Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

He's always been a unique guy. And in a way he's not wrong. I think where he gives too much credit is the execution.

Another factor is that he was a soldier so when a squeamish lefty liberal media person says... 13 US soldiers died when ISIS blew them up... of course that looks like a cockup when they are expecting to hear from war that no armour was destroyed and no aircraft were shot down and no soldiers died.

Withdrawing in defeat is normally the most costly thing you have to do in war and they are very lucky the Taliban didn't try to kill every one they could while they were leaving... it would have been fairly easy to set up rockets and guns to shell the crap out of that airport and make the evacuation impossible and seriously costly... for both sides.

Realizing that you're in a geopolitical f&*khole and that there is already a withdrawal in place from the previous administration and choosing to not oppose it is definitely a first for the US in the last 20 years, but hardly real courage.

I am not suggesting he is courageous.... what I think Stone is saying that the pressure on him to keep a few people there or to send more in to support the withdrawal and then leave them there or just forget what Trump negotiated and just continue like it is business as usual would be enormous... from the Pentagon... from the Deep State... from the people donating money to him personally and his political party.

The Pentagon are not stupid but publicly announcing in advance that all air power support assets will leave three months before the final pull out deadline sounds like a direct attempt at sabotage, considering the role of air support in that conflict or any conflict the US is involved in is critical... what other conflict do you know of where the US withdrew air support months before withdrawing ground forces? It is unique... even more so because the US military and in fact all of HATO depends on air power as their strongest card in any conflict.... in difficult situations they only use air power.

Agree the Taliban Admin like previous US backed admin are not inclusive . The reason it should be inclusive is to do with stability .

They control the entire country and are sweeping up the pockets of resistance... Afghanistan is the most stable it has ever been.

Give them time and they might realise that for a foreign minister a woman might be their best choice as long as they can trust her... which is going to be the biggest problem.

Demanding the Taliban allow women and gender confused people and former opposition memebers into the government structures of Afghanistan is like demanding that the Ukraine allows Russians to stand for election and that the Ukrainian people be allowed to speak Russian if they want... and that isn't going to happen either.

Neither group has a reason to do such a thing, and wont unless put under serious pressure to do so...

For those who still believe that Taliban will be pro Russia.

The Taliban are an outlawed group in Russia... Russia hosted talks between the Taliban and the US to help the peace process, but Russia and the Taliban are not friends and nor do they need to be.

Russia does not want to invade or occupy Afghanistan again... but what they do want is a stable secure country that does not smuggle opium into their country or perform cross border raids to steal and kill from Russias neighbours.

If the Taliban stop the drugs and behave like a good civil neighbour Russia wont care what they do or if they are not besties by this christmas.

The fact that the US is gone is probably an excellent start and that the CIA is not pumping drugs into Russia via that direction any more would be a huge step forwards as far as Russia is concerned.

Smart man would take a swim instead of being cooked alive in full gear at high noon

Don't let the blue sky and sunshine fool you... that might be several kms above sea level and quite chilly... they all seem wrapped up and not interested in getting wet.

I would also suspect that unless they are locals they probably never learned to swim which makes getting into deep water quite dangerous for them.

Isos wrote:Btw where is it ? It looks beautiful.

Band-e-amir National park, Bamyan province

PapaDragon wrote:Smart man would take a swim instead of being cooked alive in full gear at high noon

Current temperature at Bamyan ranging from 15 degree Celsius to -3 degree Celsius.

Voting in the State Duma at the Russian Embassy in Afghanistan

Bomber who killed US soldiers at Kabul airport was a known criminal who was flown to Afghanistan by CIA https://twitter.com/Cold_Peace_/status/1439603905210593282?s=20

Sujoy wrote:Bomber who killed US soldiers at Kabul airport was a known criminal who was flown to Afghanistan by CIA https://twitter.com/Cold_Peace_/status/1439603905210593282?s=20

The story claims this with no evidence and just names "sources".

The story claims this with no evidence and just names "sources".

Not a huge surprise though is it?

The US policy is that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, which leads them to get in to bed with Chechen terrorists and ISIS from every country in the ME region which they are clearly not fighting... in fact many of the ISIS in Afghanistan were probably delivered there from Syria probably with the intention that they would fight the Taliban and allow the HATO forces a bit of respite from the fighting. In Syria ISIS are supported by Turkey and essentially operate with a cease fire regarding the Kurds and US forces unless they get in their way.

With many Israeli strikes essentially the Israeli Air Force was operating as the ISIS airforce where ISIS attacks seemed to be coordinated with Israeli attacks on Syrian government forces...

I perfectly understand the sensible strategy of using the enemies of an enemy against your enemy... but that does not make either your friend and when your main enemy is no longer a threat their enemy can potentially become more of a problem than the enemy you built them up to deal with for you.

A good example would be Nazi Germany to deal with the Soviet Union... ironically Pakistan and Saudi Arabia who you helped to deal with the Soviets in Afghanistan and then they helped the terrorists who perpetrated 11/9 against you... and brutally murdered a Washington Post reporter in the Saudi embassy in Turkey...

George1 wrote:Taliban in Panjshir found containers of Soviet-style weapons belonging to Masud's forces

They said they had been storing guns, etc. for two years.

Throwing stones at lions - a day at the zoo, Taliban-style: RICHARD PENDLEBURY witnesses a cruel scene as jihadis taunt pride of Kabul... with leopard pelts for sale in nearby market


Perhaps the fifth missile of the afternoon arcs over the top of the enclosure. Again a miss, but they are getting closer. This one hits the wooden platform upon which the magnificent white lion is dozing in the warm sunshine.

‘Hey!’ shouts the stone thrower at the lion. Then to his companions: ‘Is he sleeping? Is he alive? Is he even real?’

Two aspects of this scene strike one as unusual if not shocking in the context of a 21st century zoological gardens. The first is that the helpless lion is being pelted by visitors. The second is that the visiting public are wandering about the zoo armed to the teeth with assault rifles, and even belt-fed light machine guns.
Most of the victorious Taliban foot soldiers who swept into Kabul last month hail from rural provinces, often hundreds of miles away. They have never been to the capital, nor any other city, before. And so, in their downtime – like the soldiers of any other conquering army down the centuries – they have been taking in the sights. Some soliders have already been pictured enjoying dodgems and pedalos.
And this weekend Mail photographer Jamie Wiseman and I spent two days observing and mingling with the Taliban at Kabul zoo.

It was a surreal and sometimes disturbing experience. It also yielded these extraordinary photographs as the fighters eagerly consented to pose as if schoolboys on a day trip. Some would have been schoolboys if in Britain, so young were they. Here, they had American M4s and M16 rifles rather than lunch boxes slung over their shoulders.

The group we came across were from Uruzgan, a largely tribal, opium-poppy-growing province next to Helmand in the country’s south.
Behind the fighters crowded along the fence surrounding its enclosure a zoo official was hopping anxiously from foot to foot. He asked the stone throwers to stop, but was ignored.

‘What can we do?’ he appealed to me. ‘We cannot make them stop. Look at them.’

He meant ‘look at their guns and general demeanour’. He was an educated Afghan with Western sensibilities, they were insurgents from the mountains and backwoods who had been fighting for years. This was their time, not his. At least the height of the fence meant that stones could only be lobbed rather than hurled with force.
The lion chose to ignore them. Kabul Zoo has had a chequered history since it opened in 1967. At its height, it displayed more than 400 animals. But the infrastructure – and staff – were devastated in the civil war of the 1990s.

Most of the animals were killed and the plight of those that were left brought international notoriety. The worst cases of that era came to mind while watching the lion endure the stone throwers this weekend.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10030925/Throwing-stones-lions-day-zoo-Taliban-style-Jihadis-taunt-pride-Kabul.html

Women and now zoo animals... boy the UK media really care about those poor women and animals all of a sudden... why don't they put their money where their mouth is and get the western public who probably care more about these animals than they care about most of the afghan people suffering these last 20 years from foreign powers imposing their own culture and ideology on them by force, to donate money and buy these animals from the Taliban?

Tell some of the Taliban leaders they will pay cash for the animals and you can bet your ass they will suddenly become the safest creatures in the region... the London zoo could send a plane to bring them to the UK easy enough...

But lets not look for solutions... lets just complain about what bastards these people we have been trying to kill for the last 20 years are and how they are so different from us.

BTW how many cows and sheep and chickens do we butcher in the west each day, but they can't throw stones at a lion?

They have weapons... if they wanted to kill any of the animals they could do so if they wanted.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oec-Nw4P3MI

Reminds me of National Geographic . The Anthropologist visiting Africa , photographing the locals , with their strange neck elongation and plates inserted in lips for beauty . Sure there is a difference between local customs , and those that affect the outside world . Refugees running from ethnic cleansing into neighbouring countries , drugs and terrorism affects Afghanistan immediate neighbouring countries . Prevention is better than cure . Helping farmers produce food , instead of drugs , is better than food aid . Providing food aid is better than having economic refugees . Having refugees is better than seeing ethnic cleansing or seeing  starvation .



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0FME1At3vmI


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z6-MZyYPTSo

So I know the world is watching the Taliban Swan lake theatre for now . But we have seen the show before . We know the story ........

So now they don't need Russia's permission to use russian bases inside Russia .


Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
"We are not seeking Russia's permission to do anything," Sec. Austin says. Says Gen. Milley last week asked for "clarification" from Russia about the offer to use Russian bases in central Asia for counterterrorism missions following US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Isos wrote:So now they don't need Russia's permission to use russian bases inside Russia .


Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
"We are not seeking Russia's permission to do anything," Sec. Austin says. Says Gen. Milley last week asked for "clarification" from Russia about the offer to use Russian bases in central Asia for counterterrorism missions following US withdrawal from Afghanistan

The yanquis are a bunch of prats with the mental development of an autistic 8 year old.

Isos wrote:So now they don't need Russia's permission to use russian bases inside Russia .


Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
"We are not seeking Russia's permission to do anything," Sec. Austin says. Says Gen. Milley last week asked for "clarification" from Russia about the offer to use Russian bases in central Asia for counterterrorism missions following US withdrawal from Afghanistan

That quote doesn't even make sense.

I'm assuming they mean to use Russian bases in Tajikistan if needed. But of course US won't use em cause it would be a hit against their own ego.

"We are not seeking Russia's permission to do anything," Sec. Austin says. Says Gen. Milley last week asked for "clarification" from Russia about the offer to use Russian bases in central Asia for counterterrorism missions following US withdrawal from Afghanistan

The US created and promoted the terrorism in the region and spent lots of good money on it when it seemed like it wasn't going to continue...

Russia will give permission for real counter terrorism but the US would never use it for counter terrorism, they would use it to support their own horses in a range of different races including anti Assad forces, so any suggestion probably never even bothered to be directed at Russia because of course they are not going to allow their bases to be used purely for US interests and against Russian and everyone elses in the regions interests...

miketheterrible wrote:

Isos wrote:So now they don't need Russia's permission to use russian bases inside Russia .


Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
"We are not seeking Russia's permission to do anything," Sec. Austin says. Says Gen. Milley last week asked for "clarification" from Russia about the offer to use Russian bases in central Asia for counterterrorism missions following US withdrawal from Afghanistan

That quote doesn't even make sense.

I'm assuming they mean to use Russian bases in Tajikistan if needed.  But of course US won't use em cause it would be a hit against their own ego.

Just a stupid US politician not knowing what's going on in it departement and saying " 'murica strong !! ". That will never change.

The Americans do not need Russian bases for any " anti-terror " operation . They used own aircraft carriers and bases in PG to carry out strikes . This request seems to be attempt to muddy waters for Russia , spoil it's image , in it's new approach in Afghanistan . The new approach by Russia or China or Iran , need to be made exclusively without any American involvement . Even intelligence sharing should not be done , since CIA and ISI have links to these groups , that will make operations risky .......

Isos wrote:So now they don't need Russia's permission to use russian bases inside Russia .


Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
"We are not seeking Russia's permission to do anything," Sec. Austin says. Says Gen. Milley last week asked for "clarification" from Russia about the offer to use Russian bases in central Asia for counterterrorism missions following US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Let me rephrase this without calling names.

Sec Austin is being very belligerent, and confrontational, and what he said is foolish.

BILAL SARWARY Retweeted
Harun Najafizada
@HNajafizada
·
Oct 1
Look closely what the Taliban is doing to the people thought to be former government employee in a quiet corner of Kabul. Videos received today by
@afintlbrk

@TajudenSoroush

https://twitter.com/i/status/1443983597313183748

BILAL SARWARY Retweeted
heather nauert
@HeatherNauert
·
Oct 1
As veterans & other volunteers facilitate safe passage for at risk  #Afghans I wonder where the human rights/women’s advocates are. The woman pictured is an afghan soldier, beaten by #Taliban  
@TForcePineapple

@AmberSmithUSA

@JasonRedmanWW

@alexplitsas

@Alex_Cornell

@ChuckNadd

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FAnOcPMX0AA32BP?format=jpg&name=900x900

So much for those left by the Biden Administration.

BILAL SARWARY Retweeted
Tajuden Soroush
@TajudenSoroush
·
Oct 1
This video which is obtained by
@afintlbrk
shows, Taliban fighters tied up the mouth of a person who is said to be a former government soldier torturing him in Kabul city.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FAnOcPMX0AA32BP?format=jpg&name=900x900

They don't seem to be killing them so I guess it didn't go that bad for them. They are lucky. 20 years ago they would be dead for such things.

Oct 1
New: the resistance is spreading rapidly: fights have been reported between resistance forces & Taliabn in Ishkamish in Takhar province, Bagram in Parwan province, capital of Kapisa, & three districts in Panjshir province. The Taliban terrorists will be resisted forcefully!

Panjshir Observer
@PanjshirObserver
Oct 1
Resistance forces ambush several Taliban positions throughout Rokha district in #Panjshir resulting in heavy Taliban casualties. #Afghanistan #NRF



https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FAmInZnVgAUkBrP?format=jpg&name=small


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FAmIoPqUcAEwQVO?format=jpg&name=small

Resistance forces ambush several Taliban positions throughout Rokha district in #Panjshir resulting in heavy Taliban casualties. #Afghanistan #NRF

Yeah, that is not going to make things better.... they are not going to start treating traitors with respect, or free their women folk to do as they please.

The amusing thing is that during WWII the civilised western force of Germany.... and I am talking general army, not the nazis... would shoot Soviet women in uniform. They did not capture any, or if they did they would be killed... sometimes sexually assaulted or raped and then murdered... no trial, no protection under international law that should have been afforded to them for fighting in a uniform... just shot... because they didn't think women should be soldiers so they treated them like armed civilians... partizans... and executed them on the spot.

In that sense the Taliban are more civilised than 1940s Germans... think about that the next anniversary of the second world war when Germany is invited and Russia is not...

Kabul faces blackout as Taliban fails to pay the bills

Electricity imports from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan account for half of Afghanistan’s power consumption nationwide
Afghanistan’s capital could be plunged into darkness as the winter sets in because the country’s new Taliban rulers haven’t paid Central Asian electricity suppliers or resumed collecting money from consumers.

Unless addressed, the situation could cause a humanitarian disaster, warned Daud Noorzai, who resigned as chief executive of the country’s state power monopoly, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, nearly two weeks after the Taliban’s takeover on Aug. 15.

"The consequences would be countrywide, but especially in Kabul. There will be blackout and it would bring Afghanistan back to the Dark Ages when it comes to power and to telecommunications," said Mr. Noorzai, who remains in close contact with DABS’s remaining management. "This would be a really dangerous situation."
Electricity imports from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan account for half of Afghanistan’s power consumption nationwide, with Iran providing additional supplies to the country’s west. Domestic production, mostly at hydropower stations, has been affected by this year’s drought. Afghanistan lacks a national power grid, and Kabul depends almost completely on imported power from Central Asia.

Currently, power is abundant in the Afghan capital, a rare—if transient—improvement since the Taliban takeover. In part, that is because the Taliban no longer attack the transmission lines from Central Asia. Another reason is that, with industry at a standstill and military and government facilities largely idle, a much bigger share of the power supply ends up with residential consumers, eliminating the rolling blackouts that used to be commonplace.

That, however, is likely to come to an abrupt end if the Central Asian suppliers—particularly Tajikistan, whose relationship with the Taliban is rapidly deteriorating—decide to cut off DABS for nonpayment
Tajikistan has given shelter to leaders of the anti-Taliban resistance, such as former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, and recently deployed additional troops to its border with Afghanistan, prompting Russia to call on both nations to de-escalate.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/kabul-faces-blackout-as-taliban-fails-to-pay-the-bills