Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
August 16, 2021

Afghanistan - Chaos Pictures Increase Fallout From U.S. Defeat

The Wall Street Journal describes the current situation at the Kabul airport as '‘Saigon on Steroids’

It indeed is as satellite pictures and a number of videos posted on Twitter show. Thousands of people rushed towards the airport. There was some panic at one of the entry gates and three persons there seem to have died in a stampede. Hundreds ran onto the runway. Other tried to climb fly bridges to get into planes.

On the military side of the airport the U.S. military fired shots to keep people from storming it. They later set up razor wire.

People ran along a departing C-17, a large military airplane. Some climbed onto the plane's landing gear doors.


bigger

The plane started, the landing gear retracted and the doors closed. At least three people fell to their death. Some others were alledgedly overrun by a plane and died.

Those sad little stories are an aside in the larger picture but it does reflect how little control the U.S. has over the airport. Why was there no planing for this?

These pictures will dominate the news cycle and upset further evacuation plans:

Ruffini @EenaRuffini - 13:30 UTC · Aug 16, 2021

NEW: Situation at the airport is “tenuous” and consideration is being given to pulling all Americans out and leaving the Afghans behind. That decision has not been made but it is on the table and will need to be addressed if Us can’t get control of the airport. (Martin/Ruffini)

That would actually be good as the current chaos is totally unnecessary. There have been very few revenge acts by the Taliban around the country. They have clear orders to not commit any and they behave very disciplined. There is no proof that anyone's security in Kabul, be they diplomats or Afghan civilians of any stripe, is in danger.

The Taliban spokesman confirms this:

Suhail Shaheen. محمد سهیل شاهین @suhailshaheen1 - 15:15 UTC · 16 Aug 2021

We assure all diplomats, embassies, consulates, and charitable workers, whether they are international or national that not only no problem will be created for them on the part of IEA but a secure environment will be provided to them, Inshallah.

Still - the U.S. is sending even more soldiers and soon there will be 7,000 of them. They will hardly fit into the airport.

The city of Kabul was quiet today. Taliban patrol the roads and guard important offices. Men walked or drove around and did their jobs but few women were seen. The Talibs greeted friendly:

Obaidullah Baheer @ObaidullaBaheer - 11:05 UTC · Aug 16, 2021

I went out imagining savagery and anger from them, I imagined seeing #KhaledHosseini's world. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised at their discipline and respectfulness. I hope they are learning to change their image of us too. [4/5]

There was even a Shia procession in Kabul today which caused no incidents.

It seems that Taliban had no plan to be in Kabul yet. But yesterday, after the higher government officials fled with all the money they had stolen, public security broke down and some looting took place. The Taliban had to move in to secure the city.

These are no longer the Taliban of the 1990s.

Afghanistan scholar Antonio Giustozzi sees reasons for hope:

Although the Taliban may well adopt the “emirate” label for Afghanistan again, it seems that their plan is to incorporate new features in their government.
...
The Taliban have hinted recently that they would like to adopt the 1964 constitution as the basis of a new constitution that will be drafted. This in general has been viewed as a positive signal, given that the 1964 constitution was in the past hailed as the start of Afghanistan’s decade of democracy. However, it does not mention political parties and it is a monarchist constitution. We will also have to see what “updates” the Taliban will want to bring to it.
...
The Taliban appear bent on incorporating elements of the previous regime, with whom in fact they have already made deals over the past few months. Among the most prominent are former foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani, former president Hamid Karzai and former deputy president Karim Khalili. Some Islamic parties and groups, such as Hizb-i Islami, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, have also made deals with the Taliban and are likely to be represented in the future government.

The Taliban have also been reaching out to mid-level technocrats and bureaucrats, inviting them to stay in the country to serve the next government. They have started absorbing army specialists, in order to operate advanced equipment.

The geopolitical consequences of the U.S. defeat will be felt for a long time. As Andrei Martyanov writes:

The world took notice and the United States handed the victory to Islamic fanatics and thus emboldened them, the same way the United States fanned the flames of Political Islam in 1980s and helped to form the force which is radically anti-civilizational in its essence.

This IS the main failure of the combined West and it will be, yet again, up to someone else to clean this fucking mess after the US, whose political and military "elites" not only did not learn shit from anything but are incapable of learning. In that, when combined with a myriad of other economic, scientific, cultural and moral failures, modern West, headed by the United States, declared itself a failure. Events in Kabul today demonstrate perfectly and are the epitome of the modern West.

I am much less concerned about the Taliban as a winning local resistance in Afghanistan than about the example their victory sets for more radical Islamists in other parts of the world.

Afghanistan's neighbors will see to it that Afghanistan will not again become a black hole or a nest for foreign radicals. As Giustozzi remarks:

Overall, however, the primary concerns of the future Taliban-led government will be pragmatic. It will have to manage relations with neighbouring countries – Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China – most of which have existing relations with the Taliban, but do not entirely trust them. All have interests that they want the Taliban to respect. The Taliban-led government will struggle to keep the economy afloat and to maintain the provision of essential services, which have been suspended in much of Afghanistan as they advanced.

Yesterday Iran was informed by Russia that it will now become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). So far the SCO included China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Iran will now join and Afghanistan has observer status. This block, which is to a large part about military and policy coordination, will cover for Iran when the U.S. will try to escalate over Iran's nuclear program. Today Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan was in Iran for further talks. He will then travel to Doha to talk with the Taliban leadership.

The SCO will also take care of Afghanistan. It has enough collective power to help and develop Afghanistan over the next decades.

The U.S. though lost a lot of face. The defeat, and the bad handling of it, have been noticed around the world and especially in Asia. There the U.S. has tried to recruit 'allies' for its self inflicted and totally unnecessary confrontation with China.

But who will want to join such a feeble 'superpower' after watching its recent performance in Afghanistan, elsewhere, or even at home?

Posted by b on August 16, 2021 at 16:00 UTC | Permalink

Comments
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quick! invade iran or venezuela or cuba or somalia! people are noticing what a paper tiger the u.s. is.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Aug 16 2021 16:07 utc | 1

A scene from Der Untergang is fitting now. Biden is in his bunker as the empire falls around him.

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2021 16:07 utc | 2

'The Taliban have hinted recently that they would like to adopt the 1964 constitution as the basis of a new Constitution

I lived in Kabul for several months in 1964 what a charming wonderful country and people it was

Posted by: Alec Ward | Aug 16 2021 16:19 utc | 3

IMO it is too early to tell if Taliban is different from `90 for internal matters - but that doesn't really matter if they keep it within their borders, it's their country. As far as foreign policy goes, I do have hopes they are aware of opportunity they have now.

Posted by: Abe | Aug 16 2021 16:20 utc | 4

I liked the Russian story:

As for the collapse of the (outgoing) regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled Afghanistan.”

“Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the money into a helicopter, but not all of it fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac,” he added.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 16:40 utc | 5

thanks b... that is a nice development for SCO with the inclusion of iran and afganistan with observer status...

how many more wheels have to come off the usa-uk-etc lorry before the thing crashes?

Posted by: james | Aug 16 2021 16:41 utc | 6

@ 5 laguerre... i was reading about that... i was most curious to know if these were us$, or what the currency was he was transporting?? anyone know??

Posted by: james | Aug 16 2021 16:42 utc | 7

Lots of news yesterday were coming; and then suddenly, when the Talibans entered the presidential palace, some higher order came in and the MSM i was listening too started to repeat the same thing.
The videos of the guys in the palace are interesting, one of the al jazeera video had their "embedded" guy play a role in the setting of the Talibans sitting under the picture. The one who later gave a speech (older) was made to leave the place to a young, white guy, who put his kalash (or else?) on the table. The talibans really look a bit feeling they are used as actors.
No one to remember the role of al jazeera in Syria and Libya? (not only). Quickly forgotten. Unmentioned, just as the intl office in Doha. Move on. The narrative is still the Western one and that stinks.

Posted by: Mina | Aug 16 2021 16:43 utc | 8

Wow, just wow. The 'defeat' has long been understood if not faced by the US, but the 'bad handling' of the situation as rats flee the sinking USS FUBAR, is breathtaking in its majesty, and quite frankly makes the fall of Saigon look like a rave.

The massive incompetence on display in an utter failure of planning and execution for a project that was long known says it all. The USA is a failed state. Period. End.of.story.

Posted by: gottlieb | Aug 16 2021 16:44 utc | 9

At least the Russians made a bunch of good songs about their sad involvement with the proxy war forced upon them by Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski and the borg.

Black Tulip

But President Bidet is sending in the troops.

ZH article - President Biden Orders 7,000 US Troops To Protect Kabul Airport After Horrific Scenes

Posted by: lex talionis | Aug 16 2021 16:49 utc | 10

While the countries of Asia / Eurasia seek to cooperate and help each other to build together, the US seeks to divide and conquer, to disrupt, to subvert, to destroy and tear down, to (using their euphemism) "contain" and hold back. By any means necessary, including Wahhabi (AQ/ISIS/ETIM) extremism, neo-Nazi extremism in Ukraine, etc.

"There are two ways of exerting one's strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up."
- Booker T. Washington

That, it seems to me, is the difference between the US / Anglo-American Empire / UKUSA / NATO / Five Eyes on one hand - how they choose to use their strength - and China's BRI, Russia's Eurasian Economic Union, etc. on the other. One is a destructive approach, the other is a constructive approach.

"One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him."
- Booker T. Washington

With the US dollar that it conjures up by the trillions, the US seeks to buy "allies" in the region, to form "Quads" or a "Pacific NATO", in its efforts to keep Asian countries divided and down. But, for those that might be tempted, how well will that debt-based reward hold value long term? Seems like a losing proposition, with a risk of winding up like Ghani.

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Aug 16 2021 16:49 utc | 11

Posted by: james | Aug 16 2021 16:42 utc | 7

Although they don't say, of course they were dollars. No-one would take anything else if they had to live on it for a while in Tajikistan/Uzbekistan. Euros would do, but unlikely. Roubles, no way. What else?

There's also the reason why he's dropped in Central Asia. Must be that he's hoping to run a resistance movement from over the border. That would be expensive.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 16:50 utc | 12

"Why Afghan Forces So Quickly Laid Down Their Arms"

Afghanistan is all about deals. This articles describes why bloodshed has been very low.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/08/16/afghanistan-history-taliban-collapse-504977

Posted by: daffyDuct | Aug 16 2021 16:58 utc | 14

It looks to me USA are invading Afghanistan again.
Yu can do a lot with 7.000 troops

Posted by: mauro rossini | Aug 16 2021 16:59 utc | 15

Britain asks: Is America back or has it turned its back?

Financial Empire’s miscalculation, bewilderment, and incompetence exposed! It wasted $2 Trillions on its misadventure in Afghanistan instead of investing in America. It is time to hold those who wasted America’s resources (precious lives,...) accountable. Time for ACCOUNTABILITY is now!

The following SIGNALS will reveal Afghanistan’s future:
– Key individuals in the new administration
– Monetary structure: sovereign money or private money (credit)
– Governance structure & values
– Internal & external stability
– Relationship with neighbors & global powers (SCO?)

SCO needs to unite and protect its members, so if a SCO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence against them. Also, SCO would do better by trading in respective national currencies. No more private money in SCO and EEU (Eurasian Economic Union)?

Russia backs switching to national currencies in settlements between SCO countries

No wearing of masks and social distancing in Afghanistan?

Posted by: Max | Aug 16 2021 17:04 utc | 16

The U.S. though lost a lot of face. The defeat, and the bad handling of it, have been noticed around the world and especially in Asia. There the U.S. has tried to recruit 'allies' for its self inflicted and totally unnecessary confrontation with China.

China has already taken advantage of this via its news media: "Afghan abandonment a lesson for Taiwan’s DPP: Global Times editorial"; "Afghanistan today, Taiwan tomorrow? US treachery scares DPP: US will abandon Taiwan in a crisis given its tarnished credibility: experts." "Biden’s efforts to focus on China bankrupt after drastic change in Afghanistan"; "Afghans' distrust of US reflects the fact that the entire world has lost confidence in the US". And those are from just one publication.

As for emboldening Islamic extremists, IMO it's beginning to emerge that the Taliban are NOT the extremists they were in their first incarnation. IMO, they're a Sunni version of Iran's conservative clerics, although Islam can be seen as a radical collectivist equalitarian philosophy from some POVs, like those of Neoliberals whose fundamental corruption would see them losing their heads. Initially, it appears Taliban leadership likes the "highway of gold" developmental vision offered by its neighbors; and for that to proceed, conservative calming is in order. Yes, Sunni and Shia are divided in one major area; but on what Islam is fundamentally, IMO they would agree if they haven't already.

There was a time when Islam was THE dynamism in tandem with China while the West festered in Feudal backwardness and Catholic Corruption, and history does seem as if it's getting ready to somewhat mirror its past developments as the West sinks thanks to Neoliberalism and Wokeism.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 16 2021 17:09 utc | 17

We know Iran promised to drive the US from the Middle East after the cowardly Soleimani assassination.

This blog has suspected Pakistan is helping the Taliban and there is evidence for this hypothesis. One wonders if Iran is also helping the Taliban so secretly, even the US does not know.

First, there was the US air force jet shot down over Afghanistan suspected to be carrying senior CIA official Michael D'Andrea aka "Ayatollah Mike". That plane was one of the most sophisticated jets in the entire US military arsenal and it is unlikely Taliban shot it down without help. Iran was suspected to be the sophisticated state actor supplying the intelligence and gear necessary to bring down the jet.

Knowing Iran is now a member of the SCO, and Afghanistan is an aspiring member, could Iran have already started to help Afghanistan clear the US from its soil?

Posted by: Mar man | Aug 16 2021 17:11 utc | 18

What I really want to know is:

- What do the Taliban think about the incoming 7000 troops ?
- Have they positioned artillery on the hills surrounding the Kabul airport yet ...?

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 16 2021 17:21 utc | 19

Watch the satellite reports for sudden Taliban reinforcements moving into the areas around Kabul airport.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Aug 16 2021 17:23 utc | 20

@ karlof1 (#17), talk is cheap. Actions are the window to the soul. Please focus on the deeds.

What % of China’s international trade is in the US$ (private money)?

The day when more than 80+% of China’s international trade is in the Non-$ currencies it becomes sovereign. Until then, it is still controlled by the Financial Empire. When will China achieve this goal and become sovereign?

As long as, the US$ (private money) is the currency of trade in the majority (50+%) of international transactions, the world has confidence in the U$A and ENSLAVED by the Dollar Empire. Why be enslaved by monetary imperialism?

Many like to share info as if that defines reality. There is a big gap between rhetoric and reality.

Posted by: Max | Aug 16 2021 17:25 utc | 21

Chinese businessmen see ‘unruffled’ first day after Kabul takeover, confident about future given special role of China

This article is from today (August 16th).

That airport hysteria is getting ridiculous. They should stop giving in to Western fearmongering and go back to business as usual in Kabul, no need to die hanged in an airplane or under a stampede.

Unless, of course, Kabul has more CIA assets than we imagined. If everybody in that airport really is an USG agent, then the CIA fooled a lot of people.

Posted by: vk | Aug 16 2021 17:25 utc | 22

Two scenarios come to mind…

1) Deliberately “botching” the withdrawal and letting everyone see the ensuing chaos is a calculated move that gives the US foreign policy blob an excuse to oppose troop draw downs in other countries, e.g. Syria, Iraq by claiming “if we leave it will be like Afghanistan in August, 2021, therefore we must stay.”

2) The chaotic withdrawal is a display of sheer US military and DoS incompetence and suggests an inability to live up to even their own rhetoric.

I lean towards 2) because Blinken et al. and their “Kabul won’t fall for months or years” and Ghani’s heading to the hills like a craven coward makes them look like incompetent fools.

Posted by: Antibody | Aug 16 2021 17:35 utc | 23

French MSM: "China bad bad... received a Taliban delegation recently" no mention of the intl office in Qatar.
Taliban and sharia law: no mention of KSA.
Qatar and KSA are very important shareholders in European economy in the last decade They own entire sectors in energy, entertainment, etc.

Posted by: Mina | Aug 16 2021 17:38 utc | 24

I think it is a possibility that the Taliban will behave moderately in practice. I just read this article about Abdul Ghani Baradar, who has been there since the foundation of the movement

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/15/talibans-abdul-ghani-baradar-is-undisputed-victor-of-a-20-year-war

Someone who is so experienced and long-lasting I would have thought unlikely to allow things to get too much out of hand. The behaviour of the Taliban in Kabul has been very moderate so far. That must be deliberate, though how long it will last can't be certain.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 17:41 utc | 25

"Germany can't repeat 2015 migrant influx over Afghanistan, CDU says"
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-cant-repeat-2015-migrant-influx-over-afghanistan-cdu-says-2021-08-16/

Hopefully this claim will be followed but I doubt that, there are too many forces in the west that do not live in the real world when it comes to immigration.

Posted by: Zanon | Aug 16 2021 17:42 utc | 26

I am an American who feels no sense of identification with my ruling overlords. If they lose face, I am unconcerned. Actually, I think that it is sick to think that being stopped from mass murder is something to mourn. I am happy that their plans for further instigation of misery of other peoples may be thwarted by this "loss". Their weeping and rending of garments amuses me, it doesn't make me wail along with them.
Other citizens of other empires had their lives go on after the empire collapsed. I expect that we will also carry on.

Posted by: wagelaborer | Aug 16 2021 17:42 utc | 27

A couple of years ago, when the U.S. tried to overthrow the government of Venezuela, Maduro acted with unexpected competence, wisdom and maturity.

It appears that today the Taliban is acting with unexpected wisdom and maturity.

Could these two situations have a common root?

Posted by: dh-mtl | Aug 16 2021 17:42 utc | 28

On the subject of "what we can do to help"...

One important thing is to provide political air-cover when politicians "do the right thing". President Biden is getting hammered in the mainstream press for getting us out of Afghanistan.

Let's not let the mainstream define the narrative.

Here's the text of a message I sent to the White House just now, and I'll send a similar message to my other Congressional reps.

Start-to-finish clock time: 5 mins.

===============

Mr. President:

Thank you very much for finally extricating the United States from Afghanistan.

I oppose our involvement in the mid-east and in Asia. We have plenty of problems here at home to deal with. Our economy is very weak, and we face many disruptions from climate change.

Please concentrate our national energy on the problems that matter most, and leave other nations to decide their own fate.

Thanks!

Tom Pfotzer

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Aug 16 2021 17:44 utc | 29

Jake Sullivan best encapsulates the cluelessness of the Biden administration to the unfolding disaster for the US in Afghanistan when he tried to spin the images of the helicopters evacuating people from the embassy as:

“To be fair, the helicopter has been the mode of transport from our embassy to the airport for the last 20 years,” Sullivan said.

Posted by: Down South | Aug 16 2021 17:45 utc | 30

The timing for Iran becoming a member of SCO I doubt is a coincidence and also doubt the full reason to be a security block for Afghanistan's neighbors. Taliban have been meeting with Russia, China, Iran ect. In the take over they appear to be secular with an eye on sensitivity and their relations with the world which includes the non islamic world. It takes religious fanaticism to defeat a country like the US, but something different to hold the country together.

A Russia, China, Iran, and others would have stated whats acceptable to them, the end result being recognition by or becoming a member of SCO. Iran signed to nuke deal with US and stick to the letter of the agreement and now is full member of SCO. For the Taliban and Afghanistan, a secular government that includes or recognizes all groups unifying the country would be first and foremost.

Early days yet, but although islamic fanaticism drove out the US, I don't think we will see that with a Taliban government.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 16 2021 17:59 utc | 31

mauro rossini @15:

"It looks to me USA are invading Afghanistan again.
Yu can do a lot with 7.000 troops"

Not if they are all stuck in a level field, surrounded by mountains -- say an air port for instance. They are sitting ducks. Trying to move them out of the airport looks suicidal to me.

Posted by: Jörgen Hassler | Aug 16 2021 18:00 utc | 32

In today's editorial, the Global Times editor sticks in the knife and twists it hard by reminding the world that the Outlaw US Empire has always abandoned its allies in favor of its own interests:

"Some historians also point out that abandoning allies to protect US interests is an inherent flaw that has been deeply rooted in the US since the founding of the country. During the American War of Independence, the US humbly begged the king of France, Louis XVI, to ally with it. After the war, it quickly made peace with Britain unilaterally and concluded a peace treaty with Britain that was detrimental to France's interests. This put Louis XVI's regime in a difficult position, giving cause for the French Revolution."

The editor makes the following observation:

"How Washington abandoned the Kabul regime particularly shocked some in Asia, including the island of Taiwan....

"The geopolitical value of Afghanistan is no less than that of Taiwan island. Around Afghanistan, there are the US' three biggest geopolitical rivals - China, Russia and Iran. In addition, Afghanistan is a bastion of anti-US ideology. The withdrawal of US troops from there is not because Afghanistan is unimportant. It's because it has become too costly for Washington to have a presence in the country. Now the US wants to find a better way to use its resources to maintain its hegemony in the world.

"Taiwan is probably the US' most cost-effective ally in East Asia. There is no US military presence on the island of Taiwan. The way the US maintains the alliance with Taiwan is simple: It sells arms to Taiwan while encouraging the DPP authorities to implement anti-mainland policies through political support and manipulation. As a result, it has caused a certain degree of depletion between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. And what Washington has to do is only to send warships and aircraft near the Straits from time to time. In general, the US does not have to spend a penny on Taiwan. Instead, it makes money through arms sales and forced pork and beef sales to the island. This is totally a profitable geopolitical deal for Washington."

There's lots of truth found in these next two paragraphs that will make other nations think hard, not just the Taiwanese separatists:

"Once a cross-Straits war breaks out while the mainland seizes the island with forces, the US would have to have a much greater determination than it had for Afghanistan, Syria, and Vietnam if it wants to interfere. A military intervention of the US will be a move to change the status quo in the Taiwan Straits, and this will make Washington pay a huge price rather than earn profit.

"Some people on the island of Taiwan hype that the island is different from Afghanistan, and that the US wouldn't leave them alone. Indeed, the island is different from Afghanistan. But the difference is the deeper hopelessness of a US victory if it gets itself involved in a cross-Straits war. Such a war would mean unthinkable costs for the US, in front of which the so-called special importance of Taiwan is nothing but wishful thinking of the DPP authorities and secessionist forces on the island." [My Emphasis]

Will the brutal truths unfolding in Afghanistan and the rest of the world as to the rapid waning of the Outlaw US Empire's hegemonic ability have any impact on those dependent on that hegemony for their position? Africans will certainly take notice as will those in the Persian Gulf region. And I would think those EU nations opposed to Wokeism will be further emboldened to fight that madness.

It's a fine thing that the geopolitical change begins on a Monday. A new morning has certainly emerged.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 16 2021 18:09 utc | 33

Posted by: Jörgen Hassler | Aug 16 2021 18:00 utc | 32

Half the US troops will be running the Macdonalds and other logistical operations needed to keep the US troops in the luxury they expect.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 18:10 utc | 34

did the usa decide to reclassify the taliban as a non terrorist org? or do they have to keep up appearances??

thanks laguerre... that was what i was thinking..

Posted by: james | Aug 16 2021 18:12 utc | 35

@ Arch Bungle | Aug 16 2021 17:21 utc | 19
@ mauro rossini | Aug 16 2021 16:59 utc | 15

The last time that a Colonial army try such an arrogant tactic of piling elite troops on an airport was not so successful. Dien Bien Phu


https://historyweb.fr/bataille-dien-bien-phu-1/

Posted by: Rêver | Aug 16 2021 18:16 utc | 36

The Western TV media coverage has so lots of phrases like "heavy gunfighting", "sounds of gunfire", "heavy shooting", "humanitarian crisis", the "fall of Kabul", etc. with pundits protraying this as a cataclysm.

That's quite different from this account on the Saker site by a professor from Pakistan:

"Life is very much normal, internet service, mobile service is functioning in a routine. Shops are opened, traffic is in normal routine, schools are opened, everything seems very much normal. The government is functioning, bureaucracy is functioning, police is functioning, just ex-president Ashraf Ghani is not in Afghanistan."

"No single bullet was fired, no single person was killed or injured, no war, the Taliban entry into Kabul was one of the most peaceful events in the history of humankind."

Taliban entered into Kabul
https://thesaker.is/taliban-entered-into-kabul/

From Pepe Escobar's latest:

"The Taliban are granting amnesty to employees of the NATO occupation and won’t interfere with businesses activities. There will be no revenge campaign. Kabul is back in business. There is allegedly no mass hysteria in the capital: that’s been the exclusive domain of Anglo-American mainstream media. The Russian and Chinese embassies remain open for business."

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan back with a bang
https://asiatimes.com/2021/08/the-islamic-emirate-of-afghanistan-back-with-a-bang/

A ZH article mentioned shooting by the US side:

"U.S. forces fired in the air at Kabul's airport on Monday to prevent hundreds of civilians running onto the tarmac, a U.S. official said," according to Reuters.

"The firing was done to defuse the chaos," the official added. Hundreds of Afghans reportedly rushed at idling C-17 US transport aircraft, resulting in US troops firing repeatedly into the air.

Could Western news media possibly reporting these warning shots as "heavy shooting" and "sounds of gunfire" without giving the proper context? A way to make things sound much worse than they actually are?

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Aug 16 2021 18:22 utc | 37

@34 Once the MacDonalds is set up they will fly Pompeo in to do a quality control test.

Posted by: dh | Aug 16 2021 18:22 utc | 38

Laguerre @34:

McDonalds... So, dead from hart diseas if you stay, shot down if you move. Kind of like a suicide pact with your self... Do you think it's too late for me to withdraw that job-application a sent? https://www.daybook.com/jobs/APjftrJrSCTJyTqBL

[I can't believe that ad is still up! LOL]

Posted by: Jörgen Hassler | Aug 16 2021 18:33 utc | 39

I agree with Canadian Cents @11. I would add that the US fully intended to develop the mineral resources in Afghanistan using the same model as United Fruit used in Central America.
All the wealth extracted would go to the the foreign conglomerates, save for bribes to the Government Officials. The Bribes to make sure no taxes or regulations are levied against the corporate overlords. This being the SOP for US colonies. A zero sum game. On the other hand, there is Russia and China for the win win.


Posted by: Michael Crockett | Aug 16 2021 18:34 utc | 40

@Jorgen Hassler 32
They might ask the French about Dien Bien Phu

Posted by: Mark T | Aug 16 2021 18:35 utc | 41

OT

Is anyone else having trouble accessing the Saker site??

All i get is the message:
"This page isn’t working
thesaker.is didn’t send any data"

Posted by: Per/Norway | Aug 16 2021 18:39 utc | 42

So continued imperialism?

Pentagon to Send 1,000 Extra Troops to Kabul, Reestablish Security at Airport Following Overnight Breaches

The United States is sending another 1,000 troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total new deployment figures to 6,000, Business Insider reported on Monday citing Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby.


France Protecting EU Delegate in Afghanistan, President Macron Says

"A lot of members of the Afghan civil society, defenders of rights, artists, journalists are today under threat (...) We will welcome them because it's France's honour to be alongside those who fight for freedom", Macron said

https://sputniknews.com/asia/202108161083617781-live-updates-us-troops-reportedly-fire-shots-into-air-as-crowd-takes-to-tarmac-at-kabul-airport/


Posted by: Zanon | Aug 16 2021 18:41 utc | 43

B asks the logical question:

[the airport chaos] does reflect how little control the U.S. has over the airport. Why was there no planing for this?

Simple answer: Because the US never planned to actually leave Kabul. At least not for a while.

Who remembers all the talk of 'hybrid war,' PMCs, drone campaigns etc etc?

They weren't planning to go anywhere for a good long while.

And what's even more astonishing, they had no INKLING of what was coming, lol!

Probably the fastest blitzkrieg in the history of warfare. [With those in-place Talib sleeper-cells just springing up all over the place, like morning mushrooms after a night of rain---as Pepe explains in his most recent dispatch].

Just look at what the retarded media was saying mere HOURS before the Talib took their seats inside the presidential palace.

This piece by MI6 cutout Martin Jay ran on the 14'th:

But as most pundits say the end of the Afghan’s government control is in sight, it may well be that Kabul and the government can hold out, if the US and its allies support the Afghan airforce with their campaign which is starting to have an impact.

How's that for DELUSIONAL? Kabul could well 'hold out.' The air campaign 'is starting to have an impact.'

I hope eggface is 'in' this season, among the disneyland delusionalists that make up the ranks of the Empire commentariat.

Popinjay was not alone. First the 'pullout' was going to be just a mere formality that would change nothing on the ground. The US was still going to keep the puppet regime in power and the Taliban in check in the hinterlands.

Then, as the cities started quickly falling, it was the B52 'precision' bombing that was going to 'turn the tide,' just as our man Popinjay argues, lol!

Even with the Taliban at the gates of Kabul, we were still hearing brave talk, even from Biden, about how everything is under control.

The most instructive word I can offer at this time is the Monty Python 'Black Knight' sketch. Even as his limbs are chopped off, one by one, he refuses to acknowledge reality.

And that, dear B, is why there was no planning for an orderly evacuation. There is no helping these kinds of people. They live in their own little universe, and believe their own little bullshit.

Posted by: Gordog | Aug 16 2021 18:42 utc | 44

@Per/Norway | Aug 16 2021 18:39 utc | 41

It is down, never mind. I didn't notice because I don't see much use of the site after his ridiculous rant.

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2021 18:49 utc | 45

Zanon | Aug 16 2021 18:41 utc | 42

Pentagon to Send 1,000 Extra Troops to Kabul, Reestablish Security at Airport Following Overnight Breaches
The United States is sending another 1,000 troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total new deployment figures to 6,000, Business Insider reported on Monday citing Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby.

So after the enhanced re-run of Da Nang/Saigon they plan to make it another Dien Bien Phu?

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2021 18:52 utc | 46

Pepe Escobar from his VK space:

"By one of my dissident Deep State connections - commenting on my latest column. As you can see, he’s way more hardcore than the great Ray McGovern:

'The US Military stands humiliated in the heroin war that they willingly fought out for twenty years at taxpayer's expense while such a humiliation is not hard to bear as the CIA, Military, DIA reaped the billions of dollars heroin profits largely as individuals.

'Their sorrow is that the goose that laid the golden eggs died. We are not saying that there were not geopolitical considerations involved in Afghanistan but that they were secondary. The DIA, CIA and the military were happy with their heroin profits as well as heroin runners, local police departments in most major American cities who were paid off by the Mafia distributors.

'Osama bin Laden had nothing to do with 9-11 nor anyone else from that burying place of Empires, this time the burial ground of the US, and so the Afghanistan alibi of Secretary of State Blinken justifying the invasion was a lie.

'Yet this does have more geopolitical considerations than the Saigon moment, as the US Embassy there was evacuated as the US won that geopolitical game by their new alliance with China that ended the justification of the domino theory supporting our effort in Vietnam. Now the natural resource prize of Afghanistan will go to Russia and China this time around, with their rare earth and other natural resources. And this is just the beginning as not only America's Empire but America itself is unraveling.'" [My Emphasis]

The emphasized "we" above I'm going to ask Pepe about. If I get a reply, I'll post it.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 16 2021 18:58 utc | 47

Frankly, I am somewhat surprised by the rather calm/loyal (perhaps not very suitable epithets, but still) attitude of the MoA towards the Taliban. Just want to remind that the Taliban is a terrorist organization recognized as such at the UNSC level and banned in a number of countries, including Russia. In this sense, the Taliban, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra, etc. are all the same. The Taliban are radical Islamists, and their coming to power in Afghanistan essentially means the successful implementation of the idea that was intended for Syria (but was thwarted by Russian intervention) - the transformation of the country into an Islamic emirate ruled by extremists, which, like a tumor, will eventually become grow, infect and absorb the surrounding space, replacing civilization with archaism. In Syria, the plan was thwarted, but it succeeded in Afghanistan. For ill-wishers, this is even better - the problem zone is even closer to Russia and China. One should not be deceived by the illusion of "decency" and "civilization" of the Taliban, which they are demonstrating now.

In this regard, a very big question is whether the Americans "lost". Yes, this is the simplest and most logical explanation. But it’s hardly that simple.

Note that a huge amount of weapons and equipment of the American army fell into the hands of the Taliban (already well armed) - small arms, ammunition, equipment, communications, armored cars, helicopters(!), other aviation equipment... The question is, what prevented the American army from destroying (or at least spoiling) all this before leaving? It is hardly a difficult task to put a small can of gasoline in the armory and set it on fire. The fire will do all the work by itself. Destroying the weapon was not a problem. The Americans could also blow up the runways, cause other damage to airfields, thereby depriving the Taliban of the opportunity to use the runways. But none of this was done. There was not even a try. It is quite logical to suggest that this entire richest arsenal went to the extremists not by accident, but deliberately. In the future, all these weapons will be used during the Taliban's expansion (ideological, first of all) to Central Asia. Those who doubt that it will happen sooner or later are very naive people.

Posted by: alaff | Aug 16 2021 19:02 utc | 48

I see the airport labelled as "Hamid Karzai Airport". Odds are that it's a matter of days before we're talking about the "Mullah Umar Airport".
I won't be as optimistic as B, I'd expect Talibans to take a level of revenge against opponents of various kinds, but that will have to wait until Western troops are fully out and control over the country, specially non-Pashtun areas and Kabul, is stronger. Though they might well be less bloodthirsty than they've been in the past. I also wouldn't count on them being suddenly pro-women, but I hope they'll be less despicable and backwards in regulating women's lives.

There's also a key aspect of this whole farce. The US basically abandoned the bulk of their local helpers. People in other countries will take note and remember that, if the US ever comes to see them and ask them if they wouldn't want to help them remove their current government/regime/junta/dictator, and a lot less people will be keen to help US interests and American agents, now that it's plain to see that they'll be tossed like used goods as soon as the going gets tough and Americans run away. The subversive part of US soft power just got massively hit.

Posted by: Clueless Joe | Aug 16 2021 19:02 utc | 49

It's hard for me to think of the SCO as a military bloc, as it includes both India and Pakistan, given their mutual hostility. The entrance of Iran as a full member does seem to indicate that the Iran-Russia-China bloc is becoming more united, though.

Posted by: Peltast | Aug 16 2021 19:05 utc | 50

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2021 18:49 utc | 44

i am a more forgiving type,, fear is unfortunately hard to fight trough and makes you lose sight of logic and reason.
I know, i fought the government and they took EVERYTHING except my life, my kids my house etc etc in pure vengance from corrupt lensmenn and barnevern ansatte.
I know fear and hatred, they are NOT easy to fight.

As a brother in faith of him i rather observe and doublecheck the info, that rant is his biggest failure imo but i forgave him for calling me names and compare me to the 77th brigaders that trolled him and sent him the insane rants by controlled assets or was an asset hellbent on making sure people confuse "us logic and science based argumenters" with the cia antivaxxers.

Posted by: Per/Norway | Aug 16 2021 19:07 utc | 51

About the '7,000' US troops at the airport. That is disinfo. Where are they?

There only a small number in sight, and they have unrolled razor wire alongside the runways.

There's maybe a thousand troops there, which is what some observers are reporting from the scene.

Posted by: Gordog | Aug 16 2021 19:08 utc | 52

@ alaff | Aug 16 2021 19:02 utc | 47:

Myself, I've always wondered whether the US armed forces abandoned Bagram in such a way as to discredit Biden's withdrawal plans: "You want us to withdraw? Okay, we'll withdraw! And then you'll beg us to go back in!"--something like that. It's no secret that there are warring factions within the Beltway. And I can't imagine that Biden's handlers are doing a terribly conscientious job of keeping him in the loop.

Posted by: corvo | Aug 16 2021 19:12 utc | 53

paste "DR VLADIMIR ZELENKO ON “THE POISON DEATH SHOT” ~ TESTIFIES BEFORE RABBINIC COURT IN ISRAEL" into the searchbar over at bitchute.

30minutes.

It is extremely fun to call the breaktrough case deniers anti-semites and watch them stutter and ask how😎
It is equally fun to watch them when they watch the vids from occupied Palestine and phariseeic doctors destroy their faith in their gene therapy😁

Posted by: Per/Norway | Aug 16 2021 19:13 utc | 54

LONG LIVE AFGHANISTAN AND THE GOOD AFGHAN PEOPLE!!! BE FREE AN FAIR!

Posted by: VICTORY_2021 | Aug 16 2021 19:16 utc | 55

Posted by: Gordog | Aug 16 2021 19:08 utc | 51

There only a small number in sight, and they have unrolled razor wire alongside the runways.

There's maybe a thousand troops there, which is what some observers are reporting from the scene.

The rest are running the Macdonalds, and bringing in the steaks, as I mentioned earlier.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 19:17 utc | 56

alaff @47--

Yes, that designation is being used in an attempt to revamp the Establishment Narrative. But monitoring Afghan developments since Trump capitulated tell a different story that didn't change much with Biden's reneging on Trump's agreement. First and foremost it must be admitted that the Taliban was never a member of the Outlaw US Empire's Terrorist Foreign Legion that it contiunues to arm, fund, and train. That they were influenced at first by Wahhabbist pseudo Islam was clear to everyone, but the Taliban learned that was a false path, although not all of its members agree with the new methods. The real terrorists in Afghanistan since 2001 have always been the Outlaw US Empire and its NATO vassals. The International spotlight will be on the Taliban for quite some time, and IMO the Taliban know that very well. The inclusion of former antagonists in the transitional team already signals this Taliban isn't at all like the first version. Afghanistan's been destabilized and corrupted too long, and IMO order and predictability are what average Afghans need most along with an improving economy and the end of poppy cultivation and its associated corruption.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 16 2021 19:25 utc | 57

corvo @52:

They can't go back in, their whole infrastructure is gone.

Laguerre @55:

What, no beer!?

Posted by: Jörgen Hassler | Aug 16 2021 19:28 utc | 58

B’s questions:

Why was there no planing for this?

The Financial Empire is out of LUCK. All its plans will fail! Also, it is full of hubris, groupthink, and incompetence. This article states well: “One person with inside knowledge of the discussions said even though intelligence assessments were regularly updated to address the threat to Kabul once provincial capitals started to fall, officials remained insufficiently pessimistic and bound by GROUPTHINK.”

Taliban rout exposes US intelligence failings in Afghanistan. All top chiefs need to be fired! Accountability & competence please.

“There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States from Afghanistan,” Joe Biden told a press conference little more than five weeks ago. It was “highly unlikely”, the US president said, that the Taliban would own the whole country.”

But who will want to join such a feeble 'superpower' after watching its recent performance in Afghanistan, elsewhere, or even at home?

As long as, nations are using the US$, particularly for their international trade, they’re part of the 'superpower'. Why be a suzerainty? Why use private money?

What will it take for these nations to show wisdom and courage to gain their sovereignty & use sovereign money?

Posted by: Max | Aug 16 2021 19:28 utc | 59

Peltast

Iran is not a member of SCO yet though, I googled that news too when I saw that but Iran just made another step for a membership. I wonder what is lacking and why is is going so slow.

Posted by: Zanon | Aug 16 2021 19:30 utc | 60

Chinese netizens joked that the power transition in Afghanistan is even more smooth than presidential transition in the US.
https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1426949490380967937

That's pretty much the plain truth!

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2021 19:31 utc | 61

alaff 47

Taliban is listed as a Terrorist organization since its involvement with Chechnya in the second Chechen war which was CIA/US planned, same as the fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Since then the US has invaded and occupied Afghanistan, which I guess would make Taliban think twice about who is there enemy. Since then they have also seen Chechnya as part of the Russian federation with a huge amount of autonomy for there Muslim culture but still have the power of the Russian federation behind them if any other state tries to invade.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 16 2021 19:36 utc | 62

Yes Per/Norway. Not able to access the saker site. First time for me, ever.
And yes, what happened was unfortunate.........but on the 'Internet' to post such and ask for feed back......and then to get bollocksed,....well we're past that, time heals........or one dies, whichever comes first I suppose.

Cheers, M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Aug 16 2021 19:38 utc | 63

Gordog has a point that the MSM can "Quote" any figure they like and the masses will totally believe them. Plus throw in a couple of photos for good measure and it's a "tragedy".

However, there was even a lady from CNN (dressed in black, but hair covered, no mask) doing a report just outside the US embassy. The local yokels are not even paying her any attention, but they must have seen the camera.

*****

Since hair is a "sex symbol" for Muslims, (which is why they have to be covered up), Biden's "sniffing" makes him look a "rather obsessive, dirty old man"..... which didn't help his worldwide image.

Posted by: Stonebird | Aug 16 2021 19:38 utc | 64

@ Clueless Joe | Aug 16 2021 19:02 utc | 48


The US basically abandoned the bulk of their local helpers. People in other countries will take note and remember that, if the US ever comes to see them and ask them if they wouldn't want to help them remove their current government/regime/junta/dictator


Any news from Guaido?

Posted by: Rêver | Aug 16 2021 19:42 utc | 65

Peltast @49--

The SCO ISN'T a "military bloc." What it does have is a coordinated focus dealing with terrorism and extremism. It says this about itself:

"The SCO's main goals are as follows: strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order."

Its members do coordinate their efforts and their defense ministries confer often, with some overlap with the CSTO. There is an Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure based in Tashkent. And it has many associate members within the region:

"• the SCO comprises eight member states, namely the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan;

• the SCO counts four observer states, namely the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Mongolia;

• the SCO has six dialogue partners, namely the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Republic of Turkey, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka."

Eighteen nations plus there's interconnections with ASEAN that encompasses most Asian nations. Japan is the most prominent Asian nation not connected with either thanks to its vassalage to the Outlaw US Empire.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 16 2021 19:42 utc | 66

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 16 2021 19:25 utc | 56

"the end of poppy cultivation" is not so easy. I read an article the other day, of which I no longer have the url, which suggested that the cultivation of the poppy is the only product that keeps farmers in business, in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban tolerated it, but then stopped it when they wanted to show off their adherence to principles. Whether or not that is true, destroy the business of farmers is not going to work. Some adaptation is in prospect.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 19:47 utc | 67

This was a premeditated plan :
Has anyone noticed that this all started after Biden’s meeting with Russia’s Putin ?
That the one country that gains from this is China?
Years ago in the 90’s the Chinese wanted to make trade agreements with the Afghanistan government to mine Afghanistan’s resources for lithium and other rare earths which would make China the leader in electric car battery production worldwide.
So the Americans invaded Afghanistan on a stupid pretext just so that China could not get those lithium resources.
After the meeting with Putin in June this year (which was probably a secret prisoner/ secret mission gone wrong and which the US wishes to keep secret from US Congress and the American people) suddenly;
1. US military flee Afghanistan ( as per agreement with Russia’s Putin)
2. Afghan army do not fight the Taliban, and so the Taliban make huge progress. The Afghan army were GIVEN orders to drop their weapons and surrender to the Taliban (US orders)
3. The Afghan president Ghani flees with money.

This looks like a premeditated plan.

I bet the US fled in the night to CAUSE panic and chaos. The plan being that the Afghan puppet government would beg them to come back to help them fight the invading Taliban and stay another 20 years BUT someone paid the Afghan president to flee (China?)
That’s why Biden and Blinken are so confused and speechless- THAT WASN’T THE PLAN

Note China and Taliban made a deal just before this all went down.
So the Americans after 20 years GAVE Afghanistan to China. Without a shot or loss of life or loss of Chinese soldier - China got what it wanted - a obliging Taliban coming running to them.

Posted by: Sari | Aug 16 2021 19:47 utc | 68

LIVE
President Biden Delivers Remarks on Afghanistan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHM_1YOXpg4

This could get entertaining...

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2021 19:48 utc | 69

corvo @52:

They can't go back in, their whole infrastructure is gone.

Posted by: Jörgen Hassler | Aug 16 2021 19:28 utc | 57


I know that; you know that; but did/does Western military "intelligence"?

Posted by: corvo | Aug 16 2021 20:00 utc | 70

From a Glenn Greenwald article "The U.S. Government Lied For Two Decades About Afghanistan" via ZH or original substack:

"[..] that empowered them to be “secretly intercepting, recording, and archiving the audio of virtually every cell phone conversation” in at least five countries. At any time, they could listen to the stored conversations of any calls conducted by cell phone throughout the entire country [..]"

"There was virtually nothing that could happen in Afghanistan without the U.S. intelligence community’s knowledge."

If it was 5 countries all those years ago around 2009-2014, just how many countries is it now 7-11 years later?

Isn't that the primary reason the US has been trying so hard to get other countries around the world to not use Huawei? The UKUSA/yakuza Five Eyes would lose their cherished ability to listen to every single conversation of entire countries?

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Aug 16 2021 20:06 utc | 71

Biden is blaming the former Afghan puppet government for his failures.

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2021 20:11 utc | 72

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Aug 16 2021 20:06 utc | 69

They had all that information, but still didn't understand what was going on.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 20:12 utc | 73

They had all that information, but still didn't understand what was going on.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 20:12 utc | 71


No doubt due to a shortage of "interpreters"!

Posted by: corvo | Aug 16 2021 20:18 utc | 74

The behavior of a gang with a demented figurehead at the top of the leadership hierarchy is on display here. I'm referring to the gang inside the beltway.

Sigh!!!! How in hell did we sink so low???

Posted by: Oriental Voice | Aug 16 2021 20:21 utc | 75

@Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 16:40 utc | 5

Apart from that, and also reported by Sputnik, that Biden´s administration will keep the Afghanistan reserves located in Us accounts out of hand from the Taliban, which equates that the country was plundered by the combo Ghani/Biden befire they left...

Posted by: Asha K. | Aug 16 2021 20:33 utc | 76

Laguerre @71, corvo @72, I'm guessing the Taliban may want to replace those US-installed communications networks in their many, many tasks ahead ...

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Aug 16 2021 20:37 utc | 77

Mask mandates for the women

Posted by: Jezabeel | Aug 16 2021 20:37 utc | 78

Posted by: Asha K. | Aug 16 2021 20:33 utc | 74

I have no doubt the US will keep the reserves.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 20:37 utc | 79

Guys! Are you serious about the all new peace- and respectful Taliban, friendly greating the woman passing by?

Quote b; "There have been very few revenge acts by the Taliban around the country. They have clear orders to not commit any and they behave very disciplined."

Well, last week, a subcontractor of the German newspaper Die Zeit ended up with 20 bullets in his body and head. Ups...
Probably just a little undisciplined. There are no kill lists. No, no. Not at all...

Posted by: Cemi | Aug 16 2021 20:38 utc | 80

I'm guessing the Taliban may want to replace those US-installed communications networks in their many, many tasks ahead ...

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Aug 16 2021 20:37 utc | 75

I should think the Taliban have found their way around that problem. VPNs?

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 20:40 utc | 81

@ Cemi | Aug 16 2021 20:38 utc | 78:

Myself, I'm adopting a wait-and-see attitude on the question of whether there will be widespread and systematic reprisals, or whether reprisals will be sporadic and committed by the proverbial few bad apples.

Posted by: corvo | Aug 16 2021 20:45 utc | 82

Well, last week, a subcontractor of the German newspaper Die Zeit ended up with 20 bullets in his body and head. Ups...
Probably just a little undisciplined. There are no kill lists. No, no. Not at all...

Posted by: Cemi | Aug 16 2021 20:38 utc | 78

Always a danger in a war.

Posted by: Laguerre | Aug 16 2021 20:46 utc | 83

Everything calm, safe, in Kabul:

‘Safer than before’: Russian Embassy in Kabul sees no reason to evacuate as Taliban takes over security, ambassador tells RT

And:

Taliban confirm ‘no one will harm a hair on Russian diplomats’ heads’ — Russian envoy

The Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) took the Russian embassy in Kabul under protection on Monday and confirmed that Russian diplomats could continue their work safely, Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"Taliban members are already guarding our embassy as Afghan security forces that used to protect us left earlier today. The Taliban confirmed once again that no one will harm a hair on the heads of Russian diplomats, saying that ‘you can work undisturbed," the ambassador said.

According to him, peaceful life continues in the Afghan capital. "Good news: schools for girls remain open in the city," the envoy added. "We have a school nearby. I heard children laugh as I was passing by today," he said.

There was a sensationalist article from the Spanish MSM newspaper El Pais yesterday claiming girls' schools were being closed in Kabul, teacher tearfully saying goodbye to their students. Fake news.

--//--

Nation-build process:

Russian Ambassador to Kabul will meet with coordinator from Taliban leadership on Tuesday

The ambassador is the same Dmitry Zhirnov from the above linked article.

--//--

Biden blames Taliban’s success & last-minute evacuation from Afghanistan on failures of Ghani’s government

There goes the theory that it was all just a masterful plan by Joe Biden and the USG. The whole thing was just your plain, textbook military defeat. This is a defeat of the USA, another "L" to its curriculum, make no mistake.

Posted by: vk | Aug 16 2021 20:55 utc | 84

@ Posted by: alaff | Aug 16 2021 19:02 utc | 47

Russians are very pragmatic with their enemies. If enemy becomes valuable ally they are able to keep them. Main example is Ramzan Kadyrov's family and involvement during Chechen wars. They switched sides and are worthy allies of Russia now (even bears title of Hero of Russian Federation).

Simple Russian reasining is - if you can make a deal with small devil himself, that he keeps much greater devil at bay, then it is worth it. There is nothing more pragmatic than that.

Basically, Taliban are terrorists by some definition, but definitely not The terrorists like ISIS (and similar incarnations funded by west). And Taliban are exterminating ISIS and likes. From Russian's perspective, Taliban can be worthy ally.

Posted by: Abe | Aug 16 2021 21:00 utc | 85

love all the framing of this as "the Afghans simply didn't appreciate the great favor the U.S. did them, invading and occupying them for 20 years, those ungrateful wretches"

Posted by: pretzelattack | Aug 16 2021 21:00 utc | 86

@Posted by: vk | Aug 16 2021 17:25 utc | 22

The images from the airport are being used by Western mass media to illustrate the chaos created by the Taliban´s take ove,r omitting the airport ins currenlty under NATO command, this is why civil flights were suspended on bhealf of military ones and os many people gvot stranded there...

With respect chaos and order, it seems that the Taliban managed quite well in Kabul, patrolling the streets, being greated by the youth and some even took selfies with the astounded recently arrived Taliban villagers not accustomed to this fashion, while some robbers were detained wearing long hair wigs and Taliban like garments so that to imprese they were Taliban...

Also the Taliban Health Ministry visited some hospitals to convey the workers there, inckuding women, to continue working as they were doing, to counter some narrrative at European TVs today by spontaneous "Malalas" stating they have been ordered to go home and send their husbands instead...

I fear, that after what we have already have to deal with through the Covid Operation, we must be prepared for a lot of shit fake news...being the Taliban...If they did it, and are doing, with European and US taxpayers, what we could not hear about those mountanier people?

At some US sites they are also stating the Taliban have blocked access to airport terminals, what deos not seem possible since the Taliban agred with the US/NATO that they will ceed the control of the airport to them for at least tow days...It is indeed the US Army who have extended barbed wire to isolate the tarmac from the flewing Afghani people, and those who have made the warning shots.

The Taliban just helped from Kabul, where they reign as of date, by blocking access to the road which connects with the airport, to aleviate the collapse, probably under request from NATO.

Another probable fake news they are saying is that Afghan refugees will be repatriated to some US bases. What I read is that the US is offering money to some Balkan countries, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia, for them to keep the refugees into their countries...

Posted by: Asha K. | Aug 16 2021 21:02 utc | 87

@Laguerre: "Always a danger in a war."

No war around, just coming home from work. An assassination.

Just to make it clear: I'm not defending the US-american drone war. But painting the upcoming Taliban regime all pink is pointless as well. It's going to be a brutal regime of oppression just like Saudi Barbaria or the like. That's for sure.

Posted by: Cemi | Aug 16 2021 21:09 utc | 88

karlof1@56. thank you for sharing your pepe links, they are very informative. like you i also believe the taliban are nearer in thinking to iran & hezbollah, as pepe as pointed out they have masterfully worked within the intricate carpet of family & tribe to carry this coup off. as pepe included the history of some of the leaders, we see that much has yet to be revealed. my hope remains that in such global turnings the players all sense the vast promise of their every move & rather than succumb as ghani to the shiny treasure chest to begin to comprehend the real & utter wealth & prosperity awaiting afghanistan. the taliban has been this patient really it is not much longer before the glory of their land & heritage will be like iran's & china's & russia & a marvel to shame the tawdriness of our american splendour.

Posted by: emersonreturn | Aug 16 2021 21:13 utc | 89

China has already manifested its official and extra-official position:

China respects Afghans’ choice, expects Taliban to keep its words of establishing inclusive govt

Chinese envoy to UN: China respects choices of the Afghan people

Posted by: vk | Aug 16 2021 21:18 utc | 90

@Posted by: Cemi | Aug 16 2021 21:09 utc | 86

Yet we all swallow with Saudi Barbaria, we do not fill the streets protesting as some have done in front of the WH, and we do not ever see malalas´like from KSA complaining on TV.

For what is worth, the Taliban earned the conquest of their own country by fighting through 20 years like lions, what we can not say of KSA, whose dinasty passed from the desert sands and the tent to the luxurious palaces they today habit by the very birlibirloque art of the Britons, without firing a shot...

Then it is that with what is in preparations for the unvaccinated Western citizens starting this fall, Afghanistan could even appear like a safe haven for some able to get to the tarmac to catch a flight before being detained...
I am really considering flewing to the ME due the outlooks events are taking here...May be I will be considering Afghanistan too...as emerging country...At Pepe´s vk account some guy is stating he lived for a while there in 1964 and he found a kindhearted charming people...Seems a lot like Yemen..
Who would want to stay in fascist Europe anymore?

Posted by: Asha K. | Aug 16 2021 21:21 utc | 91

Please give US some credits, would you? They said they planned to leave by Sept 11, and now they are leaving ahead of schedule. Bravo to the efficiency of US government. /sar.

Posted by: d dan | Aug 16 2021 21:23 utc | 92

So then, the USA spent 20 years and all that money to defeat themselves.

Posted by: Babyl-on | Aug 16 2021 21:24 utc | 93

As I sermonised on Sunday , there is no way that the forever Masters of the Earth haven’t considered such a ‘defeat’ or circumstances or ‘events, dear boy events’. Not that they desired it. They may have.

So as far as their supply of high grade opium goes. I believe a few years ago they had genetically chosen their strains for mass agriculture in Tasmania if I recall.

Anyone got any confirmation of that? Got any Tasmans at the watering hole?

Posted by: DG | Aug 16 2021 21:29 utc | 94

karlof1 @46, re the heroin racket, wow.

Along those lines, Greenwald's article ZH/substack quoted a veteran of the US occupation of Afghanistan, that in turn is from an interview from independent journalist Michael Tracey:

"I don’t think I could overstate that this was a system just basically designed for funneling money and wasting or losing equipment," he said. In sum, "as far as the US military presence there - I just viewed it as a big money funneling operation": an endless money pit for U.S. security contractors and Afghan warlords, all of whom knew that no real progress was being made, just sucking up as much U.S. taxpayer money as they could before the inevitable withdraw and takeover by the Taliban.

Brings to mind the quote:

"In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism." - Major General Smedley Butler, USMC, 1935, and his War is Racket

That same self-reflection should be considered by all those who work for Five Eyes, NATO, and their associated think tanks, etc. - likely for big bucks as their cut of the take under the UKUSA yakuza system ...

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Aug 16 2021 21:31 utc | 95

karlofi @46 mentions the incredible heroin profits the US Deep State will now give up.
Why? Is it because the cashless society they are pushing cannot support drug running?
Or did someone somewhere suffer pangs of conscience? Check out the first couple of minutes of this video showing a typical US inner city street. (JK about pangs of conscience though).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi1Kf-1qd6Y

Posted by: wagelaborer | Aug 16 2021 21:34 utc | 96

Biden finally spoke, and the Freudian slips are telling.


"We gave them every chance to determine their own future. We could not provide them the will to fight for that future. [...]
if Afghanistan is unable to mount any real resistance to the Taliban now, there is no chance that one more year, five more years or 20 more years of US military boots on the ground would've made any difference."

In fact, not even slips but the loud expression of colonial biases that will always prevent the invader from accepting the autonomy of thought of the native.

Let’s just decode:

- if Afghanistan does not offer any resistance to the Taliban, is it not the definition of a support or at least of a more or less neutrality?

- if they refuse to fight for that future, is it not simply that it is not their own, at least not one they have chosen or built?

All the "opinions" on Sharia/ Burka/ Democraty are, in the best case, futility.

###
At Dien Bien Phu, the French had also studied everything and determined that Giap was unable to provide combatants and weapons and that air superiority was unavoidable.
https://historyweb.fr/bataille-dien-bien-phu-1/
They had simply been intoxicated to their own bias. Giap didn’t use either the technology or the Western philosophy of combat [which he mastered perfectly]

Confirmation bias, arrogant confidence in one’s own superiority, the graveyard of empires.

###
Comme Michel Audiard [un grand phallocrate devant l'éternel, mes excuses à Mina] faisait dire à Jean Gabin [un autre...]
"Je connais ton honnêteté mais je connais aussi mes classiques.
Depuis Adam se laissant enlever une côte à Napoléon attendant Grouchy, toutes les grandes affaires qui ont foiré étaient basées sur la confiance."

Posted by: Rêver | Aug 16 2021 21:35 utc | 97

Al Jazeera English correspondent seems to not having doing so bad under taliban rule, she just arrived in her hotel, found Taliban security instead of the previous one, said good evening, and was anwered by startled mountaniers...


https://twitter.com/CharlotteBellis/status/1427330671727501315

Posted by: Asha K. | Aug 16 2021 21:37 utc | 98

"Every now and again, some crappy little country has to pick up the United States and throw it against the wall. It’s the only way Americans will learn to stay at home and attend to their swampy garden. Is this the moment they learn?"

Russian Observer trolling US exceptionalist Michael Ledeen

"Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business."

Posted by: Arfur Mo | Aug 16 2021 21:44 utc | 99

It is being ported that Poland and Hungary are being asked by the Americans to get thousands of refugees, but they refuse...

Guess where they will end... A clue, a country second in the rank of vaccinated people ( if needed under menace of losing jobs and civil freedoms, with even unions ( all, at this point, franchises of AFL-CIA...) "recommending vaccination" ( as if that were a union´s issue..) and even asking for legislation to force the vaccines into working people, with everything, including MSM, banks, electrics, telecoms, almost totally seized by BlackRock/Vanguard, and currently with a 37% youth unemployment due the pandemic measures, which notwithstanding has spent 3500 million euro in Afghanistan US WOT while losing 104 troops....

Posted by: Asha K. | Aug 16 2021 21:47 utc | 100

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