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Afghanistan
Taliban are nearing victory in Afghanistan
2018-10-21
[WeeklyStandard] America has lost the war in Afghanistan. Washington may not want to admit it, and the U.S. military insists the conflict is a "stalemate." But make no mistake: The original 9/11 war has been lost.

On Thursday, the Taliban attacked a meeting between Afghan officials and the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller. Americans in attendance were wounded, but Miller was unhurt. At least three Afghan officials, though, were killed, including Gen. Abdul Raziq, a key American ally and powerbroker in southern Afghanistan. The U.S. military's initial statement on the attack was a good example of its cognitive dissonance. Instead of a full condemnation, Col. Dave Butler, the spokesman for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, claimed it was merely an "Afghan-on-Afghan incident."
Posted by:lord garth

#11  Calling Mr. R. Kipling...calling Mr. Kipling....
Posted by: DooDahMan   2018-10-21 23:16  

#10  Regarding the 911 war, after 17 years of war are the Taliban leaders likely to provoke the USA again?
Posted by: rjschwarz   2018-10-21 22:29  

#9  #6 - I'm good with that: "Don't make me come back here"
Posted by: Frank G   2018-10-21 21:29  

#8  I'll take #6.
Posted by: Besoeker   2018-10-21 19:12  

#7  Still time for that Gorb.
See Bolton and Putin next week.
Posted by: Skidmark   2018-10-21 14:42  

#6  Should have just smacked the crap out of them and left with the comment "If it happens again we will do it again."
Posted by: gorb   2018-10-21 13:55  

#5  You don't have to destroy the Taliban. Just weaken them enough that some other SOB makes their lives miserable. However, you do have to destroy their enablers - see Pakistan
Posted by: Procopius2k   2018-10-21 12:37  

#4  Maybe, and maybe not. But the article has the tone and feel of the kind of crap being written after Tet.
Posted by: Iblis   2018-10-21 12:07  

#3  Some things are simply beyond restoration. Afghanistan appears to be one of those things.
Posted by: Besoeker   2018-10-21 11:36  

#2  The original 9/11 war has been lost.

Keeping in mind that the US' territory is a war theater and that the enemy doesn't observe any limits or red lines this is a non-limited war that US could not and cannot afford to not win decisively.

Adversaries of the US, especially the rational ones, will learn lessons. And this will have dire consequences for the US & allies.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660   2018-10-21 09:54  

#1  (2)Pakistan continues to harbor the Taliban’s senior leadership. The Trump administration has withheld military aid to Pakistan in an attempt to get tough on the putative ally’s duplicity. For years, Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment has harbored the Taliban’s senior leaders, including members of the so-called Haqqani Network.

Herein lies the problem.
Posted by: Besoeker   2018-10-21 00:40  

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