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Afghanistan - The Current Situation


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I guess my issue is that the media will now go to town on this guy, while studiously ignoring the fact that the whole goddam campaign is a complete trainwreck.....The questionable demise of this one sorry bomb-making mofo will suddenly become so much more important than all the other thousands of lives lost and countless crippled, scarred for life, driven out of their homes etc. etc. ad bloody infinitum.  :angry:

We'll give all of that a pass, but we'll be damned sure to see justice done on a Captain (at the time) acting in extremis, and that will make everything OK.....Somehow?  :rolleyes:

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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Nothing is easy in war.

 

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." (Attributed to George Orwell)

"These words, I pray, will burn deeply into the flesh of those who dare pass judgement, of any kind, on a young gentleman or lady who has the guts to put on a uniform knowing damn well they may die because of it. They do so givingly and lovingly for their country and their countrymen."  (Unknown Marine)

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43 minutes ago, mjkerner said:

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." (Attributed to George Orwell)

"These words, I pray, will burn deeply into the flesh of those who dare pass judgement, of any kind, on a young gentleman or lady who has the guts to put on a uniform knowing damn well they may die because of it. They do so givingly and lovingly for their country and their countrymen."  (Unknown Marine)

+1  AIRBORNE!!!!

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6 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Abu Graib- okay?  I guess my issue is that the media will now go to town on this guy, while studiously ignoring the fact that the whole goddam campaign is a complete trainwreck...

An assumption again let it go already man, we know your view.  And what if this guy really did shoot a prisoner...gonna defend that? Is it okay because the policy was wrong?  At what point do we hold ourselves accountable for our own actions?  I have read plenty of accounts of concern from officers in Iraq worrying how their men would react under stress and the pride they took in their men when they maintained their discipline and didn't have to go home questioning their own actions. I don't know this man's full story, what other circumstances were involved etc, but the military certainly feels the issue was questionable and only let him off originally for the lack of physical evidence.  His own statements are what are causing his problems now.

Edited by sburke
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When you put people in an insane environment they can't help but do insane things, it's the only way to survive.  :unsure:

But yeah, let's let it go, at least until we have some more facts to look at.....Either way it's just one more casualty in a very big mess.  :(

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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1 minute ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

But yeah, let's let it go, at least until we have some more facts to look at.....Either way it's just one more casualty in a very big mess.  :(

That much I agree with, but you are as bad as the media you trash in your statements reflecting your own bias with no evidence to show what actually happened.  I know this much, I'd have hated to be put in the position this man was.  I don't know that there is a right answer.  You don't get to rewrite the law when you think it is wrong though.  If you feel strongly enough you do what you feel is right knowing the probable consequences.  Is it BS that this man may pay when the folks don't who decided to launch an attack on Iraq ignoring Shinseki's advice which might actually have prevented a lot of the bloodshed?  Absolutely, but it doesn't in itself make someone innocent.  It just sucks all the way around.

As to this - "When you put people in an insane environment they can't help but do insane things, it's the only way to survive".  It is an excuse and NOT true of everyone.  Thousands of young men and women who served have been put into situations having to make split second decisions as to whether to shoot someone who was a possible threat or risk their lives to avoid killing an innocent.  As an American it saddens me to see them so young having to make that call and yet immensely proud that overwhelmingly they accepted the risk.  It is the behavior of our troops in the field that reassures me that despite the poor level of discourse in our society right now, the moral core of our values is still strong.

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On 12/14/2018 at 2:14 PM, Sublime said:

...Its sooo ironic how EVERY argument or conversation I have with bolshies or Russia apologists becomes ...whataboutism;...

 

On 12/4/2018 at 3:27 PM, Sublime said:

What ^ he said. TheTalibanwasnt ever going to cooperate they just paid lip service with anunacceptable counteroffer.

Whats with YOUR people and the truth is more like it

MH17

Tugboat VBIEDs 

Katyn

Revionism justifying allying with Hitler( or denying it)

I could go on and on. We had a hell of a lot of a better reason to go in there than you guys did before what your leader terms 'the greatest tragedy of the 20th century' (fall of communism)

 

And after all you guys invaded Chechnya twice, and the second time your casus belli is VERY SUSPECT. I.e. Theres actual credible info out there it was an FSB false flag op. Nevermind the Ukraine stuff now. People may think we.re starting to make stuff up, and over here we KNOW our President does it about 5 to 7 times daily, but the whole world knows Russia/Soviet Union both make almost everything up. Even the truth is layered with lies.

And no its not comparavle to the 3k deaths and seeing airliners fly into national landmarks on live TV. Ive always asserted the "9/11 was an inside job' crowd are idiots and for one that operation was too BIG for a false flag and never would have needed to be that big. Not to mention if it was a false flag it would have been putting a lot of the powers that beat heavy risk.(Pentagon?)

Regardless OBLs dead and this isnt going to be won. Time to come home IMO.

Goddamn

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When I saw the title of this article, I expected another example of Western wishful thinking:

https://www.usip.org/publications/2018/12/how-can-afghans-make-peace-and-protect-women-meet-ayesha-aziz

But no, there's actually something, or rather someone, quite real behind it, Ayesha Aziz:

Aziz is a long-time teacher and school administrator who has negotiated with Taliban officials to win their approval to run schools for girls. She has supported her campaigns for girls’ education and empowerment by running a business refining Afghanistan’s semiprecious stones, employing hundreds of women. She also is a lifelong member of Hezb-i-Islami, the Afghan political party led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

 

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Hearts & Minds, Ashraf Ghani style:

https://www.rferl.org/a/video-appears-to-catch-afghan-president-s-bodyguards-roughing-up-civilian/29656630.html

In Herat, the footage shows president Ghani’s guards dragging a civilian into a vehicle after he wanted to show his complain letter to the president. Reports say he was beaten up by guards and taken to unknown place.

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Oi!  :angry:

Stick to Afghanistan in here!  :P

Whatever it was, it can stay where it is.....Let sleeping dogs lie & this thread be about things Afghan & current.  ;)

It seems direct dialogue between the US & Taliban is underway in the UAE:

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/12/taliban-confirms-meeting-with-us-in-the-uae.php

 

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On 12/12/2018 at 6:03 AM, Sgt.Squarehead said:

If you have noting to contribute to this thread on the subject of Afghanistan, kindly stay out of it.  :mellow:

If I want to reply to something you or someone else has written, I darn well will, and nothing you say to me is going to change that.

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On 12/15/2018 at 4:05 PM, Sgt.Squarehead said:

When you put people in an insane environment they can't help but do insane things, it's the only way to survive.  :unsure:

So, when was the last time you were in an "insane environment" i.e., in a hot conflict zone? I served with plenty of people in said insane environments, and none of them had to resort to insane actions in order to survive.

I'm with sburke on this - no servicemember is above being held accountable for his actions, and if it turns out he was in the wrong, then so be it.

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I do, but it gets me into trouble with @Sublime:P

On a more serious note, here's LWJ's assessment of the current situation, given recent 'presidential pronouncements':

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/12/analysis-the-costs-of-withdrawal-from-afghanistan.php

Still reading it myself, but it's not looking too cheerful so far.....

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