are in possession of to relevant Islamic Emirate authorities within the week


Ashish Sinha
@Ashish_sinhaa
·
1h
The antennas of all telecommunication networks in #Panjshir have been cut off by the Taliban

Yalda Hakim
@BBCYaldaHakim
·
3h
Local sources tell me almost all internet and telecom services have been disrupted by the Taliban in Panjshir. An anti-resistance movement has been forming there since the fall of Kabul #Afghanistan

nomadski wrote:

But the Taliban are strictly speaking civilians also . They do not form what we can call an army of a nation , under national command . If you look at the resistance front video , they clearly can be seen shouting slogans for Afghanistan . But the Taliban carry a religious flag of their own tribe . And comparing Taliban with US occupation forces is not correct . A parallel would be the sectarian and tribal wars in ME . In all these situations , peace is achievable if tribal boundaries are kept . And no side is empowered or encouraged to transgress these . Like Yemen , where Saudi excessive interference , threatens the safety of other tribes . No tribal side should possess offensive capability of weapons . But they should all possess defensive light arms . This simple act in itself will deny any tribal side a real or imagined advantage of prolong a tribal war .

"..The key is that when law abiding citizens stop walking around with military weapons it makes it much more obvious and easy to find insurgents and enemies..."

There are no law abiding citizens as such . Since there are no laws . No national laws . Only tribal affiliations . I know that Russia or Iran or China may want to open relations with Taliban . And that is fine , within the context of their rule in Pashtoon areas . Left unrestrained , they will cause a tribal conflict and great instability in Afghanistan and refugee crisis in the region .

"......The reality is that if they want to they can choose to murder anyone they like... it is their country......"

It is not their country . They have only minority support from even Pashtoon tribal areas . Their core support is from Pakistan Pashtoon area and Pakistan . Their murder will create extremism and war and refugees . Knocking at the doors of a Russian train station near you .

".....There were no consequences for most murders perpetrated by western forces in Afghanistan... why should it be any different for a local doing the killing?....."

True . There were no consequences , because there could be none . But Taliban are not US forces . There will be consequences , because there can be . Maybe not by Russia or China or Iran . But other tribes who will resist their murder .

I don't agree with you. The Taliban is tribal for sure but they have ruled in Afghanistan before. Naturally some people whom they regard as traitors will obviously die in this process and it is unfortunate but inevitable. These guys are done with fighting and all the killing and stuff. They want to normalize relations with their neighbours and rebuild. Again - naturally they will have laws and rules that might seem strange to foreigners, but they have already indicated a shift away from the very strict Sharia Law - or at least towards a more moderate version of such.

You can draw straight parallels from the Vietnam War here. The VC were basically peasants (tribal). It was a very cruel war in terms of atrocities against civilians - although mostly from the US backed South (see Afghanistan). When the war finally ended there were some killings but it soon came to an end and things went back to normal.

What you may see again is the start of yet another proxy war where the US will poke again - much like they did to Vietnam during their war against Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Everything you see in Afghanistan is the cherry on top of the cake that the US and it's vassals baked - now they will have to eat it.

Pashtuns (/ˈpʌʃˌtʊn/, /ˈpɑːʃˌtʊn/ or /ˈpæʃˌtuːn/; Pashto: پښتانه‎, Pəx̌tānə́;[23] or Pathans[a]), historically known as Afghans, are an Iranian ethnic group[32][33][34][35] native to Central and South Asia.[36] The ethnic group's native language is Pashto, an Eastern Iranian language. Additionally, ethnic Pashtuns in Afghanistan speak the Dari[37] dialect of Persian as a second language,[38][39] while those in the Indian subcontinent use Hindi-Urdu as a second language.[40][41] However, a significant minority speaks Persian or Hindi-Urdu as their first language.[42] The total number of Pashtuns is estimated to be around 63 million; however, this figure is disputed, because of the lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979.[43]

Pashtuns are native to the land comprising southern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan (which is occasionally referred to as the Pashtunistan region), which is where the majority of the population resides. Significant and historical communities of the Pashtun diaspora exist in the Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan (particularly in the cities of Karachi and Lahore) and in the Rohilkhand region of the Uttar Pradesh state in India (as well as in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai). A recent diaspora has formed in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf (primarily in the United Arab Emirates) as part of the larger South Asian diaspora.[44]

Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, constituting around 48% of the country's total population.[45] They have been the dominant ethnolinguistic group in Afghanistan since the nation's founding. Additionally, Pashtuns are the second-largest ethnic group in Pakistan,[46] forming 15% to 18% of the country's total population,[47] and are considered one of the five major ethnolinguistic groups of the nation.[48] Pashtuns are the 26th-largest ethnic group in the world, and the largest segmentary lineage group. There are an estimated 350–400 Pashtun tribes and clans.[49][50]



[b]Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan
Benjamin Dubow
University of Pennsylvania

https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=senior_seminar

@ MIR

".......What you may see again is the start of yet another proxy war where the US will poke again - much like they did to Vietnam during their war against Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge ......."

Agree . The tactic is to start confrontation , back one side against another . Usually support minority . This is not what I am talking about . Suppose the resistance in panjshir started getting American air support to kill tribal pashtoon . Then we have imbalance of power . Tribal genocide . Or Taliban got air power from Pakistan to bomb the Tajik . Again catastrophe . I am talking about all regional states including Pakistan to stop escalation by heavy weapons . Yet allow tribes to have defensive light arms . And encourage return of armed forces to tribal area . But you are right uncle Sam will want a different story . And uncle Jo , should not be on the same page ......

nomadski wrote:@ MIR

".......What you may see again is the start of yet another proxy war where the US will poke again - much like they did to Vietnam during their war against Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge ......."

Agree . The tactic is to start confrontation , back one side against another . Usually support minority . This is not what I am talking about . Suppose the resistance in panjshir started getting American air support to kill tribal pashtoon . Then we have imbalance of power . Tribal genocide . Or Taliban got air power from Pakistan to bomb the Tajik . Again catastrophe . I am talking about all regional states including Pakistan to stop escalation by heavy weapons . Yet allow tribes to have defensive light arms . And encourage return of armed forces to tribal area . But you are right uncle Sam will want a different story . And uncle Jo , should not be on the same page ......

I don't know enough to really know, and hope to do some more reading, but from what I've read, based on history of conflict in Afghanistan, I think it's the other way around, that the USA is backing the Taliban, against the old Northern Alliance.

That, from what I read so far, is history. Russia, plus Tajik, and Uzbek versus British and Pushtuns. but I need to read some more history and think about it some more.

The old confrontation between Northern alliance and Taliban was based on this tribal divide and had less to do with external alliances . They both fought the Soviet invasion . Simply put Afghanistan neighbours should put conditions on relations with different tribal groups . No blank cheque for Taliban or other groups . Since this policy will come back and bite them hard on their assets . Old Persian proverb :

                                                                              "........As Howle haleem oftad toye dig . ......"

or :   For the love of the hot stew ( Haleem ) , he fell into the pot and died .

I believe I'm going to start reading Russian news more, and may get some hints what's happening.

Powerful explosion heard in Kabul
Most likely, the blast occurred near the building of Kabul airport

CAIRO, August 29. /TASS/. A powerful explosion rocked Kabul on Sunday, the Al Arabiya TV Channel reported, citing eye-witnesses.

According to the reports, most likely, the blast occurred near the building of Kabul airport. A powerful explosion that ripped through the Afghan capital on Sunday was triggered by a rocket strike on a residential building, the Ashwaka local news agency reported, citing eye-witnesses.

According to the reports, the incident occurred near the building of Kabul airport. Large clouds of smoke are rising over this area at present. There have been no reports about any casualties so far.

At least two persons were killed and three more were wounded in a missile strike delivered at a residential house in Kabul, the Ashwaka local news agency reported on Sunday, citing eyewitnesses. According to the agency, a woman and a child were killed in the attack.

https://tass.com/world/1331441

Well, the US government and esp the CIA, is not going to be telling the citizens of the US what they are doing, but it appears to me that the Taliban and the US are helping each other.


US airstrike in Kabul hits ISIS-K vehicle bomb that threatened airport: LIVE UPDATES
A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the military carried out an airstrike against a vehicle-born IED in a Kabul neighborhood. A rocket struck a neighborhood just northwest of Kabul's international airport Sunday as the U.S. evacuation there winds down following the Taliban's takeover of the country
A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the military carried out an airstrike against a vehicle-born IED in a Kabul neighborhood.

A rocket struck a neighborhood just northwest of Kabul’s international airport Sunday as the U.S. evacuation there winds down following the Taliban’s lightning takeover of the country, killing a child, an Afghan police chief told the Associated Press.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a message to journalists that the strike targeted the bomber as he drove a vehicle loaded with explosives. Mujahid offered few other details.

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/americans-warned-leave-kabul-airport-specific-credible-threat





Afghan group resistant to Taliban forming united front for negotiations
A group of veteran regional Afghan leaders against Taliban rule in Afghanistan plan to form a united front in the coming weeks in an effort to negotiate with the Islamist group, which took over the country earlier this month, according to a report.

“We prefer to negotiate collectively, because it is not that the problem of Afghanistan will be solved just by one of us,” Khalid Noor, a prominent politician and the son of a former governor of the country's Balkh province, told Reuters. “So, it is important for the entire political community of the country to be involved, especially the traditional leaders, those with power, with public support."

Noor said while the Taliban took the country by force they wouldn’t be able to have a long rule without consensus from the country’s ethnicities.

“The Taliban at this point are very, very arrogant, because they just won militarily,” Noor told Reuters.

https://smp.gov.af/index.php/en/node/727



Veteran Afghan strongmen to form new front for negotiating with Taliban
By Devjyot Ghoshal
(Reuters) - A band of veteran Afghan leaders, including two regional strongmen, are angling for talks with the Taliban and plan to meet within weeks to form a new front for holding negotiations on the country’s next government, a member of a group said.
Khalid Noor, son of Atta Mohammad Noor, the once-powerful governor of northern Afghanistan’s Balkh province, said the group comprised of veteran ethnic Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum and others opposed to the Taliban’s takeover.

“We prefer to negotiate collectively, because it is not that the problem of Afghanistan will be solved just by one of us,” Noor, 27, told Reuters in an interview from an undisclosed location.

“So, it is important for the entire political community of the country to be involved, especially the traditional leaders, those with power, with public support,” Noor said.

Atta Noor and Dostum here, veterans of four decades of conflict in Afghanistan, both fled the country when the northern city of Mazar-i Sharif fell to the Taliban, the hardline Islamist group, without a fight.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-conflict-politics/veteran-afghan-strongmen-to-form-new-front-for-negotiating-with-taliban-idUSKBN2FU04V

Just seen an infographic with details of what the Taliban have acquired in terms of military equipment, the info I think was shared here before. It’s quite sobering to note that, if the RAF does axe the C-130 fleet in 2023 as planned, the Taliban will have more hercs than them! (four to be exact)

Joe Biden and the Biden Administration just needs to STOP before they do any more damage!!

if they are just killing innocent civilians!!

Muslim Shirzad
@MuslimShirzad
·
23m
Afghanistan’s Tragedy; I just spoke with member of this family in Kabul, they are originally from Panjsher. He shared these photos with me.

“It was a rocket attack, 6 members of our family including my sister killed. we are not IS-K, we are ordinary people.” He said while cried




There was two explosions I think, a house, and a car.


Child is killed in rocket attack: US air strike takes out an ISIS-K suicide bombers driving to the airport in a car rigged with explosives as separate incident decimates family home leaving a child dead

A child has been killed in an explosion as the US launched a military strike targeting ISIS-K militants in Kabul

Explosion has been heard in Kabul just hours after the US Embassy ordered all staff to leave the airport

Security official from the recently deposed government said it was a rocket that hit a house

Joe Biden has said that commanders informed him an attack is 'highly likely' in the next 24-36 hours


Meanwhile the evacuation of Kabul is entering its final hours ahead of Biden's Tuesday deadline

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9937557/Explosion-near-Kabul-airport-rocket-hits-house.html

Also this proves once again how politics aren’t black and white, cast your minds back to 1945 when the western allies armed their old enemy, the japs, to fight the Vietminh, their old friends.

Finty wrote:Also this proves once again  how politics aren’t black and white, cast your minds back to 1945 when the western allies armed their old enemy, the japs, to fight the Vietminh, their old friends.

I totally agree with this, Finty.

Likelihood that yanks correctly identified IS-k  vehicle in Nangarhar before attack very low . Likelihood that they correctly identified IS-k vehicle in Kabul before attack also very low . Both seem a callous demonstrative counter-strike against civilians to deter possible actual attacks against US targets . Now with blessing of Taliban to keep order at the expense of innocent lives .

nomadski wrote:Likelihood that yanks correctly identified IS-k  vehicle in Nangarhar before attack very low . Likelihood that they correctly identified IS-k vehicle in Kabul before attack also very low . Both seem a callous demonstrative counter-strike against civilians to deter possible actual attacks against US targets . Now with blessing of Taliban to keep order at the expense of innocent lives .

Very sad if so, either that, or the Taliban is telling the US who and where to strike, but not confirming the US is assisting them.

Hashim Wahdatyar@HashimWahdatyar·
Aug 23
Panjshir
Today Tajikistan airdrops weapons for Ahmad Massoud's anti-Taliban army in Panjshir.
The resistance forces received support from Tajikistan as helicopters imported military equipment, guns, full ammunition & food supplies for the fighters.
Source: RepublicTV




Manish Rai
@manishrai1984
·
Aug 24
With the technical help from Tajikistan Northern Alliance able to use MI 8/17 helicopters to supply its forces




Alpha Defense Flag of India@alpha_defense·
Aug 23
So air bridge is established between Tajikistan and Panjshir.
So Noor isn't letting it go..






Aldin Flag of Bosnia & Herzegovina@aldin_ww·
Aug 22
Remnants of Afghanistan Air Force at Tajikistan

CIA director met Taliban leader in Afghanistan on Monday -sources

WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden sent CIA Director William Burns to meet Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday in the highest level official encounter since the militant group took over the Afghan capital, a U.S. official and a source familiar with government activity told Reuters on Tuesday.

A congressional source said Burns and Baradar had discussed the Aug. 31 deadline for a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Burns was due to discuss his meeting with select members of Congress, including those on intelligence committees, later on Tuesday.

The Biden administration has been evacuating U.S. citizens and other allies amid chaos at Kabul airport ahead of the deadline. read more

A Taliban spokesman said he was not aware if Baradar met the CIA chief. The White House and a CIA representative declined to comment on the meeting, first reported by the Washington Post.

https://www.reuters.com/world/cia-director-met-taliban-leader-kabul-monday-washington-post-reports-2021-08-24/

The Afghan refugee crisis is about to get much worse

ISIS-K, U.S. security and the future of Afghanistan

https://regnum.ru/news/polit/3355417.html

https://regnum.ru/news/polit/3355151.html

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/29/tech/taliban-afghanistan-social-media/index.html

https://www.foxnews.com/world/taliban-women-lara-logan

https://www.wsj.com/articles/taliban-afghanistan-heroin-ban-opium-production-11630181316

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/27/marine-us-fatalities-afghanistan-506999

It’s quite sobering to note that, if the RAF does axe the C-130 fleet in 2023 as planned, the Taliban will have more hercs than them! (four to be exact)

https://www.army.mil/article/151047/fourth_c_130_touches_down_in_kabul_expands_afghan_air_force_capabilities

they may even turn 1-2 into gunships!

Details: https://www.airforcemag.com/afghan-air-force-fled-remainder-in-disarray-sources-say/

I doubt the US will try to destroy captured weapons & aircraft- they'll be useful against ISIS-K & some may be captured by other anti-Taliban forces. Also, some may be sold to their neighbors such as Iran, Pakistan & China who later may sell them to others.

jhelb wrote:

par far wrote:This is huge, India was likely not in the Taliban's good books. I think Indian diplomats will be making a lot of trips to Moscow, if India had not listened to the US and kept good relations with China, it would have helped now.

If India wants to improve its relations with China, then India should immediately hand over their territory in the Himalayas that China has demanded.

India was badly defeated in the border conflict with China last year. Unless the Indian leadership wants to face more such humiliation they should give into Chinese demands.

In return China will establish peace between India, Pakistan and Taliban.

India does not need to hand anything over.

What India should do is, pull back troops that are on the border with China, start dialogue with China. China would welcome this, they don't need another headache on their borders, they already have too many. Tell the Chinese the concerns they have and India should stop being a vassal of the US.

India should get Russia involved diplomatically, tell Russia that they want to have gas pipeline because India needs energy(this pipeline will come through China), tell China that they are to be part of the One Belt project. India should tell China that they want to have good relations with China and they need China to help improve relations with Pakistan(to the best they can.)

Instead of doing these things and the many things that India can, Modi government is too busy being a US vassal, selling the country to oligarchs, selling out the farmers and destroying anything good in India.

Afghanistan will have trouble for a little bit because US/NATO will cause problems, after they have left, things should be able to stabilize.

And with help of Russia and China, things will slowly get better in Afghanistan. But for now there will be trouble because of US and NATO.

Also the reports regarding Tajikistan,  should be taken with a grain of salt, Russia and are working closely with the Taliban, highly unlikely that Tajikistan,  does something that pisses off both Russia and China.

The strike by yanks against supposed IS-k vehicle was completely fake . Since if real and with support and knowledge  from Taliban , then this cell would have been taken out by Taliban well in advance of any progressive threat . So no ! Innocents were sacrificed . Good to see some planes survived and in safe keeping in Tajik area . They could be used for humanitarian food supplies and medical help for northern Afghanistan .

Somebody said that the Americans on withdrawal could destroy heavy equipment left behind with magnesium . but they did not . Well it looks like that they prefer a Taliban take over , together with Pakistan . Rather than having anyone else in charge. This way they have a chokepoint on the silk Road via Pakistan . And they have Pakistan by the Balls anyways .

India should understand that Americans are not strategic partners in the region . The Chinese are . And they should not only fight against the BR initiative . But be a part of it . India could help maintain security for northern BR route via central Asia , and connect to it via Iran to Europe . Also allowing transit through Pakistan . This way nobody has monopoly of trade or transit routes . Development for all regional states .

nomadski wrote:
The strike by yanks against supposed IS-k vehicle was completely fake . Since if real and with support and knowledge  from Taliban , then this cell would have been taken out by Taliban well in advance of any progressive threat . So no ! Innocents were sacrificed . Good to see some planes survived and in safe keeping in Tajik area . They could be used for humanitarian food supplies and medical help for northern Afghanistan .

Somebody said that the Americans on withdrawal could destroy heavy equipment left behind with magnesium . but they did not . Well it looks like that they prefer a Taliban take over , together with Pakistan . Rather than having anyone else in charge. This way they have a chokepoint on the silk Road via Pakistan . And they have Pakistan by the Balls anyways .

India should understand that Americans are not strategic partners in the region . The Chinese are . And they should not only right against the BE initiative . But he a part of it . India could help maintain security for northern BR route via central Asia , and connect to it via Iran to Europe . Also allowing transit through Pakistan . This way nobody has monopoly of trade or transit routes . Development for all regional states .

Good post, only thing I disagree with is Pakistan. It is China that has Pakistan by the balls.

China helped Pakistan pay back the loan to Saudi Arabia after Pakistan criticized the Saudis regarding Kashmir.