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Most liked posts in thread: Afghanistan

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  1. Offcomedun

    Offcomedun Important Player
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    #35 Offcomedun, Aug 20, 2021
  2. Aaron Baker

    Aaron Baker Impact Sub

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    Not good is it although the accusation of lack of support in the preceding weeks is more of a concern to me than the actual phonecall. I'm not sure how much difference a phonecall to a minister in a failing/failed government would have made in reality but even the perception that they're not doing everything possible is a negative.

    In the short term I think there's probably more important things to focus on but it will definitely be worthy of investigation.
     
    #36 Aaron Baker, Aug 20, 2021
  3. Offcomedun

    Offcomedun Important Player
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    It's the same scenario as Johnson buggering off for a fortnight to sort out his divorce when he should have been convening Cobra and planning for the inevitable arrival of Covid to the UK
    If you accept one of the most senior posts in government you have to accept that when shit happens, as it inevitably does sometimes, then you cancel your holiday and get back to personally leading your department. It comes with the job.
     
    #37 Offcomedun, Aug 20, 2021
  4. Aaron Baker

    Aaron Baker Impact Sub

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    Slightly disagree about the COBR meeting as the PM doesn't always chair them (but it does give a window into how serioulsy it was being viewed)

    However in this case you're right. Arguments can be made that after 18 months of pandemic you don't always have to be in the same location to get on with your work and that he was back in Whitehall for the Monday morning but overall it's not a good look to be on holiday while such major events are happening.

    The focus on the single phone call by the media might actually be letting Raab off the hook a little bit though. From a common sense point of view I can't see what difference it would have actually made given the situation his Afghan opposite number would have been in. The wider accusations of sleepwalking through the crisis are much more damning.

    It is a shame because Raab is undoubtedly one of the smartest people in Parliament from an academic/experience point of view but he also comes across a bit of a sociopath!
     
    #38 Aaron Baker, Aug 20, 2021
  5. Offcomedun

    Offcomedun Important Player
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    Like half the present cabinet!
     
    #39 Offcomedun, Aug 20, 2021
  6. Idlebantam

    Idlebantam Squad Player
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    Another embarrassing press conference with Sleep Joe yesterday.

    He claimed that Al Qaeda had been destroyed and had no presence left in Afghanistan. He also claimed that no Americans had been harmed trying to reach Kabul airport and the friendly chaps from the Taliban had helped them.

    You could almost sense Vice President Harris squirming behind him.

    Not long after the conference, a White House spokesman contradicted both those claims.

    Sleepy also thought the capital of Qatar was called Daho, not Doha.

    There have also been claims that when Bin Laden was alive he ordered Al Qaeda not to kill Sleepy Joe should he ever become President, as he viewed him as such a weak link that it would benefit them enormously.
     
    #40 Idlebantam, Aug 21, 2021
  7. Rogered Tart

    Rogered Tart Regular Starter
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    Bidens first test in office and he's failing miserably. I don't pretend to know or really care what's happened in Afghanistan in the last 30 or 40 years but watching the scenes in Kabul does remind you of the chaotic withdraw from Saigon in the 70s.
     
    #41 Rogered Tart, Aug 23, 2021
  8. WilsdenBantam

    WilsdenBantam Squad Player
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    I put the blame at the Americans door for this disaster, it started with Trump and his pact with the Taliban and now Bidens disastrous rushed withdrawal. Let’s be honest Britain are nothing more than America’s lap dogs we just have to go along with our masters will.
     
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    #47 WilsdenBantam, Aug 26, 2021
  9. Aaron Baker

    Aaron Baker Impact Sub

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    Can't help feeling as time goes on that it's not the intelligence on the ground that is at fault. They basically knew to the hour that at attack was coming at the airport and the US seem to have been talking to the Taliban more than they have to Nato throughout the process.

    The people interpreting the intelligence and communicating the strategy seem to be the weak link. Especially the ones in charge of making the decisions but I can't help thinking they had better information than they'll admit.

    And if even half of this is true its an even bigger mess than we thought.

     
    #49 Aaron Baker, Aug 27, 2021
  10. ahar964

    ahar964 Squad Player
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    Unbelievable. Perhaps if Biden asks the Taliban nicely they'll send it all back. Sounds like they are going to be better equipped than the British Army
     
    #50 ahar964, Aug 27, 2021
  11. Bronco

    Bronco Star Player
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    Shocking state of affairs, Trump said once the allies were safe the US airforce should bomb the places that equipment had been left, how inept can these top ranking people be, names left of people who helped the allied forces, God help those who didn't get out.
     
    #51 Bronco, Aug 27, 2021
  12. trevor

    trevor Squad Player
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    the USA military has left some of the most modern military hardware to the Taliban, They are now probably one of the best equipped armies in the region,
     
    #52 trevor, Aug 31, 2021
  13. Idlebantam

    Idlebantam Squad Player
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    Surely the hardware was decommissioned before the retreat?
     
    #53 Idlebantam, Sep 1, 2021
  14. bantam65

    bantam65 Important Player
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    I'm guessing that by military hardware they mean the weapons etc that were given to the A.N.A by the Yanks and then found their way into the Taliban hands when the A.N.A were overrun.
     
    #54 bantam65, Sep 1, 2021
  15. Aaron Baker

    Aaron Baker Impact Sub

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    Doubt it. There were videos of the Taliban flying a black hawk over Kandahar the other day.
     
    #55 Aaron Baker, Sep 1, 2021
  16. ahar964

    ahar964 Squad Player
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    When they showed the Taliban walking into Kabul airport on the news last night I thought they were the Americans. They had all the US kit on - helmets, body armour. I didn't think to look at the weapons
     
    #56 ahar964, Sep 1, 2021
  17. trevor

    trevor Squad Player
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    The clue was seeing them armed with the latest American M16 combat rifles
     
    #57 trevor, Sep 1, 2021
  18. ahar964

    ahar964 Squad Player
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    I didn't notice but its no surprise
     
    #58 ahar964, Sep 1, 2021
  19. Hoochy-Min

    Hoochy-Min Squad Player

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    Hardly seems fair wearing the same kit. Surely one side should play in bibs or skins if there's not enough bibs to go round.
     
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    #60 Hoochy-Min, Sep 5, 2021
  20. trevor

    trevor Squad Player
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    The Americans usually shoot first no matter what and check who it is after anyway
     
    #61 trevor, Sep 5, 2021
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