Most liked posts in thread: Afghanistan

150 afgan refugees are to be housed in a hotel in Scarborough. If it’s the grand they will be pleading to go home and take their chances

 

There was a certain inevitability about this outcome. As well as the people of Afghanistan you have to feel for the families, friends and colleagues of the servicemen and women of all countries who gave their lives for seemingly nothing. The financial cost is secondary to this.

 

God help America under Sleepy Joe.

The fall of Afghanistan is the most humiliating foreign policy balls up for America for many a year.

His bizarre speech yesterday shamed the good folk of America.

To blame everyone but himself for the surrender to the Taliban was breathtaking. To mock the Afghan army which has incurred massive death toll in defence of its country whilst carrying out U.S policy is unforgivable.

He also went on to say his hands were tied by Trump's deal with the Taliban, yet he backed the peace deal. Vice president Harris, who is clearly running the show, is equally as bad.

 

We will have to disagree, Bidens agreement to stick to the agreement made with the Taliban by Trump meant they took over virtually peacefully, If he had appeared to go back on that agreement thousand may well have been killied by the Taliban on armed attacks, There is no easy way to withdraw from a country at war but the quicker it is done the better the outcome

 

You have to ask why both the UK & America knowing the date they had given the Taliban to leave Afganistan, why these people had not been given details of where they needed to be on a certain date to be airlifted to safety.

 

It's shameful. The Government have prevaricated for years over allowing those who worked with our forces to come to the UK.

 

The inevitable miserable end to a(nother) botched mission. I think Biden was quite right today to say that he didn't want his soldiers fighting and dying in a war where the locals weren't doing their share. The real losers will be the women, who, one can expect, will now see 20 years of progress wiped out. As I read somewhere else, it's the women who should have been armed, not the men!

I wonder who will be next to try their hand? Us, Russia, the US have all had a go...maybe China?

Another post I read elsewhere is worth copying in part here (written by an American, as far as I know). I take it on trust that the facts and figures are correct:

"The last really successful and coordinated occupation and rebuilding of defeated nations was probably at the end of WW2. I find it hard to get good figures for the number of allied forces that occupied Germany 1945-1952, but Japan is easier.

Japan is about 60% as large as Afghanistan, with somewhat less rugged terrain. Nevertheless, the Allied occupation force in 1946 was about 470,000 troops (430,000 US and 40,000 British Commonwealth). And the formal occupation lasted 6-7 years (until 1952), with three years before Japan became even partially self-governing again. With rotations and replacements, about 1 million US troops served in the occupation at one point or another. About 30,000 US troops remain in Japan even today, for strategic reasons.

Additionally, the US provided economic assistance of about $17 billion in today's money.

And that was in a country that already had an industrialized economy and modern education system and a fairly stable (if not democratic) system of government.

Given the extra challenges in Afghanistan, the US and its allies should have realized that to really pacify and create a sustainable outcome in Afghanistan would require more than double the effort and double the cash aid. A well-equipped occupying force of 1 million for 20 years minimum, to fully pacify (or eliminate) the Taliban. Allied military government by competent people for 5-7 years before even attempting to restore local rule. "Crimes aginst Humanity" trials for Taliban leadership. A trillion $$ just in financial aid. And a residual force of 100,000 or so for up to 70 years while the process matured.

Expensive? You bet!

But no, we tried to do it on the cheap (across party lines) - and the result we see today is what should have been expected."

I don't think that poster is too far off with his estimates of the manpower and financial resources needed. What he doesn't mention is that in both Japan and Germany, you also had highly civilised, cultured populations, who were ready and willing to do all the dirty work needed to rebuld their countries.

RCB

 

These basket case countries don't want democracy or civilisation, not a Biden fan but can't disagree when he questions why should we (the west) fight for their countries when they won't help themselves despite all the money and manpower we supply..?

 

It was doomed from the start, Leaving a crooked leader in place for 20 years, To many politicians involved meddling and a half hearted attempt on a military campaign the locals did not support,
Lesson number one? You cannot enforce democracy on a country from the outside by military means, It must grow organically from within
The biggest threat now will be the Taliban will now build up their forces in Pakistan who are a nuclear power

 

I agree, I can’t say I’m all that knowledgable on the affairs out there. But I thought one of the reasons we were out there was to train and modernise the Afghan army against such threats. Yet many reports say many places were taken without any fighting, the army should have had more modern equipment and have been more well trained if not who’s armed and trained the Taliban to make it so easy for them to stride through the country? For me many men in the region most likely share their philosophy and simply let it happen, the women would literally have put up a better fight as at least they’d have thought for freedom! It’s awful for the civilians but I don’t agree with going back there as it would be only more blood shed and clearly many actually want a strict Islamic rule otherwise there would have been far more fighting. Diplomacy is probably the last option now. It won’t do the women and children much good unfortunately.

 

I'm not up to speed on all this, but to me there seems to be an elephant in the room. Why have those countries who have harboured the Taliban for the last 20 years scott free of any blame in all this?

 

A great intervention in parliament today
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjukND76bryAhXRoFwKHbXFCD0Q0PADKAB6BAgEEAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.sky.com%2Fstory%2Ftom-tugendhat-conservative-mp-and-former-soldier-gets-round-of-applause-in-commons-for-emotional-afghanistan-speech-12384481&usg=AOvVaw13xRUks-vI_Mckna2leJMo